Egbert L. Vielé

Egbert Ludovicus Vielé (1825-1902) - Born 17 Jun 1825, at Waterford, New York. A U.S Army officer, engineer and graduate of the United States Military Academy,. Died 22 Apr 1902 in New York, New York and was buried in the West Point Cemetery. Vielé was appointed to the United States Military Academy on 1 Jul 1842, and graduated 30th of 38 in the Class of 1847 on 17 Jun 1847.

He was commissioned as a brevet 2nd Lt. in the 2nd U.S. Infantry and served briefly in the Mexican War, where he was promoted to 2nd Lt. in the 1st U.S. Infantry on 8 Sep 1847. From 1848 to 1849 he was assigned to Ringgold Barracks (later Fort Ringgold) in Starr County, Texas. While there he received orders to establish a military camp at Laredo. He rode upriver from Ringgold Barracks with Company G of the 1st U.S. Infantry and reached Laredo on 3 Mar 1849. There he chose a high, relatively flat area on the east bank of the river at the point where the Rio Grande makes a turn eastward and passes below the town. The camp was called Camp Crawford in honor of George W. Crawford, Zachary Taylor's Secretary of War. On the last day of 1849 he surrendered command of the camp to Captain John H. King. Vielé married Teresa Griffin on June 3, 1850. They had eight children. He was promoted to 1st Lt. on 16 Oct 1850, resigned his commission on 1 Jun 1853, and returned to civilian life as an engineer.

From 1854 to 1857 Vielé was chief topographical engineer for the state of New Jersey and was the engineer-in-chief in charge of planning and designing New York City's Central Park, using the plans of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. In 1860 Vielé was chosen to design Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Early in 1861 he published his Hand-book for Active Service, which was widely used in training Union troops as well as recruits for the Confederacy.

U.S. Civil War
At the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War, Vielé served briefly as a captain of engineers in the 7th New York Militia, April 19-30, 1861, then on August 17, 1861, was made a Brigadier General of volunteers and was given second in command of the Port Royal expedition. He also commanded the forces that captured Fort Pulaski, and in May 1862 he was made military governor of Norfolk, Virginia. He resigned his commission in October 1863 to follow a civil engineering career in New York. In 1865 he published The Topography and Hydrology of New York. Two years later he became chief engineer on the Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Rochester Railroad. He and his wife were divorced in 1872, and he later married Juliette Dana. From 1883 to 1884 Vielé served as commissioner of parks for New York City. In 1884 he was elected to Congress as a Democrat but was defeated for reelection after only one term and returned to private practice. While visiting England in 1896, he was invited by the British House of Lords to speak on the "Municipal Improvements in the United States." As a member of the International Congress of History he also gave the closing address at the Hague Congress in 1898. Vielé dedicated his last years to the improvement of the United States Military Academy, where he served as president of the Board of Visitors and of the Association of Graduates. One of his last engineering projects involved the enlargement of the cemetery at West Point. Vielé also obtained permission to build a tomb at West Point for himself and his second wife, Juliette, who had died in 1889. Vielé died on April 22, 1902. Today his pyramid-shaped tomb measuring 25 by 31 feet is a landmark at West Point.

Father: John L. Vielé

Mother: Kathline Schuyler (Knickerbacker)

Marriage:
 * Teresa Griffin (1831-1902) Born 27 Jan 1831, New York City, New York. Married 3 Jun 1850 (8 Children). Divorced in 1872. Died 1902, Paris, France.
 * Juliette Dana (-1889) Married in 1872, New York, New York.

Children:
 * Francis Griffin Vielé (1851-1852) Born on 1 Sep 1851, Ringgold Barracks, Texas. Died on 27 Mar 1852 in Ringgold Barracks, Texas.
 * Kathlyne Knickerbocker Vielé (1853-1924) Born 12 Nov 1853, New Brighton, Staten Island, New York.
 * Herman Knickerbocker Vielé (1856-1908) Born 31 Jan 1856. Died, 1908.
 * Francis Griffin Vielé Born 8 Jun 1857, New York, New York. Died 8 Jun 1857, New York, New York.
 * Teresa Vielé Born 12 Oct 1858, New York, New York. Died 11 Aug 1879, New York, New York.
 * Mary Violette Vielé Born 26 Apr 1862, New York, New York. Died 29 Nov 1862, New York, New York.
 * Egbert Ludovicus, Jr. Vielé Born 26 May 1863, Norfolk, Virginia. Died in Paris, France.
 * Emily Vielé Born 18 Mar 1865, New York.

Assignments:
 * (1842-1847) Cadet, United States Military Academy
 * (1847-1848) Bvt. 2nd Lt.(1 Jul 1847), 2nd Lt. (8 Sep 1847) 2nd U.S. Infantry, Mexican War
 * (1848-1849) 2nd Lt., 1st U.S. Infantry, Ringgold Barracks, Texas
 * (1849-1849) 2nd Lt., 1st U.S. Infantry, Camp Crawford, Texas
 * (1850-1853) 1st Lt. (16 Oct 1850),
 * (1853) Resigned commission 1 Jun 1853
 * (1861-1861) Capt., engineers, 7th New York Militia
 * (1861-1863) Brig. Gen. of volunteers (17 Aug 1861)
 * (1863) Resigned commission in Oct. 1863

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Links: Sources:
 * Congressional Biography
 * Congressional Biography
 * Texas Online