Meigs Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4—1856 JAN. 1ST. I begin a new volume of my journal with the new year. I find myself at Washington engaged as I have been for the last 3 years. I arrived in Washington on the 3rd of November, 1852. I came here to take charge of the survey to supply Washington with water. Having made a survey and a project which met with favor from the people and from the government, an appropriation having been made for building the aqueduct which I had designed, I was placed in charge of the work. At this time a new administration, that of Mr. Pierce, coming into power and the popular belief being that the management of the works of the building of the extension of the Capitol was cor- rupt, it was determined to place an engineer officer in charge of them. I was selected for this purpose. And I have now for some time been in charge of the Capitol extension, the Washington aqueduct, the building of the new cast iron dome upon the Capitol, the extension of the general Post Office building, and the construction of Fort Madison at Annapolis. The management of all these works give me ample employment. They have been the means of giving me some name and reputation among my friends. They have also been a means of giving me much knowledge, so that I am at this moment a much more competent engineer and businessman than I was when I was first placed in charge of them. I believe I have done my duty. I know that I have tried to, and I seem to have succeeded in giving satisfaction to those who, under my direction, are engaged in the control of these great works. To my superiors, the President and the cabinet, I have the best assurances that I have given satisfaction. They treat me with a confidence that is pleasant. I have spent in the past year somewhere near a million of money. I have wronged no man of a cent. The public creditor, the day laborer and the merchant have alike received from me the last cent that they have earned. That this has been done is, I believe, the opinion of all who have had dealings with me. So far as my public duties are concerned, I begin the new year with a clear conscience that I have tried to do my duty. *** 349 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 15:48 Mar 18, 2002 Jkt 066601 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 1021 Sfmt 1021 D:\MEIGS\66601.004 APPS17 PsN: APPS17 350 JANUARY 1856 [JAN. 1 CONT.] The year opens upon us with a bright and beautiful day. The ground is covered with ice from the ll of a late storm, but this day is beautiful. I went to the President’s levee. I found not so great a crowd as I have sometimes seen there. From his levee, I went to call upon the Secretary of War, Colonel Jefferson Davis. He is my superior and my friend. I called also upon General Totten, the Chief Engineer. His house was not open. They have a sick daughter dying of consumption. The General has always in the course of my service treated me with friend- ship and with confidence. Through his strong recommendation when called upon to detail an officer for the charge of the Capitol extension, I got my present position. For keeping it, I am indebted to Him who gave me the ability to discharge its duties and the wisdom, when at- tacked by intriguers, to keep my temper and restrain my tongue. After several other calls, I returned home. We had a pleasant dinner, which the children enjoyed. I have now 4 children: John, who is nearly 14; Mary, between 12 and 13; Montgomery, who is nearly 9; and Lou- isa, who is 11⁄2. They are bright children whom any parent would be proud of. And with their mother, my dear Louisa, who is in all the trials and enjoyments of life my companion and my comfort, I have nothing to desire except perhaps a little better share of this world’s goods; for, while I spend thousands daily, we are poor. My pay is about $1,800 per year, a sum not sufficient in this city to support my family decently and to pay for the schooling of my children. However, if I succeed in the works I now have under my direction, I believe that Congress cannot fail to vote to me some sum as confidence for the great labor and responsibility which I have borne for the last 3 years. In the meantime I work, and my father assists me with a yearly al- lowance of $300, which he is more apt to exceed than to give less. My wife’s mother and sister, Mrs. Commodore Rodgers and her daughter, live with us. The house belongs to her, so that we are free from rent, and she pays for her share of the expense of the household $600 per year. Thus we live, and I have not the satisfaction of knowing that I am putting anything aside for a time of sickness or misfortune or to support my family if I am taken away. If it were not for this, I should feel little for my small pay. I find in the daily work of my present charges the employment most congenial to my tastes. The magnificent building which is going up under my direction and which owes much of its beauty and magnifi- cence to me, all its fitness for its purpose, the great aqueduct of which I am the author and the constructor—all of these are subjects to employ the thoughts and time of any man worthily. In building these, and VerDate 11-MAY-2000 15:48 Mar 18, 2002 Jkt 066601 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 1021 Sfmt 1021 D:\MEIGS\66601.004 APPS17 PsN: APPS17 JANUARY 1856 351 the aqueduct especially, I am not living in vain, but when I die shall be able to feel that I have done some good in my day and generation. [JAN.] 2ND. At the office today. Mr. Walter tells me that Mr. Hum- phrey, 1 who promised to me that he would never again while in my employment taste a drop of any intoxicating drink, has been in a grog shop near the foot of Capitol Hill and there repeated conversations which he had heard between myself and Winter, the contractor. Mr. Walter told me of this but under charge of not repeating it. I am not therefore able to act upon it. This young man was dismissed from the Engineer Department, where he had been for many years, in con- sequence of his having become so irregular in his habits that General Totten could no longer put up with him. He is smart and intelligent, a most excellent draftsman, quiet and useful. But these habits, which I knew of when I took him, taking him indeed only upon the solemn promise that he would amend and out of pity for his forlorn and des- titute situation, for he has a family, make him unreliable. I am sorry for his lapse, which will no doubt soon show itself in such a way as to compel me to take notice of it, the only notice possible being his discharge. I had the old cornice of the Senate building examined under the portico today. It is built, as my outside inspection showed, in 3 courses. They go nearly through the wall. Every alternate stone seems to be intended to cover the whole wall. The bed of the upper blocks is 5 feet 6 inches; that of the lower, 2 feet 6 inches. I am concerned about the price of Provost and Winter’s cornice, for it is a heavy work and one upon which they must make money if they are to make money out of this contract. I ordered today some books upon photography. Mr. Rives says that he would like to study the art. The reduction of our drawings of the Capitol and other works, especially the details, would be a work of great cost if done by draftsmen in the ordinary way. By photography, I think it can be done for a small sum, and they can be brought into small compass. *** [JAN.] 3RD. I was principally engaged at the office today in working out the cost of the cornice of the old building that is of the mode of construction adopted in the old building. With this I can perhaps make a proper estimate of the price which should be paid to the contractors for making the cornice in the manner which I have adopted for the new one. They should lose no money by the change but should be 1 G.C. Humphrey was a draftsman on the Capitol extension, 1855–1860. VerDate 11-MAY-2000 15:48 Mar 18, 2002 Jkt 066601 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 1021 Sfmt 1021 D:\MEIGS\66601.004 APPS17 PsN: APPS17 352 JANUARY 1856 paid so as to receive the same profit that they would have had upon the old mode of construction. I found that Mr. Sonnemann had made a bad mistake in the design of one of the parts of the derrick for the dome. He had made a block in such a way that the rope could not run without coming in contact with the cast iron cover of the [sheave]. This will require changing, and I fear that I will be obliged to alter a good deal of the arrangement of this derrick.

Load more