Col. J. J. Abert

Lt. Col. James Kearney

* The Corps was made up entirely of officers.  Although requests for a "company of pioneers" to assist in survey duties had been made repeatedly, it was not until August, 1861 that a company of topographical engineer enlisted men was authorized by Congress.  By that time, the Corps was in competition with myriad volunteer units.  With no established infrastructure to handle recruitment and training, enlistment efforts foundered.  After two months, recruitment was halted and a total of three enlisted men were transferred to the Corps of Engineers (Schubert, F. N., The Nation Builders). 
** Asterisks indicate men who did not graduate from West Point.

from Beers, Henry P. "A History of the U.S. Topographical Engineers, 1813-1863." 2 pts. The Military Engineer 34 (Jun 1942): pp. 287-91 & (Jul 1942): pp. 348-52. 
    This copyrighted material is used with the permission of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), publisher of The Military Engineer in which this article appeared in its volume no. 34, #200 and 201, June, 1942 and July, 1942.

1  "It is implied that Bryan resigned to join the Confederacy.  I think he was perhaps a Southern sympathizer, as he was born and raised in North Carolina, and other members of his family were strong supporters of the Confederacy (a brother, George, died defending Richmond [Powell, William S., (ed.) Dictionary of North Carolina Biography:  The University of  North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1979, pp. 254-255 (biographical sketch of John Heritage Bryan--his daddy)].  Bryan, however, had married (26 March 1856) a rich young lady from St. Louis (Edmonia Taylor), whose family had strong ties to the Union.  He did resign his commission early in the war (the effective date was 10 July 1861), but, fact is, he just stayed there in St. Louis.  Never took up arms either for or against the Confederacy [Bryan's Mexican War pension file  (SC 8466), National Archives].  In the 1870 federal census, he gives his occupation as "Retired Captain USA" [1870 U.S. census, microfilm publication M593, roll 815, City of St. Louis, Missouri, ward 5, page 159, dwelling 715, family 901.]  He may have sneaked away and joined the Confederacy under a different name, but I doubt it.  Cullum, in the 1868 edition (vol. 2) of his Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy... (New York: D. Van Nostrand), p. 144, describes Bryan as living near St. Louis "since" 1861."  Personal communication, 1998, Don Pusch, El Lago, Texas.