Egbert Viele graduated from the U S Military Academy in 1847.  His first assignment was Bvt 2nd Lt in the Second Infantry, attaining 1st Lt in 1850 before resigning in June 1853.    In 1861 he served as captain of engineers of the 7th New York State militia, becoming Brigadier General of volunteers in August of 1861.  He resigned again in 1863. He served in the Mexican War and on the southwest frontier. He worked as a civil engineer in New York City, and was chief engineer of the New York Central Park, 1856-57; in 1860 he was engineer of Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Viele authored the "Handbook for Active Service," which was popular with both the Northern and Southern volunteers. After the Civil War, he resumed engineering practice in New York. He made a plan for the "Arcade" railway, a precursor of the later subways, ca. 1868, and was author of a Topographical Atlas of the City of New York, 1874. He served in Congress 1885-87.