Cullum, George Washington, 1809-1892

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Cullum was born in New York City on 25 February 1809, to Arthur and Harriet Sturges Cullum. He was raised in Meadville, Pennsylvania. His father worked as a lawyer and an agent of a land company. Cullum attended the United States Military Academy, from 1 July 1829 to 1 July 1833, when he graduated third in the Class of 1833. He designed the Independent Congregational Church at Meadville and it was built in 1835–1836. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Cullum was appointed to the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a brevet second lieutenant on 1 July 1833. He served as the assistant engineer for Fort Adams in 1833. The following year Cullum served as the assistant to the chief engineer at Washington D. C., where he remained for two years. He was then involved in inspections of Forts Severn and Madison in Annapolis, Maryland, before returning to work on Fort Adams.

Cullum was promoted to second lieutenant on 20 April 1836. He supervised construction of the facilities on Goat Island until 1838. On 7 July 1838, he was made a captain. Cullum then supervised construction of Fort Trumbull in New London, Connecticut and the lower battery at Fort Griswold in nearby Groton until 1855. He also supervised a number of other projects on the East Coast from 1840 to 1864, including the repairs of sea walls at Deer, Lovells and Rainsford islands; the construction of Forts Warren, Independence, Winthrop and Sumter; the building of cadet barracks at West Point; and the construction of the United States Assay building. He later superintended engineering works on the western rivers.

Cullum was an instructor of practical military engineering at West Point from 1848 to 1851. He then served as director of the Sappers, Miners and Pontoniers at West Point. Cullum published the forerunner of his Biographical Register in 1850. He took two years leave of absence from 1850 to 1852 for health reasons, and traveled throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the West Indies while recuperating. Cullum then returned to West Point, and taught there until 1855. When Robert E. Lee, at the time superintendent of West Point, went on a vacation to Virginia, Cullum served as acting superintendent of the Academy from 5 July to 27 August 1853.

In 1848, he introduced a type of bridge pontoon, which was used in the Mexican–American War. Cullum published Description Of A System Of Military Bridges, With India-Rubber Pontons in 1849.

On 9 April 1861, Cullum was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and shortly after to colonel. He served as an aide-de-camp to General Winfield Scott from 1 April 1861 to 1 November 1861. At the same time he was a member of the United States Sanitary Commission. Cullum was promoted to a Major in the Corps of Engineers, before becoming chief engineer of the Department of the Missouri on 19 November 1861, where he remained until 11 March 1862. Cullum then was chief engineer for the Department of the Mississippi until 11 July.

During the time, he was also the chief of staff for Henry Halleck. He was appointed brigadier general of volunteers on 1 November 1861. From 2 December 1861 to 6 February 1862, Cullum was on the board that inspected the defenses of St. Louis and the board that inspected the condition of the Mississippi Gun and Mortar Boat Flotilla. He travelled to Cairo, Illinois, where he commanded operations auxiliary to various armies in the field and also managed the defense of the District of Cairo. From February to March, he surveyed the Confederate defenses at Columbus, Kentucky.

On February 6, 1862, the Union Army under then Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Henry, and ten days later, on February 16, they captured Fort Donelson. With these victories, his forces took about 12,000 to 15,000 Confederate prisoners. The army was unprepared to handle this many prisoners and scrambled to find places to house them. Cullum sent many prisoners to St. Louis before he received War Department instructions to direct 7,000 prisoners to Camp Douglas near Chicago. Cullum was chief engineer at the Siege of Corinth.

For the rest of the Civil War, Cullum inspected or built defenses at: Cairo, Illinois; Bird's Point, Missouri; Fort Holt, Kentucky; Columbus, Kentucky; Island Number Ten; New Madrid, Missouri; Corinth, Mississippi; Harpers Ferry, West Virginia; Winchester, Virginia; Martinsburg, West Virginia; Boston Harbor; Nashville, Tennessee; the Potomac aqueduct; Baltimore; and Washington, D.C. He served on boards concerning Timby's Revolving Iron Tower, proposed military bridges, and Army Corps of Engineers officers being considered for promotion. In 1862, Cullum was appointed Chief Engineer of Halleck's armies in the Department of the Missouri.

He was Superintendent of West Point from 1864 to 1866. On 8 March 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Cullum to be appointed to the grade of brevet major general, USA, to rank from 13 March 1865. He was mustered out of the volunteers on 1 September 1866. In 1867, Cullum published the first edition of his Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy, covering all graduates from the founding of West Point to the class of 1840. The New York Times wrote that "We know of no single contribution to the military history of the Nation so rich in invaluable data and so essential to the future historian or student of American history."

Cullum retired from active service 13 January 1874, with the permanent rank of colonel and the brevet rank of major general, and returned to New York City. Following his retirement, he married Elizabeth Hamilton, sister of Major General Schuyler Hamilton and the wealthy widow of Major General Henry W. Halleck.

Cullum was vice-president of the American Geographical Society, president of the Geographical Library Society of New York and a member of the board of managers of the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor. He was also a member of the Farragut Monument Association, a delegate to the 1881 conferences of the Association for the Reform and Codification of the Law of Nations and of the International Geographical Conference, a corresponding member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and a member of the American Historical Society and the American Academy. Cullum died on 28 February 1892 in New York City, of pneumonia. He is interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Cullum left part of his fortune for the continuance of his Biographical Register and for an award of the American Geographical Society “to those who distinguish themselves by geographical discoveries or in the advancement of geographical science”, known as the Cullum Geographical Medal. He also left $250,000 to West Point, “to be used for construction and maintenance of a memorial hall at West Point to be dedicated to the officers and graduates of the U.S. Military Academy”. The building is now known as Cullum Hall. Cullum also left $100,000 for a hall for the American Geographical Society.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn McPherson, James Birdseye, 1828-1864. Correspondence, 1862-1863. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
creatorOf Waddell, Charlotte Augusta Southwick, d.1891. Charlotte Augusta Southwick Waddell papers, 1860-1890, bulk (1880s). New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn H. W. Halleck Papers, 1843-1896, (bulk 1862) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Hurlbut, Stephen Augustus, 1815-1882. Autograph letter signed : n.p., to G[eorge] W[ashington] Cullum, n.p., 1864 June 6. Texas Christian University
referencedIn Swift, J. G. (Joseph Gardner), 1783-1865. Memoir from the diaries of J.G. Swift. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
creatorOf Cullum, George W. (George Washington), 1809-1892. Letters: Cairo, Ill., to [Henry W.] Halleck, 1862 Feb. 7 and 9. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
referencedIn John A. Dix Collection, 1831-1879 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Halleck, H. W. (Henry Wager), 1815-1872. Papers. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
referencedIn Ethan Allen Hitchcock Papers, 1793-1888, (bulk 1830-1865) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers. 1789 - 1999. Vouchers, Accounts Current and Other Fiscal Records of Colonel George W. Cullum National Archives at Washington, D.C
creatorOf Bailey, Harry Lee. Harry Lee Bailey military service reminiscences, 1909-1918. UC Berkeley Libraries
creatorOf Cullum, George W. (George Washington), 1809-1892. Papers. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
creatorOf Cullum, George W. (George Washington), 1809-1892. George W. Cullum papers, January 1866. U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center
creatorOf Gilmer, Jeremy Francis, 1818-1883. Papers. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
referencedIn Smith, Frederick Augustus, 1812-1852. Letter, 1843 July 3, West Point, N.Y. to Miner Knowlton, Ft. Washington, Md. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
referencedIn William Woodville Rockhill papers Houghton Library
contributorOf General George W. Cullum's Working Papers for the "Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy", ca. 1880 - ca. 1900 National Archives at Washington, D.C
creatorOf Bailey, Jacob Whitman, 1811-1857. Bailey family papers. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
creatorOf Webster, Horace, 1794-1871. Letter, 1854 May 23, New York Free Academy [to George Cullum]. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
creatorOf Lillie, Daniel, fl. 1868. Letter, 1868 April 27, North Easton, Mass. [to] Major E.C. Boynton. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
referencedIn Totten, Joseph Gilbert, 1788-1864. Letter : Washington, D.C., to [George Washington] Cullum, Washington, D.C., 1863 Feb. 10. Texas Christian University
creatorOf Cullum, George W. (George Washington), 1809-1892. George W. Cullum papers, 1855-1856. University of South Carolina, System Library Service, University Libraries
creatorOf Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers. 1789 - 1999. Checkbooks of Colonel George W. Cullum National Archives at Washington, D.C
referencedIn Philip Case Lockwood memorial collection of Civil War portraits and autographs, 1862-ca. 1886. Houghton Library
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part III: The Civil War: The Union, 1804-1915. Houghton Library
referencedIn Photographs of General George W. Cullum, 1863? - 1892? National Archives at Washington, D.C
referencedIn Tompkins family. Papers : of the Tompkins family, 1800-1877. Virginia Historical Society Library
referencedIn Houghton Mifflin Company contracts, 1831-1979 (inclusive) 1880-1940 (bulk). Houghton Library
creatorOf Letters Sent and Special Orders Issued by General George W. Cullum, 2/1862 - 3/1862 National Archives at Washington, D.C
referencedIn Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865. [Letter and autograph signatures] / Abraham Lincoln. Smith College, Neilson Library
referencedIn Bailey, F. W. The services of General George W. Cullum in the Civil War : while Chief of Staff and Chief Engineer of the Departments of the Missouri and of the Mississippi, November 19, 1861-July 11, 1862 / Frank Walton Bailey. Allegheny College, Lawrence Lee Pelletier Library
referencedIn Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866. Papers, 1776-1865 Library of Congress
creatorOf Halpine, Charles G. (Charles Graham), 1829-1868. Papers of Charles Graham Halpine, 1863-1868. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Mrs. E. H. Wright. Letters from Union Generals MS 111., 1864 Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University
creatorOf Cullum, George W. (George Washington), 1809-1892. George W. Cullum correspondence, 1833-1878. Library of Congress
creatorOf Porter, Lucia Chauncey. Correspondence, 1853-1917. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
referencedIn Garrett, Isaiah, 1812-1874. Isaiah Garrett letter, 1835 Mar. 12. Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries
contributorOf General Orders Issued by General George W. Cullum, 2/1862 - 2/1862 National Archives at Washington, D.C
creatorOf Gillmore, Quincy Adams, 1825-1888. Papers. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
creatorOf Cullum, George Washington, 1809-1892. Autograph letter signed : Washington, to William Pitt Fessenden, 1863 Feb. 25. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Halleck, H. W. (Henry Wagner), 1815-1872. Letter to Capt. G. W. Cullum. New York, NY. 1846 Jan. 20. University of Iowa Libraries
referencedIn Wright, Horatio Gouverneur, 1820-1899. Letters, 1862-1863. University of Chicago Library
creatorOf Beckley, Maria,. Papers of the Beckley family, 1799-1888. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Halleck, H. W. (Henry Wager), 1815-1882. Letter: St. Louis, [Mo.], to G[eorge] W. Cullum, Cairo, [Ill.], [18]62 Feb. 14. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
creatorOf Bache, A. D. (Alexander Dallas), 1806-1867. Papers. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
creatorOf Smith, Frederick Augustus, 1812-1852. Papers. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
referencedIn Stanley, David Sloane, 1828-1902. Memoirs, 1848-1852. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
creatorOf Hay, John, 1838-1905. Correspondence, 1854-1914, "Coolidge" to "Curtis". Brown University Archives, John Hay Library
referencedIn Palfrey family papers, 1713-1915 Houghton Library
referencedIn Charlotte Augusta Southwick Waddell papers, 1860-1890, 1880s New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part III: The Civil War: The Union, 1804-1915. Houghton Library
creatorOf Wagstaff, David, 1910-. [Military manuscript collection]. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
creatorOf General George Cullum Civil War Letter MS 112., 1861 Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University
referencedIn Halleck, Henry Wager, 1815-1872. Henry Halleck letter to George W. Cullum, 1846. California state library
contributorOf Letters Sent by Engineers Stationed at the Fort at Clark's Point, New Bedford, Massachusetts, ca. 1867 - 1920 National Archives at Boston
referencedIn Consolidated Military Officer's File of Colonel George W. Cullum, Corps of Engineers National Archives at Washington, D.C
referencedIn John William Draper Family Papers, 1777-1951, (bulk 1860-1882) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
Role Title Holding Repository
contributorOf Cullum, George W - New York - 1853 - File No. C232 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - North Carolina - 1856 - File No. C243 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1864 - Cullum, G W - File No. M1507 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - New York - 1849 - File No. C214 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, George W - New York - 1848 - File No. C327 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, George W - State: Rhode Island - Year: 1836 - File Number: C592 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - New York - 1859 - File No. C320 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1864 - Cullum, G W - File No. M1524 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. M309 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. C1338 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - 1851 - File No. C152 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. M1787 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1862 - Cullum, G W - File No. M134 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - Iowa - 1855 - File No. C115 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. M2006 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - 1848 - File No. C460 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1864 - Cullum, G W - File No. M1532 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - State: New York - Year: 1860 - File Number: C47 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. C676 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - 1848 - File No. C346 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1861 - Cullum, G W - File No. C47 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - District of Columbia - 1855 - File No. C42 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. M1842 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1873 - File No. 2230 (Cullum, G W - District of Columbia) National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - 1848 - File No. C600 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. M700 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1861 - Cullum, George W - File No. C669 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - Missouri - 1855 - File No. C174 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - 1851 - File No. C32 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, George W - New York - 1849 - File No. C171 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, Geo W - 1851 - File No. C149 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - 1848 - File No. C355 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. M1217 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1863 - Cullum, G W - File No. A828 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1861 - Cullum, G W - File No. C502 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, George - 1848 - File No. C618 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1864 - Cullum, G W - File No. M1682 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - New York - 1859 - File No. C339 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1866 - Cullum, G W - File No. C652 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. M2305 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - 1848 - File No. C777 United States. National Archives and Records Administration
contributorOf 1863 - Cullum, G W - File No. A622 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. M2467 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, George W - Rhode Island - 1836 - File No. C592 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. M2039 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - New York - 1849 - File No. C213 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf Cullum, G W - New York - 1848 - File No. C559 National Archives at Washington, D.C
contributorOf 1865 - Cullum, G W - File No. M1191 National Archives at Washington, D.C
Relation Name
associatedWith Bache, A. D. (Alexander Dallas), 1806-1867. person
associatedWith Bailey, F. W. person
associatedWith Bailey, Harry Lee. person
associatedWith Bailey, Jacob Whitman, 1811-1857. person
associatedWith Beauregard, G. T. (Gustave Toutant), 1818-1893. person
correspondedWith Cullum, George person
associatedWith Dearborn, Frederick M. (Frederick Myers), b. 1876 person
associatedWith Dix, John A. (John Adams), 1798-1979 person
correspondedWith Draper, John C. (John Christopher), 1835-1885 person
correspondedWith Draper, John William, 1811-1882. person
associatedWith Fessenden, William Pitt, 1806-1869, person
associatedWith Garrett, Isaiah, 1812-1874. person
associatedWith Gillmore, Quincy Adams, 1825-1888. person
associatedWith Gilmer, Jeremy Francis, 1818-1883. person
associatedWith Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885. person
associatedWith Halleck, General Henry Wager person
associatedWith Halleck, H. W. (Henry Wager), 1815-1882. person
associatedWith Halpine, Charles G. (Charles Graham), 1829-1868. person
associatedWith Hay, John, 1838-1905. person
associatedWith Hitchcock, Ethan Allen, 1798-1870. person
associatedWith Houghton Mifflin Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Huidekoper, Catherine. person
associatedWith Hurlbut, Stephen Augustus, 1815-1882. person
associatedWith J.M. Eason and Brother. corporateBody
associatedWith Lillie, Daniel, fl. 1868. person
associatedWith Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865. person
associatedWith Lockwood, Philip Case, 1844-1897 person
associatedWith McPherson, James Birdseye, 1828-1864. person
correspondedWith Osgood, J. C. person
correspondedWith Palfrey family. family
associatedWith Pope, John, 1822-1892. person
associatedWith Porter, Lucia Chauncey. person
correspondedWith Rockhill, William Woodville, 1854-1914 person
associatedWith Sickles, Daniel Edgar, 1819-1914 person
associatedWith Smith, Frederick Augustus, 1812-1852. person
correspondedWith Smith, George Moore person
correspondedWith Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866. person
associatedWith Stanley, David Sloane, 1828-1902. person
associatedWith Swift, J. G. (Joseph Gardner), 1783-1865. person
associatedWith Thayer, Sylvanus, 1785-1872. person
associatedWith Tompkins family. family
associatedWith Totten, Joseph Gilbert, 1788-1864. person
memberOf United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. corporateBody
memberOf United States. Army. Department of the Missouri corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf United States Military Academy corporateBody
associatedWith Waddell, Charlotte Augusta Southwick, d.1891. person
associatedWith Wagstaff, David, 1910- person
associatedWith Webster, Horace, 1794-1871. person
associatedWith Wright, Horatio Gouverneur, 1820-1899. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Manhattan NY US
Meadville PA US
Newport RI US
Groton CT US
Washington City DC US
Boston Harbor MA US
West Point NY US
Fort Independence MA US
Annapolis MD US
Manhattan NY US
Fort Sumter (historical) SC US
Manhattan NY US
Deer Island MA US
Fort Warren MA US
New London CT US
Corinth MS US
Cairo IL US
St. Louis MO US
Subject
Civil War, 1861-1865
Corinth, Battle of, Corinth, Miss., 1862
Dredging
Engineers
Fort Henry, Battle of, Tenn., 1862
Fortifications, Military
Siege warfare
Occupation
Aides-de-camp
Army officers
Civil engineers
Soldiers
Activity

Person

Birth 1809-02-25

Death 1892-02-28

Male

Americans

English

Information

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