Everything about Horatio Wright totally explained
Horatio Gouverneur Wright (
March 6,
1820 –
July 2,
1899) was an engineer and general in the
Union Army during the
American Civil War. After the war, he was involved in a number of engineering projects, including the
Brooklyn Bridge and the completion of the
Washington Monument, and served as
Chief of Engineers for the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Early life
Wright was born in
Clinton, Connecticut, son of Edward and Nancy Wight. When he was 14 he entered
Alden Partridge's military academy in Vermont (now
Norwich University). In 1837 he entered West Point and graduated second in his class of 52 from the
United States Military Academy in 1841 with a commission in the engineers. He taught engineering and French at West Point over the next several years. He was sent to Florida in 1846, where he spent ten years working on the harbor of
St. Augustine and the defenses of
Key West. In 1855, he was promoted to the rank of
captain and served as assistant to
Chief of Engineers Colonel
Joseph G. Totten the following year. During this time, he was appointed as a member of a military committee to study iron carriages for the construction of
naval guns and ordnance specifications of the 15-inch gun. He later co-wrote
Report on Fabrication of Iron for Defenses (published in 1871–72) based on his time of the board.
Civil War
After the start of the war, Wright took part in the evacuation and destruction of the Gosport Navy Yard (later named the
Norfolk Navy Yard) on
April 20,
1861, to prevent its exploitation by
Confederate forces. He was captured during this action, but was released four days later.
Wright began constructing fortifications around
Washington, D.C., before being assigned to the 3rd Division of the Department of Northeast Virginia under
Maj. Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman. Serving as
Chief Engineer of the 3rd Division during the
First Battle of Bull Run on
July 1,
1861, Wright was promoted to major in August. Promoted to
brigadier general of volunteers the following month, Wright was assigned as Chief Engineer to Maj. Gen.
Thomas W. Sherman's November 1861 expedition against
Port Royal, South Carolina. His successes while commanding Union troops in operations against
Jacksonville,
St. Augustine, and other military targets on the
Florida coast from February to June of 1862 led to his appointment as
major general of volunteers and commander of the
Department of the Ohio in August 1862, and commander of the newly created
Army of the Ohio in March 1863. In this command he played a major logistical role in the repulse of Confederate General
Braxton Bragg's invasion of
Kentucky in 1862. His appointment as major general wasn't confirmed by the
Senate and was revoked in March 1863. As a brigadier general, he wasn't considered eligible to command a department and Maj. Gen.
Ambrose Burnside was sent to relieve him. Reporting to Burnside, Wright remained briefly as the commander of the District of Western Kentucky before returning to the East.
Fort H. G. Wright on the western tip of
Fishers Island, New York, is also named in his honor.
Further Information
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