 He graduated at West Point in 1836, entered the artillery as a second lieutenant, and until 1840 served as assistant engineer in building the Cumberland Road.He superintended the construction of Forts Kearney and Laramie (1847–50), but in 1851 he was recalled to the East.He published works on "Sustaining Walls" (1845) and the "Theory of the Arch" (1858).