Thomas Lincoln Casey Sr. (May 10, 1831 – March 25, 1896) was a noted American military and civil engineer of the late 19th century. He served as Chief of Engineers for the United States Army Corps of Engineers and oversaw the completion of the Washington Monument. American engineer Richard Weingardt wrote that Casey was the "U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ most visible and celebrated builder of public buildings, monuments, and other significant works in the latter part of the 19th century." Family Casey was born into a prominent family that lived on Casey Farm in Saunderstown, Rhode Island, for 200 years. This family included an admiral, generals, engineers and scientists. Casey's grandfather Wanton Casey was a member of the Kentish Guards of East Greenwich during the American Revolution. Casey's father, Major General Silas Casey, led the assault on Chapultepec Castle in the Battle of Chapultepec in the Mexican–American War and also served as a major general in the American Civil War. His brother Silas Casey III was a rear admiral in the United States Navy and commander of the Pacific Fleet from 1901 to 1903. Casey married Emma Weir, the daughter of painter Robert Walter Weir, with who he had two sons. His eldest son, Thomas Lincoln Casey, Jr., graduated from West Point in 1879, served in the Corps of Engineers, and retired from the Army as a colonel in 1912. Early life and military service Casey was born at Madison Barracks in Sackets Harbor, New York. He was appointed by then President James K. Polk to West Point, which he attended from July 1, 1848, to July 1, 1852, when he graduated first in his class of forty-three. Other members of his class included Henry Warner Slocum, David S. Stanley, George Lucas Hartsuff, Charles R. Woods, Alexander McDowell McCook, August Kautz, and George Crook. Upon graduation he was commissioned as a brevet second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. From July to August, Casey served at West Point in the Company of Sappers, Miners and Pontoniers. He then worked as assistant engineer during the construction of Fort Delaware and on river and harbor improvements in the Delaware River and Bay from December 2, 1852, to August 28, 1854, during which he was made a second lieutenant on June 22, 1854. Casey was assistant professor of practical engineering at West Point from August 28, 1854, to August 31, 1859. While