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Barton Stone Alexander (September 4, 1819 – December 15, 1878) was an American engineer commander during the American Civil War who rose to the brevet rank of brigadier general in the regular army. He was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served in the United States Army's Corps of Topographical Engineers, which at times was both a part of and separate from the United States Army Corps of Engineers. After graduating from West Point as a second lieutenant in the Class of 1842, he served in the Mexican-American War, building fortifications to protect American supply lines in the advance on Mexico City. After the end of the war, he was stationed in Washington, D.C., where he served as architect for the Scott Building and Quarters Buildings at the U.S. Soldiers' Home and took over the completion of the Smithsonian Institution Building after dissatisfaction with the pace of the first architect caused him to be dismissed. After the completion of the Smithsonian in 1855, he traveled to New England, where he supervised the rebuilding of the Minot's Ledge Lighthouse, a project widely considered to be one of the most difficult to be attempted by the U.S. Government up to that time. During the American Civil War, he served as an advisor to the Engineering Brigade of the Army of the Potomac and became chief engineer of the defenses of Washington, D.C. Following the conclusion of hostilities, he served as chief engineer of the Military Division of the Pacific, making him the head engineer for every military construction project on the West Coast. In later years, he persuaded the U.S. government to acquire Pearl Harbor from the Kingdom of Hawaii and supervised numerous irrigation and land reclamation projects in California's central valley. He died on December 15, 1878, in San Francisco, California. ==Pre-Civil War== Alexander was born in Nicholas County, Kentucky,〔''Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896''. "Barton Stone Alexander", Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.〕 He entered West Point in the fall of 1838. Alexander was a diligent student, and corrected an entering weakness in mathematics to graduate seventh of 56 cadets in the Class of 1842. Between 1843 and 1848, he worked on several fortification projects along the East Coast of the United States, including Forts Pulaski, Jackson, and the defenses of New York City.〔(''Introduction to Central Valley Irrigation projects'', U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. ), p. 19.〕 In 1848, he participated in the Mexican-American War as a second lieutenant of engineers, helping build defenses to protect American supply lines as Winfield Scott's army advanced on Mexico City. After the conclusion of the war, now-First Lieutenant Alexander returned to West Point for a four-year assignment as Treasurer and Superintending Engineer for the Cadets' Barracks and Mess Hall.〔Field, Cynthia R. "Director's Column: The Second Architect of the Smithsonian Building." ''Smithsonian Preservation Quarterly'', Fall 1994 edition. The Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.〕 In 1852, Alexander was assigned to Washington, D.C., where he assisted in the design and construction of several government buildings. The first of these was the Scott Building of the U.S. Soldiers' Home, now known as the Armed Forces Retirement Home. The building was named for General Winfield Scott, who donated $100,000 for the establishment of the Soldiers' Home in 1851. It served as the central focus of the complex, and still stands today.〔(History of the Soldiers' Home and adjacent Lincoln Cottage ) Accessed September 5, 2007 〕 Constructed in the Romanesque Revival style, the Scott Building features a round-arched motif utilizing white Vermont marble.〔Poppeliers, John C. and Chambers, S. Allen. ''What Style Is It?: A Guide to American Architecture''. John Wiley and Sons, 2003. p. 56〕 At the same time as his work on the Scott Building, Alexander was asked to take up the challenge of completing the Smithsonian Institution Building, the progress of which had bogged down under architect James Renwick, Jr. In August 1853, Alexander accepted, and by 1855, the Smithsonian Building was complete.〔 During construction, Alexander slightly altered Renwick's original design by placing the Smithsonian's main lecture hall on the second floor. The change allowed for superior acoustics and a wider space than could be found on the first floor.〔(Upper Main Hall diagram, The Smithsonian. ) Accessed September 5, 2007〕 To support the large lecture hall and the central core of the building, Alexander arranged for the installation of fireproof masonry-encased iron structural columns. These would prove their value on January 24, 1865, when a fire broke out on the roof above the lecture hall. The resulting blaze destroyed the hall and damaged much of the rest of the structure. Thanks to the fireproof columns, however, the Smithsonian building did not collapse.〔Scott, Pamela. ''Capital Engineers: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Development of Washington, D.C., 1790-2004''. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2007. (Link ) Chapter 2, pp. 38-39.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Barton S. Alexander」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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