Background
William Louis Marshall was born on June 11, 1846 in Washington, Kentucky. He was the son of Col. Charles A. and Phoebe A. (Paxton) Marshall. His grandfather, Thomas, was a brother of Chief Justice John Marshall.
William Louis Marshall was born on June 11, 1846 in Washington, Kentucky. He was the son of Col. Charles A. and Phoebe A. (Paxton) Marshall. His grandfather, Thomas, was a brother of Chief Justice John Marshall.
William attended the grammar school of Kenyon College, Ohio, from 1859 to 1860, and then entered the collegiate department. At the outbreak of the Civil War, however, he enlisted in the 10th Kentucky Cavalry, serving from Aug. 16, 1862, until September 17, 1863, when ill health prevented further service. The following year he received an appointment as cadet at the United States Military Academy, from which he graduated in June 1868 and was assigned as second lieutenant to the corps of engineers.
Marshall's first important service was from 1872 to 1876, when he was engaged as assistant to Lieut. G. M. Wheeler in the exploration of the Rocky Mountain region of the West. It was during this period, 1873, that he discovered the Marshall Pass, now traversed by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, and, in 1875, the gold placers in the Marshall Basin of the San Miguel River, Colorado. From 1876 to 1884 he was assistant engineer on various river improvement projects in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee and in charge of a section of the Mississippi River. He was then placed in charge of river and harbor improvements in Wisconsin and Illinois, on which assignment he was engaged for fifteen years. Part of this time, 1890 to 1899, he was employed in constructing the Hennepin Canal, connecting the Illinois River at Lasalle with the Mississippi River at Rock Island, which was to be a part of an inland waterway from the Mississippi to Lake Michigan. This canal with its thirty locks has practically every type of structure employed in canal construction. While constructing the canal, he patented several improvements connected with it, including a combined breakwater and beach, May 12, 1890; an automatic movable dam or sluiceway gate, March 23, 1897; and an automatic dam, weir, or gate, December 28, 1897, and January 4, 1898. During this period, he also served on many important commissions and boards, among them a board to advise on the water supply of Washington, D. C. , of which he was president; the Missouri River Commission; and the Lincoln Park Board, Chicago, for which he was consulting engineer. In 1899 he was sent to New York City to take charge of both fortification and river and harbor work. Here he completed the Ambrose Channel, planned and completed the extension of Governor's Island, and displayed great originality in the construction of coast defenses. In the meantime he had been advanced through the various grades and on August 27, 1907, commissioned colonel. In 1908, July 2, he was commissioned Chief of Engineers with the rank of brigadier-general, which position he held until his retirement from active service on June 11, 1910. In 1909, in addition to his other duties, he served on a board to report on the necessary defenses of the Panama Canal. Shortly after his retirement he was appointed by the President consulting engineer to the Secretary of the Interior, and as such served on various boards dealing with projects of the United States Reclamation Service and made reports on possible hydro-electric power development projects in different parts of the country. He held this position until his death, which occurred in Washington, D. C.
Quotes from others about the person
"Begun in the early nineties before the art of concrete construction had become well known among engineers, all of its masonry is concrete. This courageous departure from the then existing practice was due entirely to. Marshall's sound judgment and bold initiative, and he then developed the details of methods which were subsequently adopted by the entire engineering profession and have continued in force practically unchanged to the present day"
On June 2, 1886, he married Elizabeth Hill Colquitt, daughter of Alfred H. Colquitt, by whom he had one daughter.
2 May 1809 - 12 Feb 1896
2 February 1817 - 3 April 1901
25 August 1834 - 13 October 1906
30 December 1849 - 1943
1841 - 1903
18 October 1836 - 24 December 1862
12 May 1854 - 5 September 1854
1858 - 22 April 1950
1861 - 1930
30 September 1889 - 10 September 1969
