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Montgomery C. Meigs the Man, the Myth, the Legend Early Life

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Montgomery C. Meigs the Man, the Myth, the Legend Early Life Montgomery C. Meigs The Man, The Myth, The Legend Early Life • Born in Augusta, Georgia to Charles Delucena Meigs and Mary Montgomery Meigs on May 3, 1816 • In 1817, the family moved to Philadelphia because Mary was was strongly opposed to slavery • Family home named Hamanassett • Charles Meigs was a physician / professor of Midwifery and Diseases of Woman and Children at Jefferson Medical College Early Life • Education: • 1831: Began at the University of Pennsylvania • Summer, 1832: Transferred to West Point Military Academy • July 1, 1836: Graduated 5th in his class University of Pennsylvania West Point West Point diploma 1836 Character Traits • Kept meticulous notes, but wrote in shorthand • Incorruptible; did not like to spend money • Egotistical “The handwriting of this report is that of General Meigs, and I therefore approve of it, but I cannot read it.” --- General William Tecumseh Sherman Family • 1839: Marries Louisa Rodgers Meigs • Children: • John Rodgers (1842-1864) • Mary Montgomery (1843-1930) • Charles Delucena (1845-1853) • Montgomery Jr. (1847-1931) • Vincent Trowbridge (1851-1853) • Louisa Rodgers (1853-1925) • 1853: The family permanently settles in D.C. where they would live for the duration of their lives Family – What do we know? Louisa • Daughter of the Commodore John Rodgers, hero of the War of 1812 • Described as “moral and spiritual guide” of the family • Devoted mother; would do anything for the well-being of her children • Loved to spend money Family – What do we know? John Rodgers • Beloved by his father and mother • 1859-1863: Attends West Point • Promoted to first lieutenant in the US Corps of Engineers after graduation Family Mary Montgomery Meigs Taylor Louisa Rodgers Meigs Forbes Meigs family home 1239 Vermont Ave NW Early Career • 1836/1837: Joins the Army Corps of Engineers and is sent to superintend improvements to the Mississippi River • 1837-1841: Worked in Philadelphia, mainly around the Delaware River and Fort Delaware • 1841-1849: Assigned to Detroit to be the superintending engineer of Fort Detroit • 1849: Moved on to supervise construction of Fort Montgomery around Lake Champlain in New York • 1852: Assigned to Washington D.C. Washington Aqueduct • 1852: Congress appropriated funding ($5,000) for this project in response to a fire at the Library of Congress one year prior • 1853: Broke ground in Great Falls, Congress appropriated $100,000 • 1863: Construction complete; final cost $2.4 million • Begins at Great Falls (control gatehouse) and spans twelve miles going through 11 tunnels, 6 bridges, pump stations, pipelines, and 2 reservoirs and ends at two separate points: Georgetown Reservoir and the Dalecarlia Reservoir • During construction in 1864, the main span was the longest single-span masonry arch in the world • Today, the Aqueduct brings public water to all of Washington, Arlington County, Falls Church, 50 square feet of Fairfax County, and major federal buildings (Pentagon, Fort Meyer, Andrews Airforce Base, the Defense Mapping Agency, and National Airport) Cabin John Bridge U.S. Capitol • 1853: Brought on to supervise the Capitol by then Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis • Primary goal: find a way to ventilate the chambers • Figured out the best way to raise the cast iron needed for the dome • Designed the scaffolding that would be used from the rotunda to the dome Minton Tiles Purchased by Meigs Installed in 1853 Constantino Brumidi Brumidi Corridors The Apotheosis of Washington The Frieze of American History • Mid 1850’s: Meigs and Walters feud • Meigs took credit for Walters accomplishments • Walter refused to hand over drawings because Meigs often changed them without consultation. Meigs retaliated by refusing to approve the pay of Walters draftsmen • Walters tried to cut Meigs and take his job Thomas Ustick Walters • John B. Floyd became Secretary of War after Jefferson Davis in 1857 • Described as a “political hack,” Meigs would frequently deny Floyd’s requests and complain to Congress • September 18, 1860: Meigs is banished to Fort Jefferson (Dry Tortugus – off the coast of Florida) John B. Floyd “The Foreman and others employed under the late Superintendence of Capt. M.C. Meigs upon the Capitol and Post Office Extension and the New Dome, Holding in high estimation his moral worth and exalted talents Present to Him This Silver Set as a Memorial Thereof and direct the following resolutions, unanimously passed by them, Dec. 5th, 1859 to be inscribed hereon…” “…very pleasant proof that I have not failed to do my duty towards them as well as towards the United States.” --- MCM to John Rodgers Civil War • December 1860: Secretary of War Floyd resigns from his office • January 1861: Meigs is ordered back to Washington • April 1861: Left for a secret mission to Key West and Fort Pickens to secure Union fortifications • June 1861: Meigs is promoted to Brigadier General and Quartermaster General Quartermaster General May 15, 1861 – February 6, 1882 • What were the responsibilities of the Quartermaster General? • Provided means for transportation (land and water) for troops and war materials • Furnishes horses with artillery and cavalry • Assigns horses/mules to wagon trains • Builds supply/sleeping tents and supplies camp equipment • Constructs and repairs roads, railroads, and bridges • Clothed the Army • Supervised the burials of dead solders Quartermaster General Staff, 1865 Present day Renwick Gallery Used as an office from 1862 - 1869 • April 1861: Virginia secedes to the Confederacy and Lee is made Commander in Chief of the Virginia forces “No man who ever took the oath to support the Constitution as an officer of our army or navy, a graduate of West Point, a member of Congress or Cabinet, & who has since actively engaged in rebellion in any civil or military station should escape without loss of all his goods & civil rights & expatriation. The leaders should be put formally out of the way if possible by sentence of death executed if ever caught.” - MC Meigs about R.E. Lee Robert E. Lee Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery • May 1861: Robert E. Lee’s wife, Mary Custis Lee, officially vacated Arlington House • One week later, Union forces took over the home • Summer 1864: Meigs toured the property and found it suitable for his needs • Meigs evicted the Union troops that had set up headquarters at Arlington House and placed chaplains to assist with burials • August 1864: The first set of burials took place – 26 in total - at the foot of Lee’s rose bushes • October 3, 1864: John is killed on Swift Run Gap Road near Dayton, VA by guerrilla Confederates • In return, John’s commander, Phillip Sherman, had all buildings/houses within 5 miles of the murder be burned • John Rodgers’ body was temporary buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown • President Lincoln and many of his Cabinet attended the funeral • John Rodgers’ death inspired Meigs to make Arlington into a national cemetery • September 1866: Recovery crews found the last of the unknowns from Manassas and nearby battlefields. Meigs asked for the remains to be sent to Arlington. • Meigs had laborers dig another large pit (20 feet deep, 20 inches around) slightly southwest of Ms. Lee’s rose bushes. • Number of unknowns: 2,111 Post War • April 9, 1865 General Lee surrenders at Appomattox • April 15, 1865: Lincoln is assassinated • Meigs was present at Lincoln’s deathbed and guarded the door of the Peterson House Post War • 1866-1868: Meigs travels to Europe to recover from war, and visits again in 1876 • 1868-1882: Oversaw construction of the new War Department building and drew up plans/served as a consulting engineer for the National Museum (presently Arts & Industries Building) • 1882: Retires as Quartermaster General Honors • Elected member of the American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of the Sciences, and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion • Belonged to a group called the ‘Saturday Club’ where men would come together and discuss the latest innovations in science • 1885: Selected as regent of the Smithsonian Institution Death • January 2, 1892: Died of pneumonia • Buried in section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery along with Louisa (1879) and John Rodgers (1864) • Designed his own sarcophagus and wrote his own epitaph “General Meigs was personally a man of kind and amiable character, of strict probity and sense of right, and of great breadth of intellect. The army has rarely possessed an officer who combined within himself so many and valuable attainments and who was entrusted by the Government with a greater variety of weighty responsibilities or who proved himself more worthy of confidence. There are few whose character and career can be more justly commended or whose lives are more worthy of respect, admiration, and emulation.” --- Obituary from the headquarters of the army.
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