Robert Stockton Williamson (January 21, 1825 – November 10, 1882) was an American soldier and engineer, noted for conducting surveys for the transcontinental railroad in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. Inducted into the Army Corps of Engineers in 1861, he had a distinguished record serving in the American Civil War, winning two brevet promotions. When the US Army Corps of Engineers established its San Francisco District office in 1866, he was appointed as the first commander of the office. Formally promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1869, he retired in 1871, because of health problems, and died in San Francisco in 1882.

Early life and career

Williamson was born in

Oxford, New York Oxford is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The town contains a village also named Oxford. Oxford is an interior town in the south-central part of the county, southwest of the city of Norwich. At the 2010 census the town populati ...

and lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He was named after Commodore

Robert F. Stockton Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-p ...

, a family friend. He joined the Navy in 1843 as a

master's mate Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master. Master's mates evolved into the modern rank of Sub-Lieutenant in t ...

under Stockton on the USS Princeton, the first screw-driven steam ship in the Navy. Williamson was detached from the ship 10 days before one of its guns exploded, killing several people. It was through Stockton's influence that Williamson was appointed to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. He graduated fifth in his class in 1848 and appointed a second lieutenant in the

Corps of Topographical Engineers The U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers was a branch of the United States Army authorized on 4 July 1838. It consisted only of officers who were handpicked from West Point and was used for mapping and the design and construction of federal ...

. He was assigned to conduct surveys for proposed routes for the transcontinental railroad in California and Oregon. He was then assigned to the staff of the commanding general of the

Department of the Pacific The Department of the Pacific or Pacific Department was a major command (Department) of the United States Army from 1853 to 1858. It replaced the Pacific Division, and was itself replaced by the Department of California and the Department of Or ...

, and was the engineer in charge of the military roads in southern Oregon.

Civil War

After the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, Williamson was commissioned with the rank of Captain into the 1st Battalion of Engineers, and was the Chief Topographical Engineer in North Carolina. He was

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

Major on March 14, 1862, for service at the Battle of New Bern, and brevetted a Lieutenant Colonel at the Battle of Fort Macon on April 26, 1862."LTC Robert Stockton Williamson." Find A Grave. January 9, 2005.
Accessed September 14, 2017 He was then assigned as Chief Topographical Engineer for the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

. Williamson returned to California as the Chief Topographical Engineer of the Department of the Pacific. He was formally promoted to the rank of Major on May 7, 1863, In 1863, Williamson transferred to the Corps of Engineers and served as lighthouse engineer for the Pacific Coast. He also worked on defenses and harbors along the coast.

Postbellum

In 1866, Major Williamson was appointed Commander and Officer-in-Charge when the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers established its San Francisco District Office in 1866. This office was then mainly responsible for engineering related to rivers and harbors along the entire Pacific coast, from Canada to Mexico, and included Hawaii. He remained in this position until 1871."History." U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - San Francisco District.
Accessed September 14, 2017. He was formally promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on February 2, 1869. In 1870, he was elected as a member to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. He retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1882, due to illness. Williamson had suffered from bad health for the last 20 years of his life and died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. He was buried at the Masonic Cemetery in San Francisco.

Legacy

*In California,

Mount Williamson Mount Williamson, at an elevation of , is the second-highest mountain in both the Sierra Nevada range and the state of California, and the sixth-highest peak in the contiguous United States. Geography Williamson stands in the John Muir Wi ...

is named for him. *

Williamson Mountain Williamson Mountain, elevation , is a peak in the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is named after Lt. Robert S. Williamson, who with Lt. Philip Sheridan took part in the Pacific Railroad Surveys in central Oregon in 1855. The Unite ...

and the Williamson River in Oregon are named in his honor. *A western North American woodpecker, the Williamson's sapsucker, and the mountain whitefish, '' Prosopium williamsoni'', are named after him. *

Williamson Valley (Arizona) Williamson Valley, also known as Williamsons Valley, is a valley in Yavapai County, Arizona. The mouth of the valley is at an elevation of , where it meets the Big Chino Valley. Its head is located at an elevation of 4,600 feet, at . It is partl ...

is named after him.

Notes

References

External links

* * Report Upon the Removal of Blossom Rock San Francisco Harbor, California. Williamson, R. S. and W. H. Heuer. 1870. {{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Robert S. 1825 births 1882 deaths People from Elizabeth, New Jersey United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers United States Military Academy alumni United States Army officers American explorers Union Army officers People from Oxford, New York Engineers from New York (state) Engineers from New Jersey Burials at Masonic Cemetery (San Francisco) Military personnel from New Jersey