Background
He was born on May 19, 1815, in Sheffield, Massachusetts, the son of Robert Foster Barnard and Augusta (Porter) Barnard, and younger brother of Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard.
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
https://www.amazon.com/Phenomena-Gyroscope-Analytically-Examined-Supplements/dp/1376313480?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1376313480
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
https://www.amazon.com/Report-Commission-Site-Naval-Observatory/dp/1378468120?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1378468120
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
https://www.amazon.com/Notes-Sea-coast-Defence-Scholars-Choice/dp/1296195821?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1296195821
(Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
https://www.amazon.com/Dangers-Defences-New-York-Addressed-ebook/dp/B00MSBXXEE?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00MSBXXEE
(Excerpt from Report of the Engineer and Artillery Operati...)
Excerpt from Report of the Engineer and Artillery Operations of the Army of the Potomac: From Its Organization to the Close of the Peninsular Campaign In the Clerk's omce of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
https://www.amazon.com/Report-Engineer-Artillery-Operations-Potomac/dp/0365460893?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=0365460893
(Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
https://www.amazon.com/C-S-Battle-Letter-English-Friend-ebook/dp/B00MSBWYWQ?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00MSBWYWQ
(This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 18...)
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1871 edition by Government Printing Office, Washington.
https://www.amazon.com/Report-Defenses-Washington-Chief-Engineers/dp/1402177305?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1402177305
(Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating bac...)
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
https://www.amazon.com/Analysis-Rotary-Motion-Applied-Gyroscope/dp/1445547783?SubscriptionId=AKIAJRRWTH346WSPOAFQ&tag=prabook-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1445547783
He was born on May 19, 1815, in Sheffield, Massachusetts, the son of Robert Foster Barnard and Augusta (Porter) Barnard, and younger brother of Frederick Augustus Porter Barnard.
From one of his relatives, Peter Buel Porter, secretary of war under President John Quincy Adams, he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, and entered that institution on July 1, 1829; four years later he graduated second in a class of forty-three.
He was assigned as second-lieutenant to the corps of engineers of the army, which was charged with the construction of coast defenses, the improvement of rivers and harbors, and the supervision of the Military Academy. In this corps he served through the various grades to that of colonel, and on his retirement for age in 1881 was president of the Permanent Board of Engineers for Fortifications and River and Harbor Improvements. He was nominated by President Lincoln as chief of his corps in 1864 but at his own request his name was withdrawn, probably to allow an officer of longer service to enjoy that honor. He also served as superintendent of the Military Academy 1855-56.
When he joined the corps of engineers its officers were engaged in the construction of a system of defenses on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to supplement the few old works constructed immediately after the Revolutionary War. In this work he served as superintending engineer of the fortifications of some of our important ports - Portland and New York on the Atlantic coast, Mobile and the mouth of the Mississippi River on the Gulf coast, and San Francisco on the Pacific coast. All of these works were designed to meet the attacks of wooden vessels armed with muzzle-loading cannon. With the introduction of rifled guns and armored vessels, about the time of the Civil War, the coast defenses had to be modified, and after that war Barnard was charged with the study of this problem. On this work he was sent abroad in 1870 to ascertain the progress made in Europe in the development of iron for defensive purposes. In connection with his work on seacoast defenses he wrote the following: Dangers and Defences of New York (1859); "Memoir on National Defences"; Notes on Seacoast Defence (1861); Report on the Fabrication of Iron for Defensive Purposes and its Uses in Modern Fortification especially in Coast Defence, in collaboration with Lieutenant-Colonel Wright and Capt. Michie of the Corps of Engineers (1871 - 72).
In the field of river and harbor improvement, Barnard served as superintending engineer on the construction of the Delaware breakwater, the improvement of the Hudson River and New Jersey harbors, and as chairman of boards considering numerous projects. An important service was that in connection with the improvement of the mouth of the Mississippi River. In 1852 Congress appropriated $75, 000 for this improvement and a board, of which Barnard was a member, was appointed to recommend the best method of utilizing this sum. In 1871 Congress directed that plans and estimates for further improvement should be prepared by an engineer officer. These plans were completed early in 1873 and a board was convened to report on them. After prolonged controversy, Congress finally accepted Barnard's recommendation that the South Pass be improved by the construction of parallel jetties, and directed that a contract be made with James B. Eads and his associates to carry out this improvement, payment to be conditional on success.
Mr. Eads, who had said of Barnard, "His reputation among both civil and military engineers is acknowledged in Europe and America to be equal to that of any other living, " appointed him chairman of his board of advisory engineers. Time has confirmed Barnard's views in the matter of improving the mouth of the Mississippi River and the jetty method has since been applied to the wider Southwest Pass. His published works on waterways were: Outlets and Levees of the Mississippi River (1859); Report on the North Sea Canal of Holland (1872). In the Mexican War he was assigned the construction of the defenses of the base at Tampico, and later to the survey of the battlefields about the City of Mexico. This last duty probably led to his selection by the Tehuantepec Railroad Company of New Orleans in 1850 as chief engineer to make a preliminary survey for a railway across that isthmus. Such was Barnard's reputation as a military engineer that at the outbreak of the Civil War he was charged with the construction of the defenses of the National Capital. He served as chief engineer of McDowell's army in 1861 and on his reconnaissance the first battle of Bull Run was planned. Of this battle Sherman, who took part in it, says, "It is now generally admitted that it was one of the best planned battles of the war but one of the worst fought. "
Barnard was chief engineer of the Army of the Potomac in McClellan's Peninsular campaign in which he conducted the siege of Yorktown and directed the engineering operations on the front of Richmond. From the Peninsular campaign until Grant took command of the armies in Virginia he remained in charge of the defenses of Washington and was a member of various defense boards. In June 1864 he was made chief engineer of the armies in the field on the staff of Gen. Grant. Wishing to withdraw one of the corps serving under Gen. Butler south of the James River to reinforce his troops north of the James, Grant sent Barnard to examine Butler's position to see if this could be safely done and on his report the corps was brought across the river.
When Sherman's army reached Savannah, Grant sent Barnard there to explain the situation in Virginia and North Carolina so that Sherman could decide on a plan for co"peration. For his military services in time of war Barnard received the brevets of major in the regular army in the Mexican War and of colonel, brigadier-general, and major-general in the Civil War. He was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers in the Civil War and received the brevet of major-general of volunteers. His contributions to the history of the Civil War were: The Confederate States of America and the Battle of Bull Run (1862); The Peninsular Campaign and its Antecedents as Developed by the Report of Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan and other Published Documents (1864); Report of the Engineer and Artillery Operations of the Army of the Potomac from its Organization to the Close of the Peninsular Campaign, in collaboration with Gen. William F. Barry (1863); A Report on the Defenses of Washington (1871).
Notwithstanding his professional occupations Barnard still found time to indulge his love for mathematical and scientific investigation. He was one of the fifty incorporators of the National Academy of Sciences and his published scientific writings indicate a wide field of research: The Phenomena of the Gyroscope Analytically Examined (1858); Problems of Rotary Motion Presented by the Gyroscope, the Precession of the Equinoxes and the Pendulum (1873); On the Internal Structure of the Earth Considered as Affecting the Phenomena of Precession and Nutation (1877); An Alleged Error in Laplace's Theory of the Tides (1877); Some Remarks on the Use and Interpretation of Particular Integrals which "Satisfy" General Differential Equations Expressive of Dynamic Problems in Cases where General Integration is Impossible (1877). He also wrote for Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia (1874 - 77) some seventy articles on engineering, mathematical, and scientific subjects.
(Excerpt from Report of the Engineer and Artillery Operati...)
(Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)
(Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)
(Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating bac...)
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
(This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 18...)
book
Barnard was an original member of the Aztec Club of 1847 as well as the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
Barnard was a co-founder of the United States National Academy of Sciences, as were several other senior officers of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers.
For his personality we have the following from the pen of Gen. Henry L. Abbot of the corps of engineers: "In his personal characteristics Gen. Barnard was a thoughtful, self-contained, and earnest soldier. Under fire he seemed to have no sense of exposure, and in his frequent reconnaissances he was wont to push aside advanced pickets attempting to advise him as to the position of the enemy's sharpshooters, apparently trusting more to his own intuitions than to their local knowledge. His inherited deafness rendered social intercourse somewhat difficult, and to those who did not know him intimately this circumstance perhaps conveyed the idea of coldness and formality; but such was far from his nature. As an aide-de-camp during the Peninsular campaign, I often saw evidences of the warm interest he took in the success of many young officers serving under his orders, and of cordial appreciation of good work done by them. . He had a keen sense of humor and a passionate love of music. Indeed he composed many pieces--among others a Te Deum that still survives".
While stationed in New Orleans, Barnard married Jane Elizabeth Brand, daughter of William Brand and sister of Rev. William F. Brand of Maryland, one of the noted clergymen of that state. She died in 1853, and in 1860 he married Mrs. Anna E. (Hall) Boyd, daughter of Maj. Henry Hall of Harford County, Md.