Montgomery C. Meigs (1816–1892)
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Montgomery Cunningham Meigs (; May 3, 1816 – January 2, 1892) was a career
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officer and
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and
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, who served as Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during and after the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. Although a Southerner from
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, Meigs strongly opposed secession and supported the Union. His record as Quartermaster General was regarded as outstanding, both in effectiveness and in ethical probity, and Secretary of State William H. Seward viewed Meigs' leadership and contributions as key factors in the Union victory in the war. Meigs was one of the principal architects of
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...
. Meigs's decision to locate the cemetery on
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
's family estate, Arlington House, was partly a gesture to humiliate Lee for siding with the Confederacy.


Early life and education

Meigs was born in
Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...
, in May 1816. He was the son of Dr. Charles Delucena Meigs and Mary Montgomery Meigs.Hannan, p. 140. His father was a nationally known
obstetrician Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...
and professor of obstetrics at
Jefferson Medical College Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. The university is ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
.Ferguson, p. 52."General Montgomery Cunningham Meigs." ''Scientific American.'' January 30, 1892, p. 71.
Accessed 2012-12-15.
His grandfather,
Josiah Meigs Josiah Meigs (August 21, 1757 – September 4, 1822) was an American academic, journalist, and government official. He was the first acting president of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, Athens, where he implemented the university's f ...
, graduated from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, where he was a classmate of future dictionary creator
Noah Webster Noah Webster (October 16, 1758 – May 28, 1843) was an American lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and author. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education" ...
and
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general and politician
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, and later was president of the
University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
. Montgomery Meigs' mother, Mary, was the granddaughter of a
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family from Brigend with somewhat distant claims to a
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, which emigrated to America in 1701. Meigs' father apprenticed as a physician in Philadelphia until 1812, at which time he moved to
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. He enrolled at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
in Philadelphia three years later, in 1815, the same year he began to practice medicine in Georgia. Charles Meigs received his medical degree from the
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in 1817, and that summer he moved his family, which then included a one-year-old Montgomery, to Philadelphia and established a practice there. The Meigs family was wealthy and well-connected, and Charles Meigs was a strong supporter of the Democratic Party. Meigs had an extremely good memory, and his father instilled in him a sense of duty and a desire to pursue honorable causes. Young Montgomery received schooling at the
Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and a center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and wikt:statesman, statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin ...
and then a preparatory school for the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
. Meigs learned French, German, and
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, and studied art, literature, and poetry.Field, p. 74. He enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania when he was only 15 years old.Miller, p. 6. A hard worker, he was one of the top students at the university. The Meigs family had extensive ties to the military and to the
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
in
West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...
. Montgomery Meigs wished to serve in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
. West Point was the only well established engineering school in the United States at the time.Herrin, p. 4. Through family connections, Meigs won an appointment to West Point, entering in 1832. He excelled academically at West Point, although he said he spent too much time with athletics and outdoor activities. He was among the top three students in French and mathematics, and did well in history. He graduated fifth out of a class of 49 in 1836, and he had more good conduct merits that ranked in the top third his class. He received a commission as a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Artillery, but most of his army service was with the Corps of Engineers, in which he worked on important engineering projects. In his early assignments, Meigs helped build
Fort Mifflin Fort Mifflin, originally called Fort Island Battery and also known as Mud Island Fort, was commissioned in 1771 and sits on Mud Island (or Deep Water Island) on the Delaware River below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia International ...
and
Fort Delaware Fort Delaware is a former harbor defense facility, designed by chief engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River.Dobbs, Kelli W., et al. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Union / Unite ...
, both on the
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, and
Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...
on the
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. He also served under the command of then- Lt.
Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
to make navigational improvements on the
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. Beginning in 1844, Meigs also was involved with the construction of Fort Montgomery on
Lake Champlain Lake Champlain ( ; , ) is a natural freshwater lake in North America. It mostly lies between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and Vermont, but also extends north into the Canadian province of Quebec. The cities of Burlington, Ve ...
in upstate New York. Within a few days of each other, in late March 1853, Meigs became responsible for supervising both the building of the Washington Aqueduct and the enlargement of the United States Capitol. His favorite pre-Civil War engineering project was the
Washington Aqueduct The Washington Aqueduct is an Aqueduct (water supply), aqueduct that provides the public water supply system serving Washington, D.C., and parts of its suburbs, using water from the Potomac River. One of the first major aqueduct projects in the ...
, which he supervised from 1852 to 1860. It involved constructing the monumental
Union Arch Bridge The Union Arch Bridge, also called the Cabin John Bridge, is a historic masonry structure in Cabin John, Maryland, Cabin John, Maryland. It was designed as part of the Washington Aqueduct. The bridge construction began in 1857 and was completed ...
across
Cabin John Creek Cabin John Creek is a tributary stream of the Potomac River in Montgomery County, Maryland. The watershed covers an area of . The headwaters of the creek originate in the city of Rockville, and the creek flows southward for U.S. Geological Sur ...
, designed by Alfred L. Rives, which for 50 years remained the longest single-span masonry arch in the world. From 1853 to 1859, he also supervised the building of the wings and dome of the
United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...
and, from 1855 to 1859, the extension of the General Post Office Building. In the fall of 1860, as a result of a disagreement over procurement contracts, Meigs incurred the ill will of the
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
,
John B. Floyd John Buchanan Floyd (June 1, 1806 – August 26, 1863) was an American politician who served as the List of governors of Virginia, 31st Governor of Virginia. Under president James Buchanan, he also served as the U.S. Secretary of War from 1857 ...
, and was banished to Tortugas in the
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to construct fortifications there and at
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, including
Fort Jefferson, Florida Fort Jefferson is a former U.S. military coastal fortress in the Dry Tortugas National Park of Florida. It is the largest brick masonry structure in the Americas, covering and made with over 16 million bricks. Among United States forts, only ...
. Upon the resignation of Floyd a few months later, Meigs was recalled to his work on the aqueduct at Washington.


Civil War

Just before the outbreak of the Civil War, Meigs and Lt. Col. Erasmus D. Keyes were quietly charged by
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Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
and Secretary of State William H. Seward with drawing up a plan for the relief of
Fort Pickens Fort Pickens is a historic pentagonal United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. It is the largest of four forts built to defend Pensacol ...
in Florida, by means of a secret expedition. In April 1861, together with Lieutenant David D. Porter of the Navy, they carried out the expedition, embarking under orders from the President without the knowledge of either the Secretary of the Navy or the Secretary of War. On May 14, 1861, Meigs was appointed
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
, 11th U.S. Infantry, and on the following day, promoted to brigadier general and Quartermaster General of the Army. The previous Quartermaster General,
Joseph Johnston Joseph Johnston may refer to: * Joseph Johnston (Irish politician) (1890–1972), Irish academic, farmer and politician * Allan Johnston (politician) (Joseph Allan Johnston, 1904–1974), Liberal party member of the Canadian House of Commons * Josep ...
, had resigned and become a general in the Confederate Army. Meigs established a reputation for being efficient, hard-driving, and scrupulously honest. He molded a large and somewhat diffuse department into a great tool of war. He was one of the first to fully appreciate the importance of logistical preparations in military planning, and under his leadership, supplies moved forward and troops were transported over long distances with ever-greater efficiency.
James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the United States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as speaker of the U.S. House of Rep ...
, commenting on Meigs' work in the quartermaster's office, said:
Montgomery C. Meigs, one of the ablest graduates of the Military Academy, was kept from the command of troops by the inestimably important services he performed as Quartermaster General. Perhaps in the military history of the world there never was so large an amount of money disbursed upon the order of a single man ... The aggregate sum could not have been less during the war than fifteen hundred million dollars, accurately vouched and accounted for to the last cent.
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William H. Seward's estimated that "without the services of this eminent soldier the national cause must have been lost or deeply imperiled." While Meigs served as Quartermaster General throughout the war he went on an extensive inspection tour from August 1863 to January 1864. During that time Colonel Charles Thomas acted in his stead back in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Meigs' field services during the Civil War included command of
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
's base of supplies at Fredericksburg and Belle Plain, Virginia (1864); command of a division of War Department employees in the defense of Washington at the time of
Jubal A. Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was an American lawyer, politician and military officer who served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, ...
's raid (July 11 to 14, 1864); personally supervising the refitting and supplying of Major General
William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...
's army at
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(January 5 to 29, 1865), Goldsboro, and
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
and reopening Sherman's lines of supply (March to April 1865). He was brevetted to major general on July 5, 1864. A staunch Unionist, Meigs detested the Confederacy. His feelings led directly to the establishment of
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...
. On July 16, 1862, Congress passed legislation authorizing the U.S. federal government to purchase land for national cemeteries for military dead, and put the U.S. Army Quartermaster General in charge of this program. The Soldiers' Home in Washington, D.C., and the Alexandria Cemetery were the primary burying grounds for war dead in the D.C. area, but by late 1863 both cemeteries were full.Cultural Landscape Program, p. 84.
Accessed 2012-05-03.
In May 1864, Union forces suffered large numbers of dead in the
Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General (C ...
. Meigs ordered that an examination of eligible sites be made for the establishment for a large new national military cemetery. Within weeks, his staff reported that Arlington Estate was the most suitable property in the area. The property was high and free from floods (which might unearth graves), it had a view of the District of Columbia, and it was aesthetically pleasing. It was also the home of Robert E. Lee, future General-in-Chief of the Confederacy, whom Meigs considered a traitor, and denying Lee use of his home after the war was a valuable political consideration.Cultural Landscape Program, p. 88.
Accessed 2012-05-03.
Although the first military burial at Arlington had been made on May 13,Cultural Landscape Program, p. 86.
Accessed 2012-05-03.
Meigs did not authorize establishment of burials until June 15, 1864.Cultural Landscape Program, p. 85.
Accessed 2012-05-03.
Meigs ordered that the estate be surveyed and that be set aside for use as a cemetery.


The logistics system

There was a notable disparity between the Union and Confederate logistical situations. The Confederacy had a longstanding supply deficit, which only intensified as the war dragged on. Union forces, on the other hand, usually had enough food, ammunition, weapons, and other supplies. The Union logistics system, even as it penetrated deeper into the South, maintained its efficiency. Historians credit these achievements to Meigs. Union quartermasters were responsible for most of the $3 billion spent for the war. They operated out of sixteen major depots, which formed the basis of the system of procurement and supply throughout the war. As the war expanded, operation of these depots became much more complex, with an overlapping and interweaving relationship between the army and government operated factories, private factories, and numerous middlemen. The purchase of goods and services through contracts supervised by the quartermasters accounted for most of federal military expenditures, apart from the wages of the soldiers. The quartermasters supervised their own soldiers, and cooperated closely with state officials, manufacturers and wholesalers trying to sell directly to the army; and representatives of civilian workers looking for higher pay at government factories. The complex system was closely monitored by congressmen anxious to ensure that their districts won their share of contracts. The system grew in efficiency to the point Union troops on long marches would simply throw away excess knapsacks, bedrolls, overcoats, and other pieces of clothing and equipment that they felt were weighing them down, fully confident that they would be resupplied at some point in the near future.


Wartime deaths

In October 1864, his son, 1st Lieutenant John Rodgers Meigs, was killed at Swift Run Gap in Virginia and was buried at a Georgetown Cemetery. Lt. Meigs was part of a three-man patrol which ran into a three-man Confederate patrol. Lt. Meigs was killed, one man was captured, and one man escaped. To the end of his life, Meigs believed that his son had been murdered after being captured—despite evidence to the contrary. The younger Meigs was laid to rest in Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Both Abraham Lincoln and
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
Edwin M. Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. secretary of war under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...
attended the interment. He was later re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Meigs was also present for Lincoln's death. At 10:00 pm on the evening of April 14, 1865, Meigs heard that William Seward had been attacked by a knife-wielding assailant. Meigs rushed to Rodgers House, Seward's home on Lafayette Square just across the street from the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. Shortly after arriving at Seward's home, Meigs learned of the shooting of Lincoln. He rushed to the
Petersen House The Petersen House is a 19th-century Federal architecture, federal style row house in the United States in Washington, D.C., located at 516 10th Street NW, several blocks east of the White House. It is known for being the house where President o ...
across from
Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in 1863. The theater is best known for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box where ...
, where Lincoln lay dying. Meigs stood at the front door of the house for the rest of the deathwatch. He alone decided who was admitted to the house. When Lincoln died at 7:22 am on April 15, Meigs moved into the parlor to sit with the president's body. During Lincoln's funeral procession in the city five days later, Meigs rode at the head of two battalions of quartermaster corps soldiers.


Role in developing Arlington National Cemetery

Meigs played a critical role in developing Arlington National Cemetery, both during the Civil War and afterward. Although most burials initially occurred near the freedmen's cemetery in the estate's northeast corner, in mid-June 1864 Meigs ordered that burials commence immediately on the grounds of Arlington House. Brigadier General
René Edward De Russy René Edward De Russy (February 22, 1789 – November 23, 1865) was an engineer, military educator, and career United States Army officer who was responsible for constructing many Eastern United States coastal fortifications, as well as some fort ...
was living in Arlington House at the time and opposed the burial of bodies close to his quarters, forcing new interments to occur far to the west (in what is now Section 1 of the cemetery). But Meigs still demanded that officers be buried on the grounds of the mansion, around the Lees' former flower garden. The first officer burial had occurred there on May 17, but with Meigs' order another 44 officers were buried along the southern and eastern sides within a month. By May 31, more than 2,600 burials had occurred in the cemetery, and Meigs ordered that a white picket fence be constructed around the burial grounds. In December 1865, Robert E. Lee's brother, Smith Lee, visited Arlington House and observed that the house could be made livable again if the graves around the flower garden were removed.Cultural Landscape Program, p. 87.
Accessed 2012-05-03.
Meigs hated Lee for betraying the Union, and ordered that more burials occur near the house to make it politically impossible for disinterment to occur. Meigs himself designed and implemented most of the changes at the cemetery in the 15 years after the war. In 1865, for example, Meigs decided to build a monument to Civil War dead in the center of a grove of trees west of the Lee's flower garden.Cultural Landscape Program, p. 96.
Accessed 2012-04-29.
U.S. Army troops were dispatched to investigate every battlefield within a radius of the city of Washington, D.C. The bodies of 2,111 Union and Confederate dead were collected, most of them from the battlefields of
First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
and Second Bull Run, as well as the Union army's retreat along the
Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...
(which occurred after both battles). Although Meigs had not intended to collect the remains of Confederate war dead, the inability to identify remains meant that both Union and Confederate dead were interred below the cenotaph. U.S. Army engineers chopped down most of the trees and dug a circular pit about wide and deep into the earth. The walls and floor were lined with brick, and it was segmented it into compartments with mortared brick walls. Into each compartment were placed a different body part: skulls, legs, arms, ribs, etc. The vault was half full by the time it was ready for sealing in September 1866. Meigs designedPoole, p. 87. a tall, long, wide grey granite and concrete
cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...
to rest on top of the burial vault. The Civil War Unknowns Monument consists of two long, light grey granite slabs, with the shorter ends formed by sandwiching a smaller slab between the longer two. On the west face was an inscription describing the number of dead in the vault below, and honoring the "unknowns of the Civil War". Originally, a
Rodman gun Drawing comparing Model 1844 8-inch columbiad and Model 1861 10-inch "Rodman" columbiad. The powder chamber on the older columbiad is highlighted by the red box. The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed by ...
was placed on each corner, and a pyramid of shot adorned the center of the lid. A circular walk, centered from the center of the memorial, provided access. A walk led east to the flower garden, and another west to the road. Sod was laid around the memorial, and planting beds filled with
annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. Globally, 6% of all plant species and 15% of herbaceous plants (excluding trees and shrubs) are ...
s emplaced. Meigs made additional major changes to the cemetery in the 1870s. In 1870, he ordered that a "Sylvan Hall"—a series of three cruciform tree plantings, one inside the other—be planted in the "Field of the Dead" (in what is now Section 13). A year later, Meigs ordered the McClellan Gate constructed. Located just west of the intersection of what is today McClellan and Eisenhower Drives, this was originally Arlington National Cemetery's main gate. Built of red sandstone and red brick, the name "MCCLELLAN" tops the simple rectangular gate in gilt letters. But just below the name was inscribed the name "MEIGS"—a tribute to himself which Meigs could not help making.Poole, p. 89. Due to the growing importance of the cemetery as well as the much larger crowds attending Memorial Day observances, Meigs also decided a formal meeting space at the cemetery was needed. A grove of trees southwest of Arlington House was cut down, and an amphitheater (today known as the Tanner Amphitheater) was constructed in 1874.Cultural Landscape Program, p. 108.
Accessed 2012-05-03.
Meigs himself designed the amphitheater. Meigs continued to work to ensure that the Lee family could never take control of Arlington. In 1882, the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
ruled in '' United States v. Lee'' that the seizure of the Arlington estate at a tax sale by the United States was illegal, and returned the estate to
George Washington Custis Lee George Washington Custis Lee (September 16, 1832 – February 18, 1913), also known as Custis Lee, was the eldest son of Robert E. Lee and Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee. His grandfather, George Washington Parke Custis was the grandson of Marth ...
, General Lee's oldest son.Poole, 2009, p. 55. He, in turn, sold the estate back to the U.S. government for $150,000 in 1883. To commemorate the retention of the estate, in 1884 Meigs ordered that a Temple of Fame be erected in the Lee flower garden. The U.S. Patent Office building had suffered a massive fire in 1877. It was torn down and rebuilt in 1879, but the work went very slowly. Meigs ordered that stone columns,
pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
s, and
entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
s which had been saved from the Patent Office be used to construct the Temple of Fame. The Temple was a round,
Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
, temple-like structure with
Doric columns The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...
supporting a central dome. Inscribed on the pediment supporting the dome were the names of great Americans such as
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, and
David Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral, Vice admiral (United State ...
. A year after it was built, the names of Union Civil War generals were carved into its columns.Cultural Landscape Program, p. 122.
Accessed 2012-05-03.
Since not enough marble was available to rebuild the dome, a tin dome (molded and painted to look like marble) was installed, instead. The Temple of Fame was demolished in 1967.


Postbellum career and death

Meigs became a permanent resident of the District of Columbia after the war. He purchased a home located at 1239 Vermont Avenue NW (at the corner of Vermont Avenue and N Street). As Quartermaster General after the Civil War, Meigs supervised plans for the new War Department building (constructed between 1866 and 1867), the
National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...
(constructed in 1876), the extension of the Washington Aqueduct (constructed in 1876), and for a hall of records (constructed in 1878). Along with fellow Quartermaster Brigadier General Roeliff Brinkerhoff, Meigs edited a volume entitled, ''The Volunteer Quartermaster'', a treatise which was considered the standard guide for the officers and employees of the quartermaster's department up until World War I. From 1866 to 1868, to recuperate from the strain of his war service, Meigs visited Europe. From 1875 to 1876, he made another visit to study the organization of European armies, this time with nephew and Army officer Montgomery M. Macomb assigned as '' aide-de-camp''. After his retirement on February 6, 1882, he was succeeded by Daniel H. Rucker and became architect of the Pension Office Building, now home to the
National Building Museum The National Building Museum is a museum of architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning in Northwest Washington, D.C., U.S. It was created by an act of Congress in 1980, and is a private non-profit institution. Located at ...
. He was a regent of the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
, a member of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
, a co-founder of the
Philosophical Society of Washington Founded in 1871, the Philosophical Society of Washington is the oldest scientific society in Washington, D.C. It continues today as PSW Science. Since 1887, the Society has met regularly in the assembly hall of the Cosmos Club. In the Club's pre ...
, and one of the earliest members of the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
.


Pension Building (1882 to 1887)

Following the end of the Civil War, the US Congress passed legislation that greatly extended the scope of pension coverage for both veterans and their survivors and dependents, notably their widows and orphans. This greatly increased the number of staff needed to administer the new benefits system. More than 1,500 clerks were required, and a new building was needed to house them. Meigs was chosen to design and construct the new building, now the
National Building Museum The National Building Museum is a museum of architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning in Northwest Washington, D.C., U.S. It was created by an act of Congress in 1980, and is a private non-profit institution. Located at ...
. He broke away from the established Greco-Roman models that had been the basis of government buildings in Washington, D.C., until then, and was to continue following the completion of the Pension Building. Meigs based his design on Italian Renaissance precedents, notably Rome's
Palazzo Farnese Palazzo Farnese () or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French e ...
and Palazzo della Cancelleria. Included in his design was a long sculptured frieze executed by
Caspar Buberl Caspar Buberl (1834 – August 22, 1899) was an American sculptor. He is best known for his American Civil War, Civil War monuments, for the terra cotta relief panels on the James A. Garfield Memorial, Garfield Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio (d ...
. Since creating a work of sculpture of that size was well out of Meigs's budget, he had Buberl create 28 different scenes (totaling in length), which were then mixed and slightly modified to create the continuous long parade that includes over 1,300 figures. Because of the way the 28 sections are modified and mixed up, only somewhat careful examination reveals the frieze to be the same figures repeated over and over. The sculpture includes infantry, navy, artillery, cavalry, and medical components, as well as a good deal of the supply and quartermaster functions. Meigs's correspondence with Buberl reveals that Meigs insisted that one teamster, "must be a negro, a plantation slave, freed by war," be included in the quartermaster panel. This figure was ultimately to assume a position in the center, over the west entrance to the building. When
Philip Sheridan Philip Henry Sheridan (March 6, 1831 – August 5, 1888) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with General-i ...
was asked to comment on the building, his reply echoed the sentiment of many of the Washington establishment of the day, that the only thing that he could find wrong with the building was that it was fireproof. (A similar quote is also attributed to
William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...
, so the story might well be apocryphal.) The completed building, sometimes referred to as "Meigs's Old Red Barn", was created by using more than 15,000,000 bricks, which, according to the wits of the day, were all counted by the parsimonious Meigs.


Death

Meigs contracted a
cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjectivity, subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute t ...
on December 27, 1891. Within a few days, it turned into
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
. Meigs died at home at 5:00 pm on January 2, 1892. His body was interred with high military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. General orders issued at the time of his death declared, "the Army has rarely possessed an officer ... who was entrusted by the government with a great variety of weighty responsibilities, or who proved himself more worthy of confidence."


Family

In 1841, Meigs married Louisa Rodgers (1816–1879), the daughter of Commodore John Rodgers. Their children included: * John Rodgers Meigs (1842–1864), a West Point graduate and Army officer who was killed in action during the Civil War *Mary Montgomery Meigs (1843–1930), the wife of Army officer Joseph Hancock Taylor, who was the son of Union Army Brigadier General Joseph Pannell Taylor, and nephew of President
Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...
*Charles Delucena Meigs (1845–1853), who was named for Meigs' father * Montgomery Meigs (1847–1931), a civil engineer who enjoyed a long career in railroad, bridge, canal, power plant, and road construction *Vincent Trowbridge Meigs (1851–1853) *Louisa Rodgers Meigs (1854–1922), the wife of British journalist
Archibald Forbes Archibald Forbes (17 April 183830 March 1900) was a Scottish war correspondent. Early life and family He was the son of Very Rev Lewis William Forbes DD (1794–1854), minister of Boharm, Banffshire, and Moderator of the General Assembl ...


Honors

*
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Meigs was inducted into the Quartermaster Hall of Fame in its charter year of 1986. *In 2012, the
Georgia Historical Society The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, ex ...
erected a
historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...
at the birthplace of Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs in
Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...
. * Camp Meigs, in
Readville Readville is part of the Hyde Park neighborhood of Boston. Readville's ZIP Code is 02136. It was called Dedham Low Plains from 1655 until it was renamed after James Read, the owner of the Dedham Manufacturing Company along Mother Brook, in 184 ...
, Massachusetts was named after him.


Ships

*''General Meigs'', a Quartermaster Corps passenger and freight steamer built in 1892 and serving in the early 20th century. *, an Army transport ship sunk at
Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( Larrakia: ') is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australi ...
. *, a troop transport launched in 1944, serving in WWII and Korea.


See also

* List of American Civil War generals (Union)


References


Bibliography

*Atkinson, Rick. ''Where Valor Rests: Arlington National Cemetery.'' Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2007. *Bednar, Michael J. ''L' Enfant's Legacy: Public Open Spaces in Washington, D.C.'' Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. *Browning, Charles Henry. ''Americans of Royal Descent.'' Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing, 1911.
Cultural Landscape Program. ''Arlington House: The Robert E. Lee Memorial Cultural Landscape Report.'' National Capital Region. National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Washington, D.C.: 2001.
* Dickinson, William C. and Dean A. Herrin. ''Montgomery C. Meigs and the Building of the Nation's Capital'' (2002) * East, Sherrod E. "Montgomery C. Meigs and the Quartermaster Department." ''Military Affairs'' (1961): 183–196.
in JSTOR IN, In or in may refer to: Dans * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independen ...
*Eicher, John H. and Eicher, David J. ''Civil War High Commands.'' Palo Alto, Calif: Stanford University Press, 2001, . *Farwell, Byron. ''The Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Land Warfare.'' New York: Norton, 2001. *Field, Cynthia R. "A Rich Repast of Classicism: Meigs and Classical Sources." In ''Montgomery C. Meigs and the Building of the Nation's Capital.'' William C Dickinson, Dean A Herrin, and Donald R Kennon, eds. Athens, Ohio: United States Capitol Historical Society, 2001. * Freeman, Douglas S.br>''R. E. Lee, A Biography''
4 vol. New York: Scribners, 1934. *Hannan, Caryn, ed. ''Georgia Biographical Dictionary.'' Vol. 1. Hamburg, Mich.: State History Publications, 2008. *Herrin, Dean A. "The Eclectic Engineer: Montgomery C. Meigs and His Engineering Projects." In ''Montgomery C. Meigs and the Building of the Nation's Capital.'' William C Dickinson, Dean A Herrin, and Donald R Kennon, eds. Athens, Ohio: United States Capitol Historical Society, 2001. *Holt, Dean W. ''American Military Cemeteries.'' Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 2010. *Hughes, Nathaniel Cheairs and Ware, Thomas Clayton. ''Theodore O'Hara: Poet-Soldier of the Old South.'' Lexington, Ky.: University of Tennessee Press, 1998. *McDaniel, Joyce L. ''The Collected Works of Caspar Buberl: An Analysis of a Nineteenth Century American Sculptor'' Master's Thesis. Wellesley University, 1976. *Miller, David W. ''Second Only to Grant: Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs.'' Shippensburg, Pa.: White Maine Books, 2000. *Morton, Thomas G. ''The History of the Pennsylvania Hospital, 1751-1895.'' Philadelphia: Times Printing House, 1895. *Peters, James Edward. ''Arlington National Cemetery, Shrine to America's Heroes.'' Bethesda, Md.: Woodbine House, 2000. *Poole, Robert M. ''On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery.'' New York: Walker, 2009. * *Schama, Simon. ''The American Future: A History.'' New York: Ecco, 2009. *Scott, Pamela and Lee, Antoinette J. ''Buildings of the District of Columbia'', Oxford University Press, New York, 1993. *Ulbrich, David. "Montgomery Cunningham Meigs." In ''Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History.'' David S. Heidler, and Jeanne T. Heidler, eds. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. . *Weigley, Russell F
''Quartermaster General of the Union Army: A Biography of M.C. Meigs.''
New York: Columbia University Press, 1959. *Wilson, Mark R. ''The Business of Civil War: Military Mobilization and the State, 1861-1865.'' Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. *Wolff, Wendy, ed. ''Capitol Builder: The Shorthand Journals of Montgomery C. Meigs.'' Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001.


External links

*
National Academy of Sciences Biographical MemoirMeigs Family papers
at
Hagley Museum and Library The Hagley Museum and Library is a nonprofit educational institution in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near Wilmington. Covering more than along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, the museum and grounds include the first du Po ...

Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, U.S.A. historical marker – Georgia Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meigs, Montgomery C. 1816 births 1892 deaths 19th-century American architects Architects of the United States Capitol Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Logistics personnel of the United States military Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences People of Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War Military personnel from Augusta, Georgia Quartermasters General of the United States Army Southern Unionists in the American Civil War Union army generals United States Military Academy alumni Deaths from pneumonia in Washington, D.C. Meigs family Members of the American Philosophical Society