728..(Born
Vt.)
Benjamin Alvord
(Ap’d Vt.)
Military History. —
Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1829, to July 1, 1833, when he was
graduated and promoted in the Army to
Bvt.
Second Lieut., 4th Infantry, July 1, 1833.
Served: in garrison
at Baton Rouge, La., 1833-35, – and Key West, Fla., 1835;
(Second Lieut., 4th
Infantry, July 21, 1835)
in the Florida War
against the Seminole Indians, 1835-37, being engaged in the Skirmishes at
Camp Izard, Feb. 27, 28, 29, and March 5, 1836, – Action of Oloklikaha,
Mar. 31, 1836 – and Combat of
(First Lieut., 4th
Infantry, Sep. 23, 1836)
Thlonotosassa Creek,
Apr. 27, 1836; at the Military Academy, 1837-39, as Asst. Professor of
Mathematics, Sep. 28 to Nov. 5, 1837, – and as Principal Asst. Professor
of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, Nov. 5, 1837, to Aug. 28, 1839;
(Capt., Staff –
Asst. Quartermaster, July 7, 1838: Declined)
on frontier duty in
Cherokee Nation, 1839-40, – and Ft. Gibson, I. T., 1840; as Adjutant, 4th
Infantry, at Regimental headquarters, Apr. 1 to July 29, 1840; on frontier
duty at Ft. Smith, Ark., 1841, – Survey of Military Road from Ft. Gibson,
I. T., to Ft. Wayne, I. T., 1841, – and Ft. Gibson, I. T., 1841; in the
Florida War against the Seminole Indians, 1841-42, being engaged on an
Expedition against Billy Bowlegs, in Big Cypress Swamp, Nov., 1841, to
Mar., 1842, participating in the Skirmish of Dec. 22, 1841; on frontier
duty at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1842-44, – and Camp Salubrity, at
Natchitoches, La., 1844-45; in Military Occupation of Texas, 1845-46; in
the War with Mexico, 1846, being engaged in the Battle of Palo Alto, May
8, 1846,
(Bvt. Captain, May
9, 1846, for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in the Battles of
Palo Alto and Resaca-de-la-Palma, Tex.)
– and Battle of
Resaca-de-la-Palma, May 9, 1846; on Recruiting Service, 1846-47; in the
War with Mexico, as Chief of Staff of Major Lally’s column on its march
from Vera Cruz to the City of
(Captain, 4th
Infantry, Sep. 9, 1846, to June 22, 1854)
Mexico, July-Dec.,
1847, being engaged in Defense of Convoy, at Paso de Ovejas, Aug. 10,
National Bridge, Aug. 12, Cerro Gordo, Aug. 15, and Las Animas, Aug. 19,
1847,
(Bvt. Major, Aug 15,
1847, for Gallant and Meritorious Conduct in Several Affairs
with Guerrilleros at
Paso de Ovejas, National Bridge, and Cerro Gordo, Mex.)
– and Combat at
Huamantla, Oct. 9, 1847; in garrison at East Pascagoula, Mis., 1848; on
frontier duty at Ft. Gratiot, Mich., 1848-52; in garrison at Ft. Columbus,
N. Y., 1852; on frontier duty at Benicia, Cal., 1852; – Ft. Dalles, Or.,
1852-53, – and constructing Military Road in Southern
(Major, Staff –
Paymaster, June 22, 1854)
Oregon, 1853-54; and
as Chief Paymaster of the Department of Oregon, June 22, 1854, to July 7,
1862.
Served during the
Rebellion of the Seceding States, 1852-66: in command
(Brig.-General, U.
S. Volunteers, Apr. 15, 1862)
of the District of
Oregon, July 7, 1862, to Mar. 26, 1865; in waiting orders, Mar. 26 to
(Bvt. Lieut.-Col,
and Bvt. Colonel, Mar. 13, 1865, and Bvt. Brig.-General, U. S. Army, Apr.
9, 1865, for Faithful and Meritorious Services during the Rebellion)
Sep. 13, 1865.
Resigned, as
Brig.-General, U. S. Volunteers, Aug. 8, 1865.
Served: as Paymaster
at New York city, Oct. 1, 1865, to May 15, 1867; as Chief Paymaster of the
District of Omaha, May 25, 1867, to Apr. 15, 1869, – and of the Department
of the Platte,
(Paymaster-General of the U.S. Army, Jan. 1, 1872, with Rank of Colonel,
and of Brigadier-General, July 22, 1876)
Apr. 15, 1869, to
Dec. 28, 1871; and in charge of the Paymaster-General’s Office, Jan. 1,
1872, to June 8, 1880.
Retired from Active
Service, June 8, 1880,
at his own request,
having served over 45 years.
Civil History. —
Author of memoir on “The Tangencies of Circles and of Spheres,” 1855 (8th
Vol. Of “Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge”), – and on “The
Interpretation of Imaginary Roots in questions of Maxima and Minima,” 1860
(April Number of “Mathematical Monthly)”; of “Memoir on the Intersection
of Circles, and the Intersection of Spheres,” 1860, and, with extensions,
read, 1878, before the National Academy of Sciences; and of numerous
Essays and Reviews, 1833-67. Degree of A.M. conferred by the University
of Vermont, 1854.
Died, Oct. 16, 1884,
at Washington, D. C.: Aged 71.
BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCH.
Brigadier-General
Benjamin Alvord was born, Aug. 18, 1813, at Rutland, Vt. Here he grew up
to manhood an earnest youth, studious in habit, and imbibing an ardent
love of nature from every fountain of the beauty and grandeur of his
native State, diversified by hills and valleys, elevated plateaus and
soaring mountains, and fringed on one side with historic lakes, and on the
other with the most picturesque of rivers. Here he learned the lessons of
patriotism which have characterized the Green Mountain boys since the days
of Ticonderoga and Bennington. And here, by the example of Allen, Stark,
Warner, and other Revolutionary heroes, was implanted that love of
military fame which made the enthusiastic lad a soldier of his country.
At the age of
sixteen, Alvord entered the Military Academy, where he developed decided
mathematical talents, being always among the first to work out difficult
extra problems, and was noted for his ingenious application of geometrical
methods in their solution.
Upon his graduation,
July 1, 1833, he was promoted to the Fourth Infantry, in which
distinguished regiment he served over twenty years, himself adding not a
little to its merited reputation. After two years of garrison duty at
Baton Rouge and Key West, he went to Florida, the Seminole War having
opened with Dade’s Massacre and the threatened destruction of the
population of the State, for none could tell at what moment, or in what
manner, they would be assailed and subjected to the most cruel and brutal
death. Though the troops did their best and fought bravely at Camp Izard,
Oloklikaha, and Thlonotosassa Creek, in all of which actions Alvord took
an active part, the campaign of 1836 was a failure, and, without any
knowledge of the county, it could scarcely be otherwise. The theatre of
operations was in a dense wilderness, where every hommock and swamp was a
natural citadel garrisoned by unseen savages, who could sortie from their
places of safety to the attack of exposed parties, and, if pressed, return
to their hiding places withe the fleetness of deer.
Alvord was soon
relieved from the constant watching, daily disappointments, and weary
marches against this Parthian foe, for a more congenial employment at the
Military Academy as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics, from which
department he was soon transferred to become the Principal Assistant
Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, holding that position,
to the great advantage of the Academy, till Aug. 28, 1839, when he was
ordered to frontier duty in the Indian Territory, where at various posts
he remained two years.
The Florida War had
continued with varying success, when, in 1841, Alvord was again ordered to
that pestilential region. While the northern settlements of the State
were as well protected as human skill and military means could devise, the
available force of the Army, aided by the Navy, was directed against the
Southern Indians, who counted upon all immunity from danger, environed as
they were by swamps, deep mud, mangrove bushes, and a large expanse of
everglades. Here were to be seen dragoons wading in water waist-deep, the
artillery and infantry picking their way along oozy paths amid cypress
stamps and shining alligators, and sailors and marines alternately serving
in boats and on dry land. With fortitude, for months, all bore the toils
and privations of this amphibious life in the Big Cypress Swamp till the
Indians were dispersed, and taught that white men could penetrate to their
securest strongholds.
From Florida, Alvord
again went to the Western frontier, and in July 1845, joined the “Army of
Occupation,” under General Taylor, to take possession of Texas, which “had
become an integral part of our Union.” This involved the United States in
the War with Mexico, hostilities beginning upon the Rio Grande, where were
fought the Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca-de-la-Palma, in both of which
Alvord participated and won his brevet of Captain for his “gallant and
meritorious conduct” in these engagements.
For a year Alvord
was detached on recruiting service, after which he gain took the field as
Chief of Staff of Major Lally’s column, “a little more than a thousand
strong,” convoying sixty-four wagons from Vera Cruz to the City of
Mexico. The Mexican guerillas (1,200 to 2,000) believing that a large
quantity of specie was being transported in the train, attacked it, Aug.
10, 1847, at Paso de Ovejas, – a strong position behind the ruins of a
stone house upon a hill. In this spirited engagement, “Alvord,” says
major Lally, “distinguished himself by his example of coolness and courage
in rallying the men, and leading them up to charge the height and stone
house in front and on the right, from which the enemy delivered a very
heavy fire.” On the twelfth, Lally’s column was again met in force by the
enemy at the National Bridge, but, though our loss was severe, the
guerrillas were beaten and forced to retreat. The struggle was renewed
with vigor on the fifteenth, from the various strongholds of Cerro Gordo,
where, four months before, General Scott had gained a great victory over
Santa Anna. Though the enemy had been severely punished in these
engagements, a fourth attack was made on the nineteenth, at Las Animas.
In this last, Major Lally being wounded, the command of the column
devolved upon Captain Alvord, who continued its march to the city of
Jalapa, which he occupied the next day. In this series of actions great
gallantry, fortitue, and perseverance had been shown by these raw troops,
whose total casualties amounted to one hundred and five, while those of
the enemy were much greater. Alvord’s dauntless pluck, skillful
leadership, and good judgment did much for our success, and his merits
were recognized by the bestowal upon him of the brevet of Major “for
gallant and meritorious conduct” in these engagements.
Lally’s command,
after resting at Jalapa to refit the train, recruit the animals, and
provide for the sick and wounded, resumed its march, and under General
Lane, whom Lally had joined, encountered Santa Anna, with four thousand
Mexicans, on October 9th, at Huamantla, in which combat Alvord
did good service.
After the Mexican
War had terminated, Alvord was in garrison at various posts. While in
Southern Oregon, constructing a military road, he was appointed, June 22,
1854, a Paymaster with the rank of Major, and for six years continued in
Oregon as the Chief Paymaster of that department.
Upon the breaking
out of the War of the Rebellion, Alvord hastened to offer his services for
active duty in the field. President Lincoln, so soon as apprised of
Alvord’s military qualifications and high character, appointed him, Apr.
15, 1862, a Brigadier-General, U. S. Volunteers, and assigned him to the
command of the Direst of Oregon, embarcing nearly the same territory as
the present Department of Columbia. Although far from the scene of actual
hostilities, his command was by no means an unimportant one. Fidelity,
prudence, decision, and vigilance were absolutely needed, and these he
possessed in an eminent degree. His administration of military affairs in
this district, remote from Washington, from July 7, 1862, to March 26,
1865, required great discretion, and it is needless to say that he
acquitted himself of his trust to the entire satisfaction of the
Government, which bestowed upon him three brevets for his “faithful and
meritorious services.”
Alvord resigned his
Brigadier-Generalship of Volunteers, Aug. 8, 1865, and resumed his duties
of Paymaster at New York city, from whence he was transferred as Chief
Paymaster of the District of Omaha till Apr. 15, 1869, and then of the
Platte till Dec. 28, 1871. His long and valuable services now reaped
their reward, he being appointed Chief of the Pay Department with the rank
of Colonel, Jan. 1, 1872, and of Brigadier-General, July 22, 1876. This
elevated position he held till retired from active service, June 8, 1880,
with great credit to himself, reflecting honor upon the Army, and with
manifest advantage to the Government.
From the foregoing
narrative it will be seen that General Alvord lived most of his life in
the field, where he was separated from society and books, yet he became a
learned scholar; skilled in dialectics, ready in conversation, and
polished in his writing. He had a special fondness for mathematics,
botany, history, and biography, upon all of which subjects he prepared
instructive and sometimes quite original papers. A singular fatality
attended his higher labors. The manuscript of a History of the Mexican
War was lost in the wreck of the Southerner on Cape Flattery, December,
1854, and a mathematical treatise, accepted for publication by the
Smithsonian Institution, was lost in the fire in their building, January,
2865. The latter was re-written with additions, and published in the
“American Journal of Mathematics,” 1882.
The following are
some of the Memoirs of General Alvord, viz: —
“The Tangencies of
Circles and Spheres,” in Vol. 8 of “Smithsonian Contributions to
Knowledge,” 1855.
“On the
Interpretation of Imaginary Roots in questions of Maxima and Minima,” in
Vol. 2 of the New York “Mathematical Monthly,” 1860.
On “Tangencies,” – a
very learned article in Vol. 4 of Johnson’s New Universal Cyclopedia,
1877.
“The Mortality among
Army Officers from 1824 to 1873,” in the “Proceedings of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science,” 1874.
“The Intersections
of Circles and the Intersections of Spheres,” in Vol. 5 of the “American
Journal of Mathematics,” 1874.
“Curious Fallacy in
the Theory of Gravitation,” in Vol. 5 of the bulletin of the Philosophical
Society of Washington, 1883.
“A Special Case of
Maxima and Minima,” in Vol. 6 of the Bulletin of the Philosophical Society
of Washington, 1884.
“An Account of the
Compass Plant” (of which Alvord was the scientific discoverer), read to
the National Institute of Washington, 1842, and, with additions,
subsequently delivered to other scientific bodies and finally published.
“Winter Grazing in
the Rocky Mountains,” published in the Bulletin of the American
Geographical Society, 1883.
Biographical
Sketches of several Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy, 1874-82.
Papers read before
societies upon “Indian Superstitions,” “Introduction of the Catholic
Worship into Mexico,” “Treatment of the Natives in America by the Spanish
Monarchs of the 16th Century,” “True Science as opposed to
Skepticism,” etc.
The most notable of
Alvord’s mathematical memoirs were those on “The Tangencies of Circles and
Spheres” and the “Intersections of Circles and Spheres.” The first of
these memoirs, now well known, created much interest when it appeared.
The latter memoir is a generalization of the former, the problems involved
being: First, to draw a circle which shall make a certain given
angle with three given circles. Second, to draw a sphere which shall cut
each of four given spheres at the same angle. The problems are solved by
purely geometrical processes. As the solution of the question of
Tangencies of Circles in the Spheres, in like manner the question of the
Intersection of Circles is extended to the Intersection of Spheres. The
whole solution is based on the principle of converging chords, giving a
unity to both memoirs as accomplishing a generalization of the entire
problem.
Alvord’s paper on
“Winter Gazing in the Rocky Mountains” is a startling revelation, in
published form, of an established fact unknown till 1869, that, in the
coldest weather and without shelter, all the domestic animals can find
ample food on the nutritious summer-cured grasses, and that myriads of
these animals are yearly raised on the elevated, arid, yet mild plateaus
of the West, embracing an area of a million square miles, or about one
fourth of our whole territory. The article fully explains how the grasses
in the Rocky Mountains, as they stand on the soil, are cured by the
summer’s sun, the heat drying them, and thus retaining and concentrating
in the stalk the sugar, gluten, and the other constituents of which they
are composed. He also shows how the fine dry snows of these regions are
drifted into the valley, leaving the uplands uncovered for grazing.
Alvord, as a
soldier, was zealous and efficient in the performance, for half a century,
of every duty devolving upon him; as a mathematician, he had a high
capacity, particularly for geometrical investigations, in which he had few
superiors; as a botanist, he was a close observer of nature, many of whose
curious secrets he discovered; in historical and literary lore he was one
of the best informed officers in the army; and as a writer, he wielded a
fluent, forcible, and perspicuous pen. But it was in his personal
relations that Alvord was most attractive. Though ordinarily grave, he
was never austere and gloomy; studious and contemplative, he had no
arrogance of intellect; ;his matured wisdom continually welled out into
new fountains of thought; his conversation, earnest, refined, and often
playful, was always instructive; and whatever he wrote was trustworthy and
sparkled with strong brain-force. His moral beauty of character surpassed
his intellectual. Every one who knew him in social life respected and
loved him, so genial was his humanity and so broad his charity. Abounding
in sympathy, benevolence, and kindness to his fellows, he was necessarily
tolerant of their infirmities. Though he was in temper as gentle as a
child and in manner as modest as a maiden, it was not from weakness, as
those best knew who met him in debate or upon the battlefield. Always
considerate of others, he was most exacting to himself, manfully bearing
his own burdens, which he never sought to cast upon other shoulders. In
fine, Alvord was a most useful officer, a sterling patriot, a devoted
husband and father, a generous and tender-hearted friend, and a thorough
Christian gentleman.
