Bernard, Simon, 1779-1839

Simon Bernard, a French military engineer, was born in 1779 and educated at the Ecole Polytechnique. He served in the French army of the Rhine as well as in northern Italy and was made a French captain in 1800. He became known to Napoleon and worked on military intelligence leading to the battle of Austerlitz. He was charged with designing fortifications of Antwerp and later served Napoleon directly. After Napoleon's fall, Bernard went to the United States (1816) and was given a position with rank of brigadier-general in the Army Corps of Engineers. He worked on planning coastal defenses. He was appointed to a United States engineering board with Joseph G. Totten and worked on construction of canals and a system of United States military fortification. His most famous military work was Fort Monroe, Va. Upon returning to France in 1831, he worked for the French king and was the French minister of war and inspector-general of engineers. He died in 1839.

From the description of Simon Bernard papers, 1843. (US Army, Mil Hist Institute). WorldCat record id: 47028000

French general and engineer; minister of war, 1826-1839; worked in US on Fort Monroe and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

From the guide to the Baron Simon Bernard letter to Monsieur Duponceau, 1823, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)