Charles C. Gratiot

Charles Chouteau Gratiot (1786-1855) - Born 29 Aug 1786 in St. Louis, Missouri. A Career U.S. Army officer, engineer and West Point graduate who became the Chief of Engineers (1828-1838) and attained the rank of Bvt. Brigadier General. Dismissed from the Army on 6 Dec 1838 by the President for failure to "...pay into the Treasury the balance of moneys placed into his hands...". Died 18 May 1855, St. Louis, Missouri.

He entered the United States Military Academy on 17 Jul 1804 appointed by President Thomas Jefferson and graduated 30 Oct 1806 in the Class of 1806 ranking 6th out of 15. He was commissioned a 2nd Lt in the U.S. Corps of Engineers.

By 1808 Gratiot was a Captain, a remarkably rapid rise in peacetime and by 1810 he was back at the United States Military Academy in command of the military garrison. He served in the War of 1812 as chief engineer of the Northern Army under Major General Harrison and the fought in the defense of Fort Meigs and in the attack on Fort Mackinac. Following the war he superintended the construction of coastal defenses including 9 years at Fort Monroe and Fort Calhoun. and was promoted to regular Colonel and Bvt Brigadier General at the end of that assignment. He next commanded the U.S. Corps of Engineers until 1838 when he ran afoul of the auditors and political enemies at the War Department over his claim that the government owed him money and his withholding of funds necessary for his reimbursement.

He was dismissed from the U.S. Army on 6 Dec 1838 by President Martin Van Buren for failure to "...pay into the Treasury the balance of moneys placed into his hands...". This was the result of a long standing disagreement with the War Department over what he felt was owed to him. After dismissal he became a clerk in the General Land Office in Washington DC.

He died 18 May 1855 in St. Louis, Missouri and was interred in section 13, Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in St. Louis, Missouri.

Father: Charles C. Gratiot, Sr (1752-1817)

Mother: Victoire Chouteau (1760-1825)

Marriage:
 * Ann Belin (1797-1886) born 8 Nov 1797, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; married 22 Apr 1819, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died 26 Dec 1886, Carondelet, Missouri

Children:
 * Mary Victoria Gratiot (1820-1878) born 17 Feb 1820, Old Point Comfort, Virginia; married Charles François Frederic De Montholon 1 Nov 1837; died 25 Oct 1878 Rouen, France
 * Julia Augusta Gratiot (1824-1895) born 14 Sep 1824, Old Point Comfort, Virginia; married Charles Pierre Chouteau 27 Nov 1845; died 3 Aug 1895, St. Louis, Missouri

Assignments:
 * (1804-1806) Cadet, United States Military Academy.
 * (1806-1810) 2nd Lt. (30 Oct 1806), Capt. (23 Feb 1808), U.S. Corps of Engineers, asst Engineer, Defenses of Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
 * (1810-1811) Capt. U.S. Corps of Engineers, United States Military Academy, in command of the Army garrison at West Point.
 * (1812-1815) War of 1812
 * Chief Engineer of the Northwestern Army (1813-1814)
 * Defense of Fort Meigs (28 Apr 1813 - 9 May 1813)
 * Bvt. Colonel (5 Oct 1813), Michigan Militia
 * Attack on Fort Mackinac, 4 Aug 1814
 * Major (9 Feb 1815), U.S. Corps of Engineers
 * (1816-1817) Major U.S. Corps of Engineers, Superintending Engineer of the fortifications in Delaware River and Bay.
 * (1817-1818) Major U.S. Corps of Engineers, Engineer Michigan & N.W. Territory.
 * (1819-1828) Lt. Colonel (31 Mar 1819), U.S. Corps of Engineers, Superintending Engineer, Hampton Roads Defenses, Fort Monroe & Fort Calhoun.
 * (1828-1838) Colonel (24 May 1828), Bvt. Brig. General (24 May 1828), command of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, in charge of the Engineer Bureau at Washington, DC, and (ex‑officio) Inspector of the Military Academy, on Ordnance and Artillery Boards.
 * (6 Dec 1838) Dismissed from the Army by the President of the United States for failure to "...pay into the Treasury the balance of moneys placed into his hands...".

Sources:
 * Find a Grave - Charles Chouteau Gratiot
 * Wikipedia - Charles C. Gratiot
 * Wikipedia - Charles C. Gratiot