History of Sacketts Harbor, (Livingston County) New York United States of America

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Thomas Lincoln Casey, engineer, was born at Madison Barracks, Sacketts Harbor, N. Y., May 10, 1831; the eldest son of Gen. Silas and Abby Perry (Pearce) Casey, and a descendant in the seventh generation from Thomas and Sarah Casey of Newport, R.I. (1658). He was graduated at the military academy in 1852 at the head of his class, and received the appointment of brevet 2nd lieutenant in the corps of engineers. He was assistant engineer upon the harbor works of Delaware bay and river, and the construction of Fort Delaware until 1854; was assistant professor of civil and military engineering at the West Point military academy, 1854-59, and in command of engineer soldiers on Puget Sound, Washington territory, 1859-61. He was appointed a captain of engineers, Aug. 6, 1861, and served during the civil war as engineer on the staff of the general commanding the department of Virginia, as superintending engineer in the construction of forts and batteries on the coast of Maine, and on special duty with the North Atlantic squadron during the first expedition to Fort Fisher, N. C., in December, 1864. He was made major of engineers, Oct. 2, 1863, and brevetted lieutenant-colonel and colonel, March 13, 1865. He was employed on the coast of Maine until 1867, when he was placed in charge of the division of fortifications in the office of the war department, Washington, D. C. In the summer of 1873 he was sent to Europe at the head of a board to examine the systems of torpedo construction adopted in Great Britain, Germany, Austria, and France. He was made lieutenant-colonel of engineers September, 1874. In 1877 he was given charge of public buildings and grounds in the District of Columbia, the Washington aqueduct and the construction of the building for the state, war and navy departments, finished by him in 1888. In 1878 he was selected as the engineer and architect to complete the Washington national monument. This he accomplished Dec. 6, 1884, by first placing a new and enlarged foundation beneath the old one, by carrying the shaft from a height of 150 feet to 500 feet, and crowning it with a pyramidion 55 feet in height, in place of the flat terminal of the original design. He was promoted colonel, corps of engineers, March 13, 1884, and in 1886 became president of the board of engineers in New York city. He was a member of a board to advise upon the ventilation of the hall of the house of representatives in the capitol, 1877-86, and a member of the lighthouse board from 1884 to 1892. On July 6, 1888, he was appointed brigadier-general and chief of engineers; by act of Oct. 2, 1888, was designated to erect the new building for the library of Congress; and by act of Sept. 27, 1890, made one of a commission to locate a large park in the suburbs of Washington. He was a member of the society of the Cincinnati of Massachusetts, the New England historic-genealogical society, the Rhode Island historical society, an officer in the Legion of honor of France, and a member of the national academy of science of the United States of America. He was married to Emma Weir, and left two sons?Thomas Lincoln, who was graduated at West Point in 1879; and Edward Pearce, who was graduated at the Columbia college school of mines in 1886. Besides numerous official reports and articles upon engineering subjects, General Casey contributed several sketches to historical and genealogical magazines. He died in Washington, D. C., March 25, 1896.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Sacketts Harbor, (Livingston County) New York

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