John G. Barnard
| John G. Barnard | |
|---|---|
John G. Barnard
|
|
| Born |
May 19, 1815 Sheffield, Massachusetts |
| Died | May 14, 1882 (aged 66) Detroit, Michigan |
| Place of burial | Barnard Cemetery Sheffield, Massachusetts |
| Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1833–1881 |
| Rank |
 Colonel Brigadier General Brevet Major General
|
| Commands held |
Superintendent, U.S. Military Academy Chief Engineer, Department of Washington Chief Engineer, Army of the Potomac Chief Engineer, U.S. Field Armies |
| Battles/wars |
Mexican-American War American Civil War |
John Gross Barnard (May 19, 1815 – May 14, 1882) was a career engineering officer in the U.S. Army, serving in the Mexican-American War, as the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy and as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He served as Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac, 1861 to 1862, Chief Engineer of the Department of Washington from 1861 to 1864, and as Chief Engineer of the armies in the field from 1864 to 1865. He also was a distinguished scientist, engineer, mathematician, historian and author.
John G. Barnard was born into a large and gifted family in Sheffield, Massachusetts. His brother, Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard was a longtime educator and president of Columbia University and namesake of Barnard College in New York City. Both John and Frederick, as well as most members of their family, suffered from a hereditary form of deafness which intensified in later years. In early life, when stationed in New Orleans, Barnard married Jane Elizabeth Brand, of Maryland, with whom he had four children. In 1860, he married Anna E. Hall of Harford County, Maryland, with whom he had three children.
In 1833, at the age of 18, Barnard graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, second in a class of forty-three cadets. As one of the top graduates of his class, he was posted as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, embarking on a 48-year career in that branch.
Barnard's first assignment after being commissioned was as an assistant to Colonel Joseph G. Totten in constructing Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island from 1833 to 1834. Totten was the foremost American military engineer of his day and served as Chief Engineer of the Army for much of Barnard's career. There the two formed a close friendship as evidenced by Barnard's extensive eulogy of Totten which was published in 1866.
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