land, Painsville & Ashtabula Railroad, which was then seeking to give Cleveland an outlet toward the east. He earned and received the warmest commendation from those who had been his official superiors, and on his departure from the Columbus line we find its superintendent, Amasa Stone, writing of him: "He has performed his duties to the entire satisfaction of all parties with whom he has been connected; at this time I consider him entirely competent to take charge of a piece of road as division engineer, and with some more experience no doubt he will be fully qualified to take charge of the construction of a road." William Case, president of the Cleveland & Erie road, wrote to him as early as 1858: "It gives me the greatest pleasure to bear testimony to the energy, fidelity and correct manner with which you have discharged every duty assigned to you in the field or office, and to recommend in the strongest terms your services as engineer and draftsman to any company desiring such assistance, fully believing they will be as satisfactory to others as they have been to our company, and to the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Company previous to your engagement with us."

These extracts are simply made for the purpose of showing that General Devereux's success in life was not the outcome of accident or the result of a combination of circumstances, but that he laid the foundation thereof in early manhood, and built in character as well as reputation with every year that passed. He was only twenty-one years of age, it should be remembered, when the above was written.

In 1852 the young man turned his face toward the south, and for the next nine years was one of the busy and moving railroad spirits in Tennessee. He became division and resident engineer of the Tennessee & Alabama Railroad, which position he held for eight years. He was for a time civil engineer of the city of Nashville. "He was prominently connected with the internal improvements of that state and section," says one appreciative record of his life, "and was referee in many important cases as to location and construction. He became the leading spirit of the state and section' in railroad affairs, and had determined on residing there the rest of his natural life." But the war cloud swept across the land and his hopes and material expectations were swept away with those of many other northern men who had located themselves in the south. His heart was with the Union, and he decided to close up his affairs as rapidly as he could and tender his services to the government. He was compelled to pursue a course of discretion and judgment, as he was a marked man because of the opinions he had not concealed, and his life was more than once in danger. But his purpose knew no change, and he

finally placed his life and services at the disposal of

the country he loved so well. There was a field in which he could do a work of especial value, and he was soon assigned thereto. The faithfulness, energy and far-seeing judgment that were shown by him in the responsible service of managing the government railroad lines that were under his care, marked him as a man of no ordinary stamp, and produced results that were of the greatest benefit to the cause he served.

In the early part of 1862 he was directed to make a reconnoissance for a military road in the Shenandoah valley, and when it was completed he received the appointment of superintendent of military railroads in Virginia. Under that authority he had official charge of all railroads out of Alexandria or connected therewith. It was a difficult task that had been committed to his hands. He found all the railroads of Virginia in a most deplorable condition, but he went to work with characteristic energy and with a wonderful executive ability and soon reduced chaos to order and regularity. It was in the spring of that year that the forward movements of the federal armies in Virginia called for active operation by the government of all the roads centered at Alexandria and were connected from that point with Washington. "These lines of railroad," says one record of the war, "were in the most deplorable condition; and in the midst of chaos and of imperative demands for endless transportation to and from the advancing enemies General McCallum was suddenly called to the head of the department of railroads, and in turn summoned Colonel Devereux to act as controller and chief of the Virginia lines." No one knew better than himself the giant task that had been laid upon his shoulders, but he accepted it manfully and gave it the best that was within him. In describing this portion of his life and public service we shall draw freely on the record above referred to.

The work was herculean and its difficulties were well nigh unsurmountable, the constant assaults of the enemy upon the roads being almost equaled in injurious effects by the intolerance and ignorance of federal officers, whose ambition by turns extended to the special ownership and direction of every mile of track and every car and locomotive." No line had ever been drawn between the jurisdiction of the chiefs of the road management, of the war department and of the army; but the unwritten law was none the less exacting as laid down by quartermasters' and commissaries' departments, by ordnance and hospital departments, by the chiefs in command of the field. Through all this maze of difficulty ran the demands made necessary by the movement of large bodies of troops, of

batteries, with pontoons, and the conveyance of the sick and wounded.

Other difficulties of a minor, but none the less irritating, nature presented themselves. The roads were infested with suspicious characters and peddlers, and the trains swarmed with them, to the injury of all departments of the service. Colonel Devereux looked the whole matter over carefully, saw what there was to be done and proceeded to do it. He commenced at the beginning of the difficulty and patiently and deftly unwound it day after day. He compelled order and discipline out of disorder and chaos. He filled the reconstructed shops with tools, and the roads with adequate equipments; quietly and patiently, but persistently, developed the system of military railroad law and made it harmonize with the regulations of each department. He swept away with a single stroke every peddler, leech and spy and thief from the trains, which now became in reality through trains of government supplies, as the orders required, and were manned and officered with the most rigid discipline. He organized a corps of inspection and detection which swept away all that was bad or suspicious, and made his eye the chief sentinel of the army, before which everybody and everything had to pass for recognition and approval. With strong practical sense, he avoided as far as possible all clashing between the departments by fitting the vast machine to all their wants. He developed the resources of the great machine under his control until Alexandria became the center of a great system that worked with celerity, energy and precision. Bridges and roadways might be destroyed, but they were rebuilt on the instant, and the trains went through on time. There was no confusion, no indecision, no delay. To quote farther:

It was a gallant thing, with Pope's army driven back and scattered in confusion, to bring into Alexandria every car and engine in safety-in some cases working the cars up the grades by hand, while the ground trembled with the shock of battle. Such work as this he repeatedly performed. It was a noble labor --that of caring for the sick and wounded---which was made a part of the military railroad work; and the United States sanitary commission gratefully acknowledged his constant and valuable aid in this direction. No officer stood better with the war secretary (Stanton) nor with the president (Lincoln), and, holding a position which could have been turned into a source of immense personal gain, his integrity was beyond doubt; no man dared to even attempt to bribe him. He directed and moved men and machines by a thorough system, and the result was great smoothness in operation and precision in management. Hence the promptness of movement and immunity from serious accident which marked the workings of these military railroads.

The magnificent work done by General Devereux

Many other expressions of a like character might be quoted. He was repeatedly complimented by General Meade for bravery and distinguished services, by General Meigs, General Ingalls and others. He continued in the work until in the spring of 1864, when he saw that the end was drawing near, and then decided to seek a new and more congenial field of usefulness. He tendered his resignation, which was received with sincere regret. Many and earnest were the expressions of grief at his departure; and he carried into private life not only the knowledge that he had done a noble and patriotic service to his country but also the loyal and undivided affection and respect of not only those who had been above him but also of those who had been under his command.

He took up anew the real labor of his life, but this time in the more congenial associations of the north, and in a position more befitting his abilities and experience. He came to Cleveland in March, 1864, and accepted the position of general superintendent of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad, which he filled with his usual energy and to the best returns for those whose interests had been placed in his hands. He was soon afterward made vice-president under Mr. McCullough, which office he held until May, 1868, when he resigned to accept the vice-presidency of the old Lake Shore road. His departure was made the occasion of a public testimonial from those who had been under his direction. Fully eight hundred men in the employ of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Company gathered at Wellsville, half way between Pittsburg and Cleveland. General Devereux was present by invitation and was presented with a fine blooded horse and family barouche as a mark of appreciation and esteem. This action was entirely unexpected,

but it touched him deeply. The event is referred to only to show that no matter where he was, or what might be the greatness of his power and position, he ever won and held the esteem of the humblest man under his control.

General Devereux was promoted from vice-president to president of the Lake Shore road, and continued as such until the great consolidation of all the lines between Buffalo and Chicago into the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. He was then made general manager of the entire line, and had executive control thereof, with all the branches, a position of immense responsibility and affording unlimited opportunity for work. During his government the line was very successful, and its reputation among railroads for safety and accommodation to the public, and the prudent and economical management in the interests of the stockholders, stood deservedly high. The reputation of General Devereux as a railroad man had been all this time one of steady growth, and his control of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern showed that he had no superior in the country. This fact was proven by the many calls that came to him from various directions to take charge of various roads, and finally, in 1873, he decided on a change, and accepted the presidency of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis, the road upon which he had commenced railroad life, in a very subordinate capacity, twenty-four years before. It was a part of the same arrangement that he should also accept the presidency of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad Company, and he assumed the duties of those two important offices about the same time. He was at the same time president of minor railroad corporations, whose lines formed part of the system of the larger companies under his control. There was work enough ahead, even for one whose mind was of so comprehensive a grasp and whose powers of mental labor were so great as his.

The fortunes of the Atlantic & Great Western were at a low ebb at that period. Laboring under the most discouraging odds, he succeeded in putting the line in the best condition under the circumstances; but at the close of the year 1874 it was deemed useless to continue the struggle until a change in its financial condition had been effected. He was accordingly made receiver, and shortly afterward resigned his position as president and director, as incompatible with that of receiver appointed by the courts. His appoint ment to the place just named was received with satisfaction by all concerned, since they knew that their varied and clashing interests were in safe and honorable hands. This appointment was made in 1×74 and remained in force until 10, when the company was

reorganized, under the name of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio, of which new corporation he was made president, remaining such until November, 1881.

While connected with the Atlantic & Great Western he took great interest in building the Pittsburg & Lake Erie, which gave an outlet to Pittsburg by way of Youngstown. He remained a trustee and director of that line until his death. He was also director and vice-president of the Pittsburg, McKeesport & Connellsville road, trustee and director of the Dayton & Union, and vice-president of the Cleveland & Mahoning Valley Company. Of a number of his other railroad connections and labors, the following has been written by one who knew and appreciated General Devereux's railroad history at its full value:

It goes without saying that he was a busy man; but he was never apparently in a hurry, and his deliberate manner of doing business was the secret of his being able to do so much without exhaustion. Acting chiefly in the interest of the Atlantic & Great Western Railway, he took an active part in the proj ect, that had hitherto been a failure, of raising the funds for building a line from Marion to Chicago. The line was built, and is now known as the Chicago & Atlantic. This line, working in connection with the Erie, began to be a menace to the interests of the Vanderbilt system, of which the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis formed a part. Thus General Devereux found himself serving two interests; and, his sense of justice not allowing him to do so, he resigned his presidency of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio in November, 1881. It was in 1880 that he became president of the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad. It was then owned jointly by the Cleve land, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis and Pennsylvania companies; and upon the principle that what is everybody's is nobody's property, it was a wretched road. In May, 1882, the interest on the road having been defaulted, a foreclosure and sale was ordered, the line passed into the control of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis, and was reorga nized as the Indianapolis & St. Louis Railway, with General Devereux as president. Under the wise administration of General Devereux and his able corps of lieutenants, the line has been transformed as if by magic into one of the best roads in the west.

General Devereux remained at the head of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis road until his death, and made it, in its mode of work, its reputation and its results, one of the model railroad lines of the country. It is regretted beyond expres sion that space will not permit of a review of his labors in that field, nor of such extracts of practical railroad wisdom as might be made from his various annual reports. The honest and high-minded methods of his private life were pursued in all his railroad connections, and his endorsement of any project came to be looked upon as a sure guaranty of its worth and claims on public confidence. He gave the road under his