Joseph Totten
| Joseph Gilbert Totten | |
|---|---|
Joseph Gilbert Totten
|
|
| Born |
August 23, 1788 New Haven, Connecticut |
| Died | April 22, 1864 (aged 75) Washington, D.C. |
| Place of burial | Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C. |
| Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1805–1806, 1808–1864 |
| Rank |
 Brigadier General Brevet Major General
|
| Commands held | Corps of Engineers |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
| Relations |
James Totten (brother) C. A. L. Totten (nephew) Joseph K. Mansfield (cousin) |
Joseph Gilbert Totten (August 23, 1788 – April 22, 1864) fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief of Engineers and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences.
General Joseph G. Totten was born in New Haven, Connecticut to Peter Gilbert Totten and Grace Mansfield. He was one of only three cadets to graduate from the United States Military Academy as part of the class of 1805 and was the 10th graduate in the Academy's history. He was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers on July 1, 1805.
He resigned in March 1806 to assist his uncle, Major Jared Mansfield, who was then serving as Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory. Major General Joseph K. Mansfield, who died at the Battle of Antietam, was his cousin.
Totten re-entered the Corps of Engineers in February 1808 and assisted in building Castle Williams and Castle Clinton in New York harbor.
During the War of 1812, he was Chief Engineer of the Niagara frontier and Lake Champlain armies under General Stephen Van Rensselaer. At the Battle of Queenston Heights, he fought alongside Winfield Scott, who used Totten's cravat as a white flag to signal the American surrender. He was brevetted lieutenant colonel for gallant conduct in the Battle of Plattsburgh. As a member of the first permanent Board of Engineers, to which he was appointed in 1816, along with General Simon Bernard, he laid down durable principles of coast defense construction in a report to Congress in 1821.
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