20 Facts About George Bomford

George Bomford was a distinguished military officer in the United States Army and an inventor and designer of weapons and defensive installations.

George Bomford served as the second Chief of Ordnance for the US Army Ordnance Corps.

George Bomford was born on Long Island, New York in 1780 during the American Revolutionary War, the son of a British officer, Thomas Bomford of the 60th Royal Artillery, and his wife.

Swift sought and received a "Cadet's Warrant" from General Henry Dearborn for his friend, and George Bomford was appointed to West Point from the state of New York on 23 October 1804, despite the circumstances of his birth.

From 1808 to 1810, George Bomford served in the defenses of Chesapeake Bay.

George Bomford was attached to the artillery when the army was reorganized in 1821 and the Ordnance Department and Artillery Departments were merged in the interest of economy.

George Bomford was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1841.

George Bomford held both positions until his death in 1848.

In 1811, George Bomford developed the first heavy coastal defense howitzers that would come to be referred to as Columbiads.

The heavy coastal defense howitzers designed by George Bomford combined attributes of the gun, and the mortar, to produce a long-range, high-powered, anti-ship weapon.

George Bomford's design was improved by the Navy's Dahlgren Gun, but was superseded by the Rodman gun of the Civil War.

Shortly after graduating West Point, Bomford married Louisa Sophia Catton, daughter of the noted English artist Charles P Catton.

George Bomford graduated from Norwich University in Vermont in 1828.

George Bomford gained an appointment at West Point, where he graduated in 1832.

George Bomford rose to a colonel in the 8th United States infantry, and was promoted to a brevet brigadier general in the American Civil War.

George Bomford was a Lieutenant Colonel of the 42nd New York Infantry, 3rd Brigade of the Second Division, under the command of Brigadier General Oliver O Howard, and fought at the Battle of Fredericksburg during the Civil War.

Louisa Sophia George Bomford was born on 3 May 1813 in Albany, New York.

George Bomford died 19 April 1864 in Newport, Rhode Island.

George Bomford married a second time 20 April 1816 to Clarissa "Clara" Baldwin and they had three children.

George Bomford died in Boston, Massachusetts 25 March 1848 while on army business and was buried in a tomb in the family mausoleum on the "Kalorama estate" in Washington, DC In 1892, due to construction of Massachusetts Avenue on the site of the estate, the remains of George Bomford, his wife Clara, and son Henry Baldwin Bomford, were moved to Rock Creek Cemetery and placed under one headstone.