Cullum, George W. (George Washington), 1809-1892

American Army Officer and Engineer.

Civil War brigadier general; army engineering officer, 1838-1864; superintendent, West Point, 1864-1866; author of biography of West Point graduates.

Army officer.

Engineer and soldier; native of New York City; graduate, 1833, of the U. S. Military Academy (West Point, N.Y.), where he later served as an instructor (1848-1855); following graduation, entered the engineer corps and was promoted to captain in 1838; superintended the construction of fortifications and other public works in many U.S. cities, including Charleston, S.C., where he was employed for five years, ca. 1855-1860, on fortifications and harbor improvements; in Apr. 1861, he was appointed aide-de-camp to the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army, and later promoted major of engineers in Aug. 1861.

George Washington Cullum was born Feb. 25, 1809, in New York City. He graduated from the Military Academy at West Point in 1833 with a commission in the Corps of Engineers and worked for some years on a wide range of engineering projects. He was promoted to major in 1861, served as aide to Gen. Winfield Scott and rose to colonel, and on November 1, 1861 (shortly before writing the letter in this collection), was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers and assigned to serve under Gen. Henry Halleck as chief of staff and chief engineer. After participating in the Corinth campaign in Mississippi, he returned with Halleck to Washington, D. C. and remained there until September 1864, after which he served for two years as superintendent of the Military Academy, later returning to engineering activities until his retirement in 1874. In 1875 he married Gen. Halleck’s widow, Elizabeth Hamilton Halleck (Cullum’s first marriage), and spent his retirement in New York, where he was active in scientific and philanthropic work. He is best known for his work on the Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, in which he summarized the careers of all of the graduates of West Point from its founding until 1889. He died February 28, 1892, in New York City.

Brevet Major General (MG) George W. Cullum was superintendent of the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point in 1866.