James Fingal Gregory
USMA Annual Reunion, June 9th, 1898
No. 2062. Class of 1865
Died July 31, 1897, at Cincinnati, Ohio, aged 54.
On the 31st day of July, 1897, the veil which separates the busy present, with all its strifes and turmoils, loves, hopes and ambitions, from the eternal unknown, was suddenly pushed aside to James Fingal Gregory, and his spirit passed beyond. He was born November 22, 1843, at West Troy, N. Y. His early education and preparation for college was under the special care and guidance of his father, the Rev. Oscar H. Gregory, D. D., of the Dutch Reform Church. For a short time he attended the Troy University and from there went to Union College, Schenectady, N. Y. He entered the Military Academy at West Point July 1, 1861, and was graduated June 23, 1865. With the foundation thus laid, he entered upon a career bright with the prospects of honor to himself and usefulness to his country.
He was assigned to duty as Second Lieutenant in the Fifth Regiment of Artillery, and soon after transferred to the Corps of Engineers, and promoted to First Lieutenant to date May 1, 1866. On January 13, 1874, he became a Captain, Major October 12, 1886. From July 15, 1881, to October 10, 1885, he served as aide-de-camp on the staff of Lieutenant General P. H. Sheridan, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was married March 26, 1889, to Marianne Minnegerode, youngest daughter of the late Rev. Charles Minnegerode, D. D., rector of St. Paul's church, Richmond, Va.
His service includes duty on the geodetic survey of the northern lakes; with the Engineer Company at Yuba Buena Island, San Francisco Harbor, Cal.; on the boundry survey along the 49th parallel; on survey of Union and Central Pacific Railroads; as Chief Engineer of the Department of Texas; as a Captain in Engineer Battalion at Willett's Point, N. Y.; as aide-de-camp to Lieutenant General Sheridan; in the office of the Chief of Engineers; as Engineer Secretary to the Light House Board; in charge of various works of river and harbor improvements in different parts of the country; and on many engineer boards having under consideration difficult problems and important interests effecting the welfare of the country.
To the early duties that devolved upon him as a cadet, and to the grave and important responsibilities that were committed to his charge at different times throughout his life, as well as those with which he was burdened at its close, he brought to bear a clear and conscientious conception of what was right, and with constant loyalty to the government and fealty to his superior officers, discharged them all with an intelligent industry which always marked him as the right man in the right place. No other motive than an honest discharge of duty ever actuated his official life and no brighter record of duty well done is anywhere to be found.
The personal charm of manner with which Colonel Gregory was endowed, his uniform courtesy, and gentleness of disposition, marked him as one to be loved and trusted. He was held in high esteem while living, by hosts of friends who now mourn his loss as of one to whom they were tied by the tenderest cords of affection and memory.
A. Classmate
James Fingal Gregory, Twenty Ninth Annual Reunion of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, June 9th, 1898. (PDF)