Frederick Vaughan Abbott


Frederick Vaughan Abbott was an Army officer and engineer who later became an American Brigadier General active in World War I.

Early life

Abbott was the son of Brigadier General Henry L. Abbott and Mary Susan Everett Abbott of Beverly, Massachusetts.
He graduated from the Flushing Institute in Long Island, New York and proceeded to enter the United States Military Academy where he graduated number one of sixty-seven in the class of 1879. Abbott was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers and surveyed the boundary line between Maryland and Virginia.

Career

From 1900 to 1910, he served as the assistant to the Chief of Engineers in the United States Army. Later, he was simultaneously principal assistant to the Chief of Engineers, commandant of the Army Engineer School, and commandant of Washington Barracks. On August 5, 1917, Abbott was promoted to brigadier general in the national army. During the absence of the Chief of Engineers to France, Abbott became acting Chief and commanded thirty-five thousand engineer troops in the Washington, D.C. area.
Abbott retired as Colonel on May 10, 1920, due to physical disabilities acquired in the line of duty.

Death and legacy

Frederick Vaughan Abbott died at the age of seventy on September 26, 1928. In June 1930, he received a posthumous promotion to his wartime rank of Brigadier General.

Personal life

Abbott was married to Sadie Julie Dehon of South Carolina. His wife was well connected in Charleston, being the granddaughter of the Episcopal archbishop of South Carolina. The couple had three children, two girls and one boy: Marion B. Abbott, Elinor R. Abbott, and Henry Dehon Abbott.