Edward Griffin Beckwith was born on June 25, 1818, in Cazenovia, New York, to Barak Beckwith and Polly Kennedy. He graduated from West Point in 1842 and received a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant in the 3^rd United States Artillery. He was promoted to 1^st lieutenant on June 18, 1846, and he took part in the siege of Veracruz during the Mexican American War.

 

He married Cornelia Williamson in June 1850, and they had at least two children: Madeline, born around 1853; and Nellie, born around 1858. He was promoted to captain on May 12, 1855, and he participated in the Pacific Railroad Survey in the mid-1850s. He also conducted an extensive survey of the Great Salt Lake. He spent the late 1850s building military roads in the Kansas and Nebraska Territories.

 

He served in the commissary department during the Civil War. He briefly acted as provost marshal general for the Department of the Gulf in 1863 and commanded New Orleans’ defenses from August 1863 until January 1864. He earned a promotion to major on February 8, 1864, and he later received a brevet promotion to brigadier general. He mustered out on May 31, 1866.

 

By 1870, he was living in Washington, D.C., and he owned $10,000 of real estate and $500 of personal property. He employed at least two Black domestic servants. He died in Clifton, New York, on June 22, 1881.

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