Claude "Claudius" Crozet (December 31, 1789 – January 29, 1864) was a soldier, educator, and civil engineer. Crozet was born in France and trained as an artillery officer and civil engineer. After the defeat of Napoleon's army, he emigrated to the United States in 1816 and joined the U.S. Army to teach at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After resigning his commission in 1823, he took a job with the Virginia Board of Public Works and oversaw the planning and construction of canals, turnpikes, bridges and railroads in Virginia, including the area which became West Virginia during the American Civil War (during which Crozet sided with the Confederate States of America). Crozet also helped found the Virginia Military Institute in 1839 and earned a nickname as the "Pathfinder of the Blue Ridge." Early life, family Claudius Crozet was born in Villefranche, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France on December 31, 1789 to Pierrette Varion Crozet and her husband, wine merchant François Crozet. His mother died when he was a boy, and his father moved to Paris in 1800 with Claude and two siblings. Claude secured permission to attend the École Polytechnique in 1805. He studied engineering (including bridge-building) as well as military matters, and graduated as sub-lieutenant on October 1, 1807. Crozet then graduated from the Imperial Artillery School in Metz, and received a commission as a second lieutenant on June 9, 1809. Thus, he served in the French Army under Napoleon Bonaparte, and won a promotion to captain on July 22, 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. At the Battle of Borodino in September 1812, Captain Crozet was taken prisoner, but released in 1814 and returned to duty in the French army. Napoleon abdicated in April 1814, but returned to power about a year later, was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815 and surrendered about a month later. Crozet resigned from the French military on April 11, 1816. On June 7, 1816, in Paris, Crozet married Agathe Decamp, and they would have daughters Agatha and Claudia Crozet Mills and a son (Alfred) before her death in March 1861. Immigration to United States and West Point In the fall of 1816, Crozet and his bride immigrated to the United States. Almost immediately after arriving, Crozet began work as a professor of engineering at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. While at West Point, Crozet