Walter Gwynn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Walter Gwynn
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| Born | February 22, 1802 Jefferson County, Virginia (now West Virginia) |
| Died | February 6, 1882 (aged 79) Baltimore, Maryland |
| Place of burial |
Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia
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| Allegiance |  United States of America Confederate States of America |
| Service/ |
 United States Army Confederate States Army |
| Years of service | 1822–32 (USA) 1861–63 (CSA) |
| Rank |  First Lieutenant (USA)Brigadier General (CSA) |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
| Other work | Florida Comptroller, Civil engineer |
Walter Gwynn (born February 22, 1802 – died February 6, 1882) was an important American civil engineer and soldier. He was known for building many railroads and canals. Before the American Civil War, he was a railroad engineer and even a railroad president. During the war, he served as a general in the Virginia and North Carolina militias. Later, he became a colonel in the Confederate States Army. After the war, he continued his work as a civil engineer.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Walter Gwynn was born in Jefferson County, Virginia. This area is now part of West Virginia. His family had lived in Virginia for a very long time. His grandfather, Humphrey Gwynn, was a descendant of Colonel Hugh Gwynn, who came to Virginia before 1640.
Walter's father, Thomas Peyton Gwynn, died in 1810. When Walter was 16, in 1818, his sister Frances Ann Gwynn and her husband, William Branch Giles, became his guardians. William B. Giles was a well-known politician who later became the Governor of Virginia.
Studying at West Point
Walter Gwynn attended the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. He graduated in 1822. After graduating, he became a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army artillery. In 1827, while still in the army, he helped survey the path for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). This was one of America's first major railroads.
A Career in Engineering
Walter Gwynn left the army in 1832 to focus on engineering. He became a very busy and important civil engineer. He helped build many railroads and canals across the southeastern United States.
Building Railroads
From 1833 to 1836, he was the chief engineer for the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad. This meant he was in charge of building it. He then worked as Superintendent and Chief Engineer for the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in North Carolina from 1836 to 1840. During this time, he also surveyed routes for other railroads and canals in Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Gwynn also held leadership roles in railroad companies. He was president of the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad from 1842 to 1846. In 1846, he became president of the James River and Kanawha Canal Company. He held this job until 1853.
In 1850, the North Carolina Rail Road Company hired him as Chief Engineer. He oversaw the construction of this railroad until it was finished in early 1856. He also worked on surveys for the Atlantic & North Carolina Railroad and the Western North Carolina Railroad. From 1848 to 1855, he was the chief engineer of the Wilmington & Manchester Railroad. He also worked on the Blue Ridge Rail Road Company in South Carolina in the 1850s.
Walter Gwynn was known for working on many projects at the same time. Some people criticized this, but his skills and achievements were so great that he became famous. By the late 1850s, he was known around the world as a top railroad engineer. He helped create the railroad network in the southeastern United States. One colleague said that Gwynn "made for himself a reputation among his fellow engineers that will last for all time." He retired from railroad work in 1857 and moved to South Carolina.
Role in the Civil War
When the Civil War began in 1861, Walter Gwynn joined the South Carolina Militia as a major in the engineers. He helped plan the attack on Fort Sumter. He was also in charge of building defenses around Charleston Harbor. These defenses faced Fort Sumter.
Defending Virginia
On April 10, 1861, Gwynn became a major general in the Virginia Militia. The governor of Virginia, John Letcher, asked him to take command of the defenses around Norfolk and Portsmouth. He worked with William Mahone, who was the president of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad.
Mahone, who was still a civilian, helped trick the Federal troops into leaving the Gosport Shipyard in Portsmouth. He did this by making a lot of noise with a single passenger train. The train would arrive loudly, then quietly go back, and then return again. This made the Federal soldiers think many Confederate troops were arriving. The trick worked, and the Union forces left the area without any fighting. They retreated to Fort Monroe.
Gwynn also oversaw the building of defenses at Sewell's Point. This location was across Hampton Roads from Fort Monroe. He also took part in the Battle of Big Bethel.
Later War Service
In the spring and summer of 1861, Gwynn served as a brigadier general in the Virginia Provisional Army. He then became a brigadier general in the North Carolina Militia. He commanded the Northern Coast Defenses of North Carolina.
By August 1861, he joined the Confederate States Army as a major of engineers. He was promoted to colonel on October 9, 1862.
Later Life
In 1863, Walter Gwynn left the army. He was then named Florida Comptroller, a government position in Florida. After the Civil War ended, Gwynn went back to working as a civil engineer in North Carolina.
He passed away in 1882 in Baltimore, Maryland. He is buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
Images for kids
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Insignia for a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
