Brigadier General Albert J. Myer
(1828-1880)
United States Army
Accession number:
1935.01
Maker:
Reginald Cleveland Coxe
(1855-1927), reproduction from the original portrait by G.P.A. Healy (1813-1894), 1876
Historical period:
1897
Miltary branch:
Army
Wars and Conflicts:
Civil War
Type:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
H x W: 30 in. / 25 in.
Acquisition date:
1935
Credit line:
Gift of Mrs. Chandler Hale
Location:
Parade, Second Floor
Provenance:
From 1935: The Army and Navy Club, gift of Mrs. Chandler Hale
Label:
A surgeon and Army officer, General Myer was appointed Chief Signal Officer and head of the new Army Signal Corps shortly before the Civil War. Inspired by Native American signaling systems, he developed a military signaling system that was used by both sides during the Civil War, and continued in use by the U.S. military thereafter. In 1870 General Myer formed what is today the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Myer is honored by several entities including Fort Myer, Virginia and the Albert J. Myer Center Headquarters at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. The Army and Navy Club moved in 1912 from the Southeast corner of Seventeenth and I Streets NW to its current location, previously the site of General Myer’s family home.