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<em>Curtis McDonald Townsend</em>, the son of Martin L. and Alice S. Townsend, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 22, 1856. He was graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1875, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, at nineteen years of age, having completed a five year course. He was undecided whether to study law or medicine, but taking the advice of a friend, he entered a competitive examination and received an appointment to the United States Military Academy, on July 1, 1875. He was graduated in June, 1879, and was commissioned second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers.</p>
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His first assignment as an officer was at Willets Point, New York, where he served until June, 1882, when he was promoted to first lieutenant. He then became Assistant Engineer at Baltimore. Maryland, and Petersburg, Virginia, becoming Assistant to the Engineer Commissioner in the District of Columbia, on June 15, 1886. He returned to Willets Point in May, 1887, as Quartermaster of the Engineer Battalion there, in charge of the construction of buildings and the introduction of sewers and a water supply. In June, 1890, having been promoted to captain, he was assigned to duty in Washington, D.C. in connection with the construction of the Washington Aqueduct.*</p>
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“<em>Who’s Who in Engineering, 1937”</em></p>
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Captain Townsend was placed in charge of the Third Mississippi River District, at Memphis, Tennessee, in July, 1896, and in May, 1898, was transferred to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and placed in charge of construction there. While at Memphis he fell critically ill from typhoid fever, and he overheard the doctor tell his father, “well carry him out in the morning.” This aroused his fighting spirit, and he said, “not if I can help it.” And he recovered, but in his body bore marks of the struggle throughout his life, though with characteristic reticence he said nothing. After he left Memphis one of his chief assistants paid this tribute,—“Captain Townsend was a fighter.”</p>
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After a brief tour of duty at Rock Island, Illinois, he was assigned to the 3d Engineer Battalion in the Philippine Islands, where he served on the staff of the Chief Engineer, Philippine Division, and during this time was promoted to major. While in the Philippines, he supervised the construction of military roads, building the Manila Breakwater, and starting wharves for the City and Quartermaster Department, also supervising the construction of harbors and wharves in other parts of the Islands.</p>
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Major Townsend returned to Washington, D.C., in May, 1906, as a member of the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors. He went to Cleveland, Ohio, in February, 1908, and later to Detroit, Michigan, having meanwhile been promoted to colonel. In July, 1912, he became Division Engineer of the Western Division, at St. Louis, Missouri, also serving as President of the Mississippi River Commission, and as a member of the Experimental Towboat Board, formed to develop through experiments, a suitable towboat for use on inland waterways.</p>
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