Although Colonel Whittlesey was trained to the profession of arms, and has a military record of which he may well be proud, it is not in the field of battle that he has won the honors he prizes most, but in the broader fleld of science. It is among the heroes who have achieved distinction in grappling with the mysteries of nature and who have developed means for making life more useful and comfortable, that Colonel Whittlesey would have preferred taking position, rather than among those whose distinction comes rather of destruction than construction or production. But the exigencies of this work prevent the formation of a distinct scientific department, and the military services of Colonel Whittlesey have been such that he could not, without injustice, be omitted from this department of our work.

Charles Whittlesey was born in Southington, Connecticut, about midnight of October 4-5, 1808, being the first born of Asaph and Vesta Whittlesey. When four years old he was sent to the old red school house "to be out of harm's way," whilst his father was in the Ohio wilderness, exploring for a home.

The location was found, and in 1813 the family removed to Talmadge, Summit county, Ohio. There the young boy trudged from home to the log school house, south of Talmadge Centre, until 1819, when the frame academy was finished and the eleven year old lad attended school in the new building during the Winter, and in Summer worked on the farm. This mode of life continued until 1824.

In 1827, he was appointed a cadet at West Point.

During his second year at West Point, a fiery Southerner made a Personal assault upon a superior officer, the military punishment for which is death. He was condemned by a court-martial to be shot. While the sentence was being forwarded to Washington for approval the culprit was confined in the cadet prison, without irons. Cadet Whittlesey was one evening on post at the door of the prison, and as he passed on his beat, his back being for a moment towards the door, the prisoner, who was a powerful man, sprang out and seized the sentinel's musket from behind. At the same instant the muzzle of a pistol was presented to the ear of the young cadet with an admonition to keep quiet. This, however, did not prevent him from calling lustily for the "corporal of the guard." Cadet O. M. Mitchel, of subsequent fame, happened to be in charge of the guard as corporal and then coming up stairs with the relief. With his usual activity he sprang forward and the scion of chivalry ran. The guns of the sentinels at West Point are not loaded. The escaping prisoner could not, therefore, be shot, but in the pursuit by Cadet Whittlesey he had nearly planted a bayonet in his back when the guard seized him.

[Illustration: Yours Truly, Chas Mattingly]

After passing through the regular course of instruction at West Point, he graduated, and, in 1831, was made Brevet Second Lieutenant of the Fifth United States Infantry, and served in the Black Hawk campaign of 1832. He afterwards resigned, and for the next quarter of a century his record is wholly a scientific one. Recognizing the right of the government to his military services in national emergencies he offered to resume his old rank in the Florida war of 1838, and in the Mexican war of 1846, but his offers were not accepted.

In 1837, he was appointed on the geological survey of Ohio, and was engaged on that work two years, the survey eventually terminating through the neglect of the Legislature to make the necessary appropriations. Incomplete as the work was, the survey was of immense importance to Ohio, as the investigations of Colonel Whitlesey and his associates revealed a wealth of mineral treasures hitherto unsuspected, and enabled capital and enterprise to be directed with intelligence to their development. The value of the rich coal and iron deposits of North-eastern Ohio was disclosed by this survey, and thus the foundation was laid for the extensive manufacturing industry that has added enormously to the population, wealth and importance of this portion of the State. It was with the important results of his labors in Ohio in mind, that the State Government of Wisconsin secured his services for the geological survey of that State, which was carried on through the years 1858, 1859 and 1860, terminating with the breaking out of the war. From this survey also very important results have already followed, and still more will be arrived at in the course of a few years.

From 1847 to 1851, both inclusive, Colonel Whittlesey was employed by the United States government in the survey of Lake Superior and the upper Mississippi in reference to mines and minerals. In addition to this he has spent much time in surveying particular portions of the mineral districts of the Lake Superior basin, and has, in all, spent fifteen seasons on the waters of Lake Superior and upper Mississippi, making himself thoroughly familiar with the topography and geological character of that portion of our country.

Colonel Whittlesey was at home in Cleveland quietly pursuing his scientific studies and investigations, when the national trouble commenced. When the entrance of President Lincoln into Washington was threatened by violence in February, 1861, he was an enrolled member of one of the companies tendering their services to General Scott. Seeing that war was inevitable, he personally urged the Governor and Legislature of Ohio to prepare for it before the proclamation of April 15, 1861, and on the 17th he joined the Governor's staff as assistant quartermaster general. He served in the field in Western Virginia, with the three months levies, as State military engineer with the Ohio troops under Generals McClellan, Cox and Hill, and at Scary Run, on the Kanawha, July 17, 1861, behaved with great gallantry under fire, and conducted himself with intrepidity and coolness during an engagement that lasted two hours, and in which his horse was wounded under him. At the expiration of the service of the three months troops he was appointed Colonel of the 20th regiment Ohio volunteers, and detailed by General O. M. Mitchel as chief engineer of the department of the Ohio, where he planned and constructed the defences of Cincinnati, which he afterwards volunteered to defend, in September, 1862. At the battle of Fort Donelson he was with his regiment, and was complimented by General Grant on the morning of the surrender by being put in charge of the prisoners. A published correspondence from the prisoners proves with what kindness and courtesy to the unfortunate this task was performed. A testimony to a similar effect is the correspondence from the leading residents of the rebel counties of Owen, Grant, Carroll and Gallatin, in Kentucky, which in the Winter of 1861, were placed under his command, and which he ruled with such firmness, yet moderation, that both Union men and rebels bore witness to his conservative, moderate, and gentlemanly course, as well as to his promptness and decision.

At the battle of Shiloh, Colonel Whittlesey, on the second day of that desperate fight, commanded the third brigade of General Wallace's division. The part borne by this brigade in the battle has become historic. It was composed of Ohio troops, the 20th, 56th 76th, and 78th regiments, and it was against their line that General Beauregard attempted to throw the whole weight of his force for a last desperate charge, when he was driven back by the terrible fire poured into him. General Wallace, in his officiai report, makes especial and honorable mention of the important part taken by this brigade and its commander in the battle.

Soon after the battle Colonel Whittlesey sent in his resignation, which he had intended sending in earlier, but withheld because he foresaw some important military movements in which he desired to take part. The critical condition of his wife's health and his own disabilities, which had reached a point threatening soon to unfit him for any service whatever, compelled him to take this step. After the battle of Shiloh, when he could resign with honor and without detriment to the service, he sent in his resignation. General regret was expressed by the officers with whom he had been associated and by his old command. The application was endorsed by General Grant "We cannot afford to lose so good an officer." General Wallace, General Cox, and General Force added their commendations of his abilities and services, and few officers retired from the army with a clearer or more satisfactory record, or with greater regret on the part of his military associates.

Since his retirement, Colonel Whittlesey has been leisurely engaged in scientific and literary pursuits, has again spent much time in geological explorations in the Lake Superior and Upper Mississippi country, has organized and brought into successful operation the Western Reserve Historical Society, of which he continues to be president, and has accumulated in its spacious hall a good collection of historical works relating to the West, and a rich collection of geological and antiquarian specimens, gathered in Ohio and the Northwest.

Colonel Whittlesey has contributed largely to scientific literature, and his works have attracted wide attention, not only among scientific men of America, but of Europe. His published works are to be found in the Geological Reports of Ohio, 1838-9; United States Geological Surveys of the Upper Mississippi, D. D. Owen, 1847, 1849; United States Geological Surveys of Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Foster and Whitney, 1850, 1851; Life of John Fitch, Spark's American Biography, new series, Volume 6, 1845; Fugitive Essays, mainly historical, published at Hudson, Ohio, 8vo., pp. 357, 1854; Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge;--Ancient Works of Ohio, 1852; Fluctuation of Lake Levels, 1860; Ancient Mining on Lake Superior, 1863; Fresh Water Glacial Drift, 1866. In addition to these are an essay on the Mineral Resources of the Rocky Mountains, in 1863; a handsome and valuable volume on the Early History of Cleveland, in 1866, and about thirty essays, reports, and pamphlets, besides very numerous and valuable contributions to newspapers and scientific journals.