Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/149

Rh BABBITT, Edwin Burr, soldier, b. in Connecticut about 1802; d. at Fort Monroe, 10 Dec, 1881. He was appointed to West Point from Indiana, and was graduated in 1826. He became first lieutenant. 3d infantry, 31 March, 1834, assistant quartermaster, 10 March, 1836, and captain, 3d infantry, 1 July, 1839. He served in the Florida war of 1837-'8, and in the Mexican war during 1847-8. On 30 May, 1848, he was brevetted major "for meritorious conduct while serving in the enemy's country." He was made chief quartermaster of the department of Oregon 14 Nov., 1800, and of the department of the Pacific 13 Sept., 1861, serving there until 29 July, 1866, when he was retired from active service, being over sixty-two years old. He was brevetted brigadier-general for his services on 13 March, 1865. Gen. Babbitt, notwithstanding his retirement, served as chief quartermaster of the department of the Columbia from 1866 till 1867, and had charge of the clothing depot of the division of the Pacific from 1867 till 1869.

BABBITT, Isaac, inventor, b. in Taunton, Mass., 26 July, 1799; d. in Somerville, Mass., 26 May, 1862. He was a goldsmith by trade, and early turned his attention to the production of alloys, and in 1824 made in Taunton the first britannia ware raanufactui-ed in the United States. As this proved financially unsuccessful, he withdrew, and in 1834 removed to Boston, where he engaged with the South Boston Iron Company, better known as Alger's foundries. While there employed, in 1839, he discovered the now well-known anti-friction metal that bears his name and is so extensively used in lining boxes for axles and gudgeons. For this invention he received in 1841 a gold medal from the Massachusetts charitable mechanic's association, and afterward congress granted him $20,000. He subsequently patented this material in England (1844) and in Russia (1847). For some time he devoted his attention to the production of the metal, and he was also engaged in the manufacture of soap.

BABCOCK, Charles A., naval officer, b. in New York city, 12 June, 1833; d. in New Orleans, 29 June, 1876. He was appointed from Michigan, as a midshipman, 8 April, 1850, became passed midshipman in 1856, lieutenant in 1859, lieutenant-commander in 1862, and commander in liS69. From 1862 to 1864 he commanded the steamer "Morse," of the North Atlantic blockading squadron. While co-operating with the array on the James, York, and Pamunkey rivers, he defeated the confederates in several actions, and was highly commended by Rear-Admiral Lee, who in 1864, when commanding the Mississippi squadron, selected Babcock as his fleet-captain. In June, 1865, he superintended the erection of an ordnance depot at Jefferson barracks, Missouri. He was afterward attached to the Pensacola navyyard, and in 1868-'9 commanded the steamer "Nyack," of the South Pacific squadron.

BABCOCK, Henry, soldier, b. in Rhode Island in 1736 : d. in 1800. He was a son of Chief Justice Babcock, of Rhode Island, was graduated at Yale in 1752, entered the army, became a captain at eighteen years of age, and at nineteen served under Col. Williams at Lake George. He was major in 1756, lieutenant-colonel in 1757, and in 1758 colonel of a Rhode Island regiment that took part in the unsuccessful attempt to capture Ticonderoga. Here he was wounded in the knee. He was afterward present at the capture of the place by Sir Jeffrey Amherst, in 1759. He settled at Stonington, Conn., and in February, 1776, was made commander of the troops at Newport, R.I., but in May was removed on account of insanity.

BABCOCK, James F., journalist, b. in Connecticut in 1809; d. in New Haven, Conn., 18 June, 1874. He began newspaper work at an early age, and in 1830 became editor of the New Haven "Palladium," which soon began to issue a daily edition and which he conducted for thirty-one years. He controlled the nominations of the whig party for many years, and, though hostile to the free-soil party at its inception, he finally gave it a hearty welcome in 1854. He retained his prestige with the republican party for some years, took an active part in furthering the national cause during the war, and, shortly after his resignation as editor of the "Palladium," was appointed, by President Lincoln, collector of the port of New Haven. He retained that office under President Johnson, whose policy he supported ; and, after the rupture between the president and the republicans, Mr. Babcock acted with the democratic party, and, after an angry and excited contest, was nominated by them for congress, but was defeated by the republican nominee. He was elected by the democrats to the state legislature in 1873. The legislature of 1874 elected him judge of the police court of New Haven.

BABCOCK, James Francis, chemist, b. in Boston, 23 Feb., 1844; d. in Dorchester, Mass., 19 July, 1897. He was educated at Lawrence scientific school, studying chemistry. Subsequently he opened a laboratory in Boston, and he has since been occupied as an analytical chemist, also testifying as a chemical expert in important capital and patent cases. For five years he was professor of chemistry in the Boston university, and in 1881 he accepted that chair in the Massachusetts college of pharmacy. In 1870 he was inspector of milk in the city of Boston, and for ten years he filled the place of state assayer of liquors. His publications have been principally official reports relating to the chemistry of food and on sanitary topics. He is well known as the inventor of a fire-extinguisher.

BABCOCK, Orville Elias, soldier, b. in Franklin, Vt., 25 Dec, 1835 ; drowned in Mosquito Inlet, Fla., 2 June, 1884. He graduated at West Point, and entered the engineer corps as 2d lieutenant 6 May, 1861. Promoted, 17 Nov., 1861, to a first lieutenancy, he constructed, in February, 1862, a pontoon bridge at Harper's Ferry for Banks's movement to Winchester. He was made a captain in the engineer corps on 1 June, 1863, and was with the 9th corps at the surrender of Vicksburg, and in the east Tennessee campaign, taking part in the battle of Blue Lick Springs and subsequent actions, and at the siege of Knoxville. On 29 March, 1864, he was promoted lieutenant-colonel and appointed aide-de-camp to Gen. Grant, in which capacity he served in the battles of the Wilderness and subsequent operations of the army of the Potomac. On 13 March, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier-general of volunteers. At the surrender of Lee at Appomattox he selected the place where the generals met. Pie was promoted a colonel in the regular army on 25 July, 1866, and served as aide-de-camp to the general-in- chief until Gen. Grant was inaugurated president, when he was assigned to duty with the president and acted as his