Adolphus Heiman (April 17, 1809 – November 16, 1862) was a

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n-born American architect and soldier; later becoming a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

officer during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

.The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
/ref>
/ref>
Myers E. Brown, II, ''Tennessee's Confederates'', Arcadia Publishing, 2011, p. 8

/ref>Christine Kreyling (ed.), ''Classical Nashville: Athens of the South'', Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University Press, 1996, pp. 48-5

/ref>

Early life

Adolphus Heiman was born in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, Prussia on April 17, 1809. His father was a building superintendent. He emigrated to the United States in 1834, spent time in New York City and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, and settled in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 1837.

Career

From 1837 to 1841, Heiman built the First Baptist Church on Fifth Avenue, which was destroyed in 1940, and tombstones in the Old City Cemetery on Fourth Avenue South in Nashville. Heiman volunteered for service in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

of 1846–48. He was commissioned as a First Lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers. He became the regimental Adjutant and was wounded in the

Battle of Cerro Gordo The Battle of Cerro Gordo, or Battle of Sierra Gordo, was an engagement in the Mexican–American War on April 18, 1847. The battle saw Winfield Scott's United States troops outflank Antonio López de Santa Anna's larger Mexican army, driving ...

. He was wounded again at the

Battle of Monterrey In the Battle of Monterrey (September 21–24, 1846) during the Mexican–American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by the Army of Occupation, a force of United States Regulars, Volunteers, an ...

. When the war ended he was breveted as Major. Mansion Front 2010

In 1849, he was commissioned to build a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

250-bed state Hospital for the Insane. He also designed the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Seven Dolors (now known as St. Mary's Catholic Church), the now-demolished Italianate-style Adelphi Theater, the Greek Revival-style Medical Department and the Gothic Revival-style Literary Department at the

University of Nashville University of Nashville was a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It was established in 1806 as Cumberland College. It existed as a distinct entity until 1909; operating at various times a medical school, a four-year military college, a ...

, and the Italianate-style Belmont Mansion. He also designed the Giles County Courthouse in

Pulaski, Tennessee Pulaski is a city in and the county seat of Giles County, which is located on the central-southern border of Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,397 at the 2020 census. It was named after Casimir Pulaski, a noted Polish-born general o ...

, St. John's College in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

and the Arkansas Masonic School, the First Presbyterian Church in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

and the Courtland Presbyterian Church in Courtland Alabama. He also designed the first suspension bridge in Tennessee over the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

. By the 1850s, he was widely known as "Nashville's architect." Residing in the city, Heiman also was a

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

as member of the local Cumberland Lodge No 8.

Civil War

Heiman served in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

. Initially commissioned a Major in the Provisional Army of Tennessee; he served as an aide-de-camp to Brigadier Robert G. Foster before becoming an assistant adjutant-general of the

Tennessee Military Department The Tennessee Military Department is a department within the Executive Branch of Tennessee State Government with four major components. The Tennessee Army National Guard and the Tennessee Air National Guard constitute the National Guard in Tenn ...

with the rank of colonel. When the 10th Tennessee Infantry Regiment was raised he was elected as its colonel and commanding officer. When the regiment was stationed at Fort Henry; Heiman built Fort Heiman on the opposite bank of the river. When the Union Army emerged for the

Battle of Fort Henry The Battle of Fort Henry was fought on February 6, 1862, in Stewart County, Tennessee, during the American Civil War. It was the first important victory for the Union and Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the Western Theater. On February 4 an ...

the regiment transferred to

Fort Donelson Fort Donelson was a fortress built early in 1862 by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to control the Cumberland River, which led to the heart of Tennessee, and thereby the Confederacy. The fort was named after Confederate general Da ...

where Heiman was given command of the brigade to which his regiment was assigned. When the fort surrendered in February 1862 he became a prisoner of war at Fort Warren in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and, gravely ill, was released after six months.

Death

Heiman immediately was put into a Confederate hospital in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

. He died there on November 16, 1862, six days after being re-elected colonel of the newly exchanged 10th Tennessee. A promotion to brigadier general had been hinted but not substantiated with evidence.* Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. , p. 600 He was buried in the Confederate Circle of Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville in 1869.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heiman, Adolphus 1809 births 1862 deaths Military personnel from Potsdam 19th-century German architects Architects from Tennessee American Freemasons American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Artists from Nashville, Tennessee Confederate States Army officers 19th-century American architects Foreign Confederate military personnel Prussian emigrants to the United States Confederate States of America military personnel killed in the American Civil War American Civil War prisoners of war