Josh The Lighthouse Guy
Major
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2012
- Location
- Jupiter, FL
James C. Duane was born in Schenectady, NY in 1824. His great-grandfather, James Duane, had been a member of the Continental Congress. He graduated West Point 3rd in the Class of 1848. He was just behind Andrew Jackson Donelson Jr. and just ahead of Walter H. Stevens, of later Confederate fame. Overall, the class produced some good engineers, but its only real claim to fame was John Buford. Also, somewhat notably, George H. Steuart (later commander of the ANV's Maryland troops) graduated second from last in the class.
Duane joined the Corps of Engineers. His antebellum service included two stints teaching engineering at West Point and two stints with the Company of Sappers, Miners, and Pontoniers (including commanding said company as a 1st Lt for just over two years just prior to secession). From Aug 1856 to Mar 1858 he was 3rd Lighthouse District Engineer, responsible for construction and repair projects on lighthouses in New York Harbor, the Hudson River, Long Island, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
Upon the secession of the Deep South, Duane was assigned to guard the capital. Around the time of Fort Sumter he was dispatched to Fort Pickens to assist in its defense. As with many engineers he was offered an Infantry commission (in this case: Captain, 12th Infantry) and, like most other engineers, he declined. He was promoted to Captain as part of the August 1861 promotion by one rank of all engineer officers.
During the winter of 1861-1862 he organized an Engineer Battalion for the Army of the Potomac which he then commanded during the Peninsular Campaign and Seven Days. He was Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac during the Antietam Campaign. Also during 1862 he wrote the Manual for Engineer Troops, the standard engineering manual for the Union Army for the rest of the war.
In November he was transferred to the Department of the South to serve there as Chief Engineer and involved in operations against Charleston.
With Gouvenor Warren's ascension to corps command after Gettysburg, Duane was recalled to the Army of the Potomac to again serve as its Chief Engineer, now with the permanent rank of Major. He served in that capacity for the rest of the war. He ended the war as a Brevet Brigadier General.
After the war he worked on various engineering projects in the northeast. This included 1st Lighthouse District Engineer (1868-1879), 2nd Lighthouse District Engineer (1870-1881), and 3rd Lighthouse District Engineer (1878-1886). Duane was Chief of Engineers during the last two years of his career (1886-1888), in which capacity he was also a member of the Lighthouse Board.
In 1870, he was on the board of engineers that produced the report Organization of the bridge equipage of the United States Army,with directions for the construction of military bridges. At some point he apparently also wrote an essay "History of the Bridge Equipage in the United States Army" which was probably abridged from the report in question.
After retiring from the Army at age 64, Duane was Commissioner of the Croton Aqueduct in New York City until his death in 1897.
Duane joined the Corps of Engineers. His antebellum service included two stints teaching engineering at West Point and two stints with the Company of Sappers, Miners, and Pontoniers (including commanding said company as a 1st Lt for just over two years just prior to secession). From Aug 1856 to Mar 1858 he was 3rd Lighthouse District Engineer, responsible for construction and repair projects on lighthouses in New York Harbor, the Hudson River, Long Island, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
Upon the secession of the Deep South, Duane was assigned to guard the capital. Around the time of Fort Sumter he was dispatched to Fort Pickens to assist in its defense. As with many engineers he was offered an Infantry commission (in this case: Captain, 12th Infantry) and, like most other engineers, he declined. He was promoted to Captain as part of the August 1861 promotion by one rank of all engineer officers.
During the winter of 1861-1862 he organized an Engineer Battalion for the Army of the Potomac which he then commanded during the Peninsular Campaign and Seven Days. He was Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac during the Antietam Campaign. Also during 1862 he wrote the Manual for Engineer Troops, the standard engineering manual for the Union Army for the rest of the war.
In November he was transferred to the Department of the South to serve there as Chief Engineer and involved in operations against Charleston.
With Gouvenor Warren's ascension to corps command after Gettysburg, Duane was recalled to the Army of the Potomac to again serve as its Chief Engineer, now with the permanent rank of Major. He served in that capacity for the rest of the war. He ended the war as a Brevet Brigadier General.
After the war he worked on various engineering projects in the northeast. This included 1st Lighthouse District Engineer (1868-1879), 2nd Lighthouse District Engineer (1870-1881), and 3rd Lighthouse District Engineer (1878-1886). Duane was Chief of Engineers during the last two years of his career (1886-1888), in which capacity he was also a member of the Lighthouse Board.
In 1870, he was on the board of engineers that produced the report Organization of the bridge equipage of the United States Army,with directions for the construction of military bridges. At some point he apparently also wrote an essay "History of the Bridge Equipage in the United States Army" which was probably abridged from the report in question.
After retiring from the Army at age 64, Duane was Commissioner of the Croton Aqueduct in New York City until his death in 1897.
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