 He was assigned to the command of the engineer battalion at Willet's Point, New York.He created the army's Engineer School of Application there, and served on numerous boards, including the Board on the Use of Iron in Permanent Defenses, the Board of Engineers for Fortifications, the Gun Foundry Board, the Board on Fortifications and Other Defenses, and the Board of Ordnance and Fortifications.Abbot's influence can be seen in many facets of the coast defense systems of the United States of that period—in particular, in the submarine mine system, and in the use of seacoast mortars.