Egbert Ludovicus Viele () (June 17, 1825 – April 22, 1902) was a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

and

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from New York from 1885 to 1887, as well as an officer in the Union army 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 ...

Biography

Viele was born in Waterford, New York ( Saratoga County), a son of Kathlyne Schuyler (Knickerbocker) and State Senator John L. Viele. He graduated with honors from The Albany Academy and studied law briefly before entering the United States Military Academy at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, New York. He graduated on July 1, 1847, and was commissioned as a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Infantry. He served 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, ...

and was promoted to second lieutenant in the First United States Infantry on September 8, 1847. From 1848 to 1849 he was assigned to establish a military camp at

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, Webb County, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a villag ...

, which was named "Camp Crawford." Viele 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 se ...

on October 26, 1850. He resigned from the service in 1853 to become a civil engineer. He received an appointment as State Engineer of New Jersey in 1855 with a commission to conduct a topographical survey of the state. He also surveyed the environs that would become

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

in New York City and submitted a design proposal. A competition was held which was awarded to the Greensward Plan from Frederick Law Olmsted and

Calvert Vaux Calvert Vaux Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, FAIA (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape architect, landscape designer. He and his protégé Frederick Law Olmsted designed park ...

. Viele was appointed engineer-in-chief of Central Park in 1856, and engineer of Prospect Park (also in New York City) in 1860. Viele was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the Engineer Corps of the 7th New York Militia in 1860, and was given a Commission as Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers, on August 17, 1861, after the Civil War began. He commanded forces on the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

during the Siege of Fort Pulaski and was appointed Military Governor of

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, in 1862. He resigned from service on October 20, 1863, to again engage in civil engineering.

Viele Map

Viele was author of a color city map, a "Sanitary & Topographical Map of the City and Island of New York," first published in 1865, and now called the "Viele Map", which shows his survey of the original streams, marshes and coastline of New York City, superimposed over the street grid. The map is still used by modern geotechnical engineers, structural engineers and planners to design the foundations of new buildings and structures in the city.

Later life and death

In 1866 he became a Companion of the New York Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and later, Companion of the New York Commandery of the Military Order of Foreign Wars. In 1867, he worked as chief engineer on the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad. From 1883 to 1884, Viele was the commissioner of parks for New York City. He was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1887) and an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1886 to the Fiftieth Congress; he resumed his former business pursuits and engaged in literary work. In 1886, he joined the Aztec Club of 1847. He served as the club's president from 1899 to 1900. Viele died at the age of 77 in New York City. He and his second wife are entombed in a pyramid-shaped mausoleum, guarded by a pair of

sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...

es, in the Post Cemetery at West Point, New York. According to an official video about West Point, Viele had a buzzer installed in his coffin wired to the house of the Superintendent of

so as to provide rescue if Viele had been accidentally buried alive.

Personal life

Viele married Teresa Griffin, author of ''Following the Drum'', on June 3, 1850, and they had several children, including the writers Francis Viélé-Griffin, Herman Knickerbocker Vielé, and Emily Vielé Strother. Viele and his first wife were divorced in 1872, and he later married Juliette Dana.

Publications

''Hand-book for active service; containing practical instructions in campaign duties. For the use of volunteers.''
(1861) New York: D. Van Nostrand. ''Reprint: '' (1968) New York: Greenwood Press. * ''Sanitary & Topographical Map of the City and Island of New York Prepared for the Council of Hygiene and Public Health of the Citizens Association. Under the direction of Egbert L. Viele, Topographical Engineer. Entered … 1865 by Egbert L. Viele … New York.'' Ferd. Mayer & Co. Lithographers, 96 Fulton St. New York (1865), the "Viele Map" (1:12,000 scale with 1 inset map and 3 profiles).Haskell 1132; Stokes vol 3, p.777-778 * ''Topographical Atlas of the City of New York'' (1874) New York: R. Craighead, printer. Original map reissued in a larger format and abbreviated title, also published as a pocket map.The original map is now owned by Arthur Viele.
Publications by Egbert Ludovicus Viele
– Internet archive – online

References

External links

Retrieved on 2008-10-10
"The Viele Map"
High resolution scans hosted a
eclecticmaps.com
Retrieved on 2012-03-28
Viele, EGBERT LUDOVICUS – Biography.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association. {{DEFAULTSORT:Viele, Egbert Ludovicus 1825 births 1902 deaths American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Members of the Aztec Club of 1847 People from Waterford, New York United States Military Academy alumni American civil engineers Union army generals People of New York (state) in the American Civil War Burials at West Point Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) United States Army officers 19th-century American engineers Engineers from New York (state) The Albany Academy alumni 19th-century New York (state) politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives