William H. Emory
| William Hemsley Emory | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
September 7, 1811 Queen Anne's County, Maryland |
| Died | December 1, 1887 (aged 76) Washington, D.C. |
| Place of burial | Congressional Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
United States of America Union |
| Service/branch |
United States Army Union Army |
| Years of service | 1831–1836, 1838–1876 |
| Rank |
 Major General
|
| Commands held | XIX Corps |
| Battles/wars |
Mexican-American War American Civil War |
William Hemsley Emory (September 7, 1811 – December 1, 1887) was a prominent American surveyor and civil engineer in the 19th century. United States Army officer and surveyor of Texas.
Emory was born in Queen Anne's County, Maryland, on his family's "Poplar Grove" estate. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and graduated in 1831. Assigned as a second lieutenant, he served in the Fourth Artillery until he resigned from the service in 1836 to pursue civil engineering, but he returned to the service in 1838. During that same year, he married a great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin, Matilda Wilkins Bache of Philadelphia. The couple would have three children.
During his second stint in the army, he was successively promoted from lieutenant to captain and finally to major. He specialized in mapping the United States border, including the Texas-Mexico border, and the Gadsden Purchase (1854–1857).
William H. Emory was most importantly a topographical engineer and explorer. He conducted boundary surveys of both the Mexico–United States border (1848–1853) as well as the Canada–United States border (1844–1846). His mapmaking skills were so superb and detailed with such great accuracy that he often made other maps obsolete; thus making him the authority of the trans-Mississippi west. Accompanying General Stephen W. Kearny he wrote Notes of a Military Reconnaissance from Fort Leavenworth to San Diego which became an important guide book for the road to Southern California.
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