U.S. Corps of Topographical Engineers
Augustus Canfield
1801 - 1854
Augustus Canfield (1801-1854), was the second child of Mary Dickerson and David Sealy Canfield. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, participated in the 1830s war against the Seminoles in Florida, and became a captain of the Topographical Engineers. He settled in Detroit, Michigan where he oversaw the construction of lighthouses on Lake Superior. He married Mary Sophia Cass (1812-1882) with whom he had five children. His military career was summarized in Cullum's Biographical Register...
AUGUSTUS CANFIELD
Military History. - Cadet at the Military Academy, Sep. 17, 1818,
to July 1, 1822, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to
BVT. SECOND LIEUT., 1ST ARTILLERY, JULY 1, 1822.
SECOND LIEUT., 1ST ARTILLERY, JULY 1, 1822.
Served : on Ordnance duty, Aug. 21, 1822, to Nov. 15, 1823; on Re-
(TRANSFERRED TO 4TH ARTILLERY, FEB. 18, 1823)
cruiting service, 1824; in garrison at Ft. Marion, Fla., 1824-26; on
Topographical duty, Apr. 4, 1826, to Mar. 6, 1828; in garrison at Ft.
Monroe, Va. (Artillery School for Practice), 1828, - and Ft. McHenry,
Md., 1828-29; on Commissary duty at Baltimore, Md., 1829-30; in
garrison at Ft. McHenry, Md., 1830, - and Ft. Columbus, N. Y., 1830-31;
(FIRST LIEUT., 4TH ARTILLERY, MAR. 1, 1830)
on Recruiting service, 1831 ; in garrison at Ft. Monroe, Va. (Artillery
School for Practice), 1831-32 ; on Topographical duty, Apr. 6, 1832, to
Sep. 14, 1834 ; on Survey of Cumberland Road, in Ohio, 1835, - and of
(BVT. CAPT., STAFF - ASST. TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEER,
SEP. 14, 1834)
sites for Defensive Works on Lake Champlain, N. Y., 1836 ; on inspection
of public works on Lake Champlain, N. Y., 1836 ; on survey of Rivers
and Harbors in the State of New York, 1837-39, - and of Sault St.
(CAPTAIN, CORPS OF~ Top. ENGINEERS, JULY 7, 1838)
Marie, 1840-41; on leave of absence in Europe, 1841; in charge of
Hudson River Improvement, N. Y., 1842, - of Harbors on Lake Ontario,
N. Y., 1842, and at the west end of Lake Erie, 1843-49, - and of St.
Joseph's Harbor, Mich., 1843-47; on survey of Light-house site on
Waugoshanee Shoal, Lake Michigan, 1847-48 ; as Light-house Engineer,
1848-52; in charge of Channel Improvement across St. Clair's Flats,
Mich., 1852-53; and as Superintending Top. Engineer of Sault St. Marie
Canal, Mich., 1853-54.
DIED, APR. 18, 1854, AT DETROIT, MICH.: AGED 53.
Death of Captain Canfield
From the Detroit Advertiser of April 19. We were greatly pained to hear it announced this morning that Capt. Augustus Canfield one of the Topographical Engineers, USA, one of our most esteemed and respected citizens, was no more. He breathed his last at an early hour yesterday morning, at his residence in this city, having been suddenly cut down by a rapid congestion, which set at defiance all medical skill.
We speak of him as a citizen, for although Capt. Canfield was in the Army, and an ornament to the service, which it was his pride to pursue and adorn, he had been so long stationed at this point, and was connected with so many of the cherished associations of our city by family ties, (having married a daughter of our distinguished townsmen General Cass) and by intercourse and social life, that we had come to look upon him as one of our own citizens.
Capt. Canfield was a native of New Jersey, where he numbered among his near relatives, the Hon. Marlon Dickerson and Hon. Philemon Dickerson. He graduated at West Point with distinction, and was first commissioned in the gallant 42nd Regiment of Artillery, but was soon after transferred to the Corps of Topographical Engineers, in which he served till the time of his death. Capt. Canfield was ardently devoted to the science of this profession, to which his clear and discriminating mind was peculiarly adapted.. His excellent, dispassionate, and reliable judgment, in combination with his highly scientific attainments, enabled him to accomplish the most important practical results.
The Wagochance lighthouse, built upon a sunken reef in the Strait of Mackinac, the "Eddystone Light" of the lakes, and which has successfully resisted the combined assaults of the tempests and the ice, is at once a triumph and an enduring monument of his professional skill. By the appointment of the Governor and Senate of this State, and with the approbation of the proper department at Washington, he held the important place of engineer of the Sault Ste. Marie Canal, which great national work was commenced, and has been thus far prosecuted under his professional supervision. The people of this state will long remember with gratitude his public services in connection with this important work, and deeply regret that his valuable life had not been spared to witness its successful completion.
Capt. Canfield was a gentleman of high honor, rigid probity, and strict integrity. His many social and domestic virtues not only endeared him to those who were wont to be grouped in the family circle around his hearthstone, but also bound to him by the strong attachments of friendship, a large circle of warm friends, who loved him while living, and will weep bitter tears over his untimely grave.
The New York Times
April 24, 1854
BIBLIOGRAPHY: George W. Cullum, Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. New York Times, April 24, 1854