Background
Humphreys was born on November 2, 1810 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a family with Quaker ancestry. His father, Samuel designed and built the USS Pennsylvania, the largest and most heavily armed ship at the time.
military officer civil engineer
Humphreys was born on November 2, 1810 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a family with Quaker ancestry. His father, Samuel designed and built the USS Pennsylvania, the largest and most heavily armed ship at the time.
Humphreys graduated from Nazareth Hall (predecessor to the present day Moravian College & Theological Seminary). Thereafter, he entered the United States Military Academy, more commonly known as West Point, at the age of seventeen. He graduated from the Academy on July 1, 1831.
In 1831, Humphreys served with the 2nd Artillery in the Florida war in 1835. He resigned soon afterwards and devoted himself to civil engineering. In 1838 he returned to the army for survey duties, and from 1842 to 1849 was assistant in charge of the Coast Survey Office. Later he did similar work in the valley of the Mississippi, and, with Lieut. H. L. Abbott, produced in 1861 a valuable Report on the Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi River. In connexion with this work he visited Europe in 1851. In the earlier part of the Civil War Humphreys was employed as a topographical engineer with the Army of the Potomac, and rendered conspicuous services in the Seven Days' Battles. It is stated that he selected the famous position of Malvern Hill, before which Lee's army was defeated. Soon after this he was assigned to command a division of the V corps, and at the battle of Fredericksburg he distinguished himself greatly in the last attack of Marye's heights. General Burnside recommended him for promotion to the rank of major-general U. S. V. , which was not however awarded to Humphreys until after Gettysburg. He took part in the battle of Chancellorsville, and at Gettysburg commanded a division of the III corps under Sickles. Upon Humphreys' division fell the brunt of Lee's attack on the second day, by which in the end the III corps was dislodged from its advanced position. His handling of his division in this struggle excited great attention, and was compared to Sheridan's work at Stone river. A few days later he became chief of staff to General Meade, and this position he held throughout the Wilderness campaign. Towards the end of the war General Humphreys succeeded General Hancock in command of the famous II corps. The short campaign of 1865, which terminated in Lee's surrender, afforded him a greater opportunity of showing his capacity for leadership. His corps played a conspicuous part in the final operations around Petersburg, and the credit of the vigorous and relentless pursuit of Lee's army may be claimed hardly less for Humphreys than for Sheridan. After the war, now brevet major-general, he returned to regular engineer duty as chief engineer of the U. S. army, and retired in 1879. He died at Washington on the 27th of December 1883. Amongst his works may be mentioned From Gettysburg to the Rapiian (1882) and The Virginia Campaigns of 1864-1865 (1882).
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
Member of the American Philosophical Society (1857), member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1863)
He was a noted American naval architect and shipbuilder in the early 19th century.
He was an influential and successful ship builder in the United States.
He was a Hong Kong businessman and member of the Sanitary Board.
