John Grubb Parke (September 22, 1827 – December 16, 1900) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

engineer and a Union general in 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 ...

. Parke's Civil War service was closely associated with Ambrose E. Burnside, often serving him as

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

in major engagements such as Antietam, Fredericksburg and the

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, towards the end of the American Civil War. Lieutenant general (United States), Lt. G ...

. Parke also held significant field commands during Burnside's North Carolina Expedition, Vicksburg and the battle of Fort Stedman as well as brief stints in command of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

. From 1887 to 1889, John G. Parke was the

Superintendent of the United States Military Academy The superintendent of the United States Military Academy is the academy's commanding officer. This position is roughly equivalent to the chancellor (education), chancellor or University president, president of an American civilian university. T ...

Early life

Parke was born in Coatesville,

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially referred to as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in ...

, to Francis G. and Sarah Parke. He graduated from the

United States Military Academy 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 ...

in 1849 and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the

Corps of Topographical Engineers Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gene ...

. As an engineer, he determined the boundary lines between

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

and the Little Colorado River, surveyed routes for a railroad from the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, and served as the chief surveyor of the party charged with the delineation of the boundary of the northwest United States and the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

, 1857–1861.

Civil War

At the start of the Civil War, Parke was appointed brigadier general of volunteers and commanded a

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

in the operations on the

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

coast in early 1862. He received a brevet promotion for the Battle of Fort Macon and was promoted to major general of volunteers on July 18, 1862. In the

, Parke served briefly as commander of 3rd Division, IX Corps. Then he served as chief of staff to Maj. Gen.

Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everts Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the American Civil War and a three-time Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successfu ...

during the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. He assumed command of the IX Corps and was sent to the Western Theater for the

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaigns were a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi ...

. Parke then was Burnside's chief of staff in the

Army of the Ohio The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union Army, Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863. History 1st Army of the Ohio General Orders No. 97 appointed ...

in the defense of

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. Parke served as chief of staff to Burnside during the

, in which the latter commanded IX Corps, as well as in the beginning stages of the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a c ...

. After the Battle of the Crater, Burnside was relieved of command and Parke assumed command of the IX Corps. He led it at the Battle of Globe Tavern, the Battle of Peebles' Farm, and the Battle of Boydton Plank Road. In 1865, while

commander Maj. Gen. George G. Meade was in a conference, Parke, being senior officer, was acting commander of the army during the Battle of Fort Stedman until Meade returned to the field. He led the IX Corps through the fall of Petersburg and the Appomattox Campaign. In 1865 he was appointed brevet major general in the

regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

in recognition of his service at Fort Stedman.

Postbellum career

After the Confederate surrender, Parke commanded IX Corps in the Department of Washington. He also briefly commanded XXII Corps. Parke was mustered out of the volunteer service on January 15, 1866. He served as an engineer, being promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel on March 4, 1879. Parke attained the rank of colonel on March 17, 1884. He served as superintendent of the

from August 28, 1887, to June 24, 1889, and he retired from the Army on July 2 of that year. Parke wrote several reports on public improvements and exploration of the west. He also served as a

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

, publishing maps of the

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomi ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Parke died in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, leaving a wife, Ellen, but no children. He is buried in the churchyard of Church of St. James the Less in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. A Pennsylvania state historical marker outside Coatesville commemorates Parke as a surveyor and West Point superintendent.

Selected works

* ''Extracts from opinions of attorneys-general of U.S. concerning acquisition of land; bridges; certificate of Government titles; cession of jurisdiction; compensation of counsel; contracts; disbursing officers; execution of laws; harbor improvements; miscellaneous subjects; obstruction to navigation; public property; riparian rights; sales of public property; soil under navigable waters; South Pass, Mississippi River; Washington Aqueduct; and Washington City'', Washington: G.P.O., 1882. * ''Extracts from the reports of decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States concerning navigable waters, riparian proprietors, bridges, boundaries between states, eminent domain, title to certain lots in Washington City, and contracts'', Washington: G.P.O., 1882. * ''Laws of the United States relating to the construction of bridges over navigable waters of the United States'', 2nd ed., Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1887–1893. * ''Laws of the United States relating to the improvement of rivers and harbors: from August 11, 1790 to March 3, 1887, with a tabulated statement of appropriations and allotments'', Washington: G.P.O., 1887. * ''Message ... communicating ... information with regard to the present condition of the work marking the boundary, pursuant to the first article of the treaty between the United States and Great Britain of June 15, 1846'', Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1860. * (with William H. Emory) ''Report of explorations for that portion of a railway route near the 32d parallel of latitude, lying between Dona Ana, on the Rio Grande, and Pimas Villages, on the Gila, 1855'', Washington, D.C.: Corps of Topographical Engineers, 1859.

References

* Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, .

External links