Alexander Hamilton Bowman (May 15, 1803 – November 11, 1865) was an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, military educator, and career officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. Bowman supervised the erection of

Charleston Harbor The Charleston Harbor is an inlet (8 sq mi/20.7 km²) of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Islands shelter the entrance. Charleston ...

defenses, including

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...

,Cullum, ''Biographical Register'', #394 and served as

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: * Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exe ...

of the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in Ameri ...

, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

Early life

Alexander H. Bowman was born on May 15, 1803, at Bowman's Hill in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...

, the sixth child of farmer Samuel Bowman.Johnson, ''The Historical Record'', p. 111 One of seven brothers who participated in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

as soldiers in the Continental Army, the elder Bowman and a brother fought at Lexington as two of the village's 48

minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

Johnson, ''The Historical Record'', p. 112 and as

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diff ...

of the

3rd Massachusetts Regiment The 3rd Massachusetts Regiment also known as the 24th Continental Regiment, Heath's Regiment, and Greaton's Regiment, was raised on April 23, 1775, under Colonel William Heath outside Boston, Massachusetts. When Heath was promoted to brigadier ...

of the

Continental Line The Continental Line ( sv, Kontinentalbanan) is a long railway between Malmö and Trelleborg in Sweden. At Trelleborg the railway terminates at a railway ferry quay allowing rail cars to be ferried to Sassnitz in Germany. A part of the railway ...

Daughterty, ''Bowman's Hill'', p. 10 guarded the

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

Major

John André John André (2 May 1750/1751''Gravesite–Memorial''
Westmi ...

awaiting his execution in 1780, walking him to the gallows. Samuel Bowman was later promoted to Lieutenant of the 1st Regiment of the

Massachusetts Line The Massachusetts Line was those units within the Continental Army that were assigned to Massachusetts at various times by the Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War. These, together with similar contingents from the other twel ...

.Metcalf, ''Society of the Cincinnati'', p. 59 One of his brothers was killed at

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. ...

, but after 1786 Captain Samuel and several of his siblings moved to the

Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal-mines. As a metropolitan ...

of northeast Pennsylvania. Appointed to the

from his native state on June 1, 1821, Bowman proved an excellent student, graduating third in his class of 37, and was appointed to the corps of engineers in 1825.

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

Bowman spent one year teaching at the academy as "Assistant Professor of History, Geography, and Ethics." Both Jefferson Davis (Class of 1828) and

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

(Class of 1829) attended the academy while Bowman was teaching there.

Military career

Bowman was engaged engineering improvements on the facilities and defenses of

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Missis ...

harbors for nine years. He built the military road between

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

and

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, then in 1835 Bowman was promoted to

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

of engineers, and married Marie Louise Colin, a native of

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principa ...

. After three years working in the

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

and

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 ...

systems, Bowman was again promoted. In 1838, Captain Bowman began a long period supervising construction of the

jetties A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

and defenses of the

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

in Charleston, South Carolina. The

Third system Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative to standing armies o ...

island coastal fortification

, started in 1827, was continued by Bowman and his engineers. Bowman returned to the academy in 1851, taught applied engineering to first class cadets, and was "Commandant of Sappers, Miners, and Pontoniers." Captain Bowman returned to Charleston for a year, working on engineering projects in

Georgetown, South Carolina Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, in the Lowcountry. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 9,163. Located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Black, ...

and

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

, before assignment in 1853 to Washington, D.C., superintending construction of the south wing extension of the U.S. Treasury Building. On January 23, 1861, during Secession Winter and with war looming,

Creole Creole may refer to: Anthropology * Creole peoples, ethnic groups which originated from linguistic, cultural, and often racial mixing of colonial-era emigrants from Europe with non-European peoples * Criollo people, the historic name of people ...