James William Abert

{{Short description|American soldier, explorer, ornithologist and topographical artist}}

{{Infobox military person

|name=James William Abert

|image=Abert James William 1820-1897.png

|caption=

|birth_date= {{Birth date|1820|11|18}}

|death_date= {{Death date and age|1897|08|10|1820|11|18}}

|birth_place=Mount Holly Township, New Jersey, U.S.

|death_place=Newport, Kentucky, U.S.

|placeofburial=Evergreen Cemetery (Southgate, Kentucky)

|placeofburial_label=

|nickname=

|allegiance={{flag|United States of America|1837}}

|branch={{army|USA}}

|serviceyears=1842–1864

|rank=Major
Brevet Lieutenant Colonel

|unit=Corps of Topographical Engineers

|commands=

|battles=

|awards=

|relations=

|laterwork=

}}

File:Acoma No. 3 by JW Abert.jpg by J.W. Abert, 1848]]

James William Abert (November 18, 1820 – August 10, 1897) was an American soldier, explorer, bird collector and topographical artist.

Early life

Abert, the son of John James Abert,[http://www.topogs.org/b_abertjw.html U.S. Corps of Tophographical Engineers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801234355/http://www.topogs.org/b_abertjw.html |date=2015-08-01 }} was born in Mount Holly Township, New Jersey, and graduated from West Point in 1842.

Military career

File:James William Abert's Towhee.jpg Abert joined the Corps of Topographical Engineers, which was headed by his father, in 1843. He joined several expeditions into the west, including John Frémont's third expedition, and illustrated these expeditions reports with his sketches. He was also put in charge of a detachment to map the Canadian River.

In 1846 he was sent west to join the army of General Kearney in the war against Mexico, returning to Fort Leavenworth in the following year. It was during this time that he acquired a new species of bird, which was named the Abert's towhee in his honour.

During the American Civil War, he served on the staffs of Robert Patterson, Nathaniel P. Banks and Quincy A. Gillmore. He was wounded during the Maryland Campaign, and retired from the Army in June 1864.

Later life

After the Civil War, he became a professor of English literature, mathematics and drawing at the University of Missouri. He was also a professor of civil engineering, applied mathematics, and engineering drawing at the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (1872–1877).{{cite journal |last=Pearson |first=Brooks C. |date=Spring 2005 |title=James W. Abert (1820–1897): Artist, Naturalist, Land Developer, and Topographical Engineer |url=https://archive.org/details/journalofkentu6612005kent/page/2/mode/2up |journal=Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science |publisher=Kentucky Academy of Science |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=2–16 |doi=10.3101/1098-7096(2005)66[2:JWAANL]2.0.CO;2 |issn=1098-7096 |access-date=May 31, 2022}}

His original watercolors are now privately owned.

References

Who's Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1967.

External links

{{Internet Archive author |sname=James William Abert}}
[http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=AB001 Dianna Everett, " Abert Expedition." Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.]
[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/Army/USMA/Cullums_Register/1165*.html Career Profile]