Daniel Webster Flagler

Daniel Webster Flagler (June 20, 1835 – March 29, 1899) was a United States Army Brigadier General. He was prominent as the Army's Chief of Ordnance.

Early life
Flagler was appointed to the United States Military Academy in 1856. He graduated fifth in the class of 1861 and was appointed a Second Lieutenant of Ordnance.

Civil War
Flagler's first Civil War assignment was to teach drill and ceremony and other basic skills to newly raised volunteers in Washington, D.C. He served as aide to David Hunter in the Manassas Campaign, and fought during the First Battle of Bull Run.

He next served as aide to Irvin McDowell in the defense of Washington.

After serving at the Allegheny Arsenal he participated in Ambrose Burnside’s North Carolina expedition. Flagler took part in the capture of Roanoke Island, the attack of New Bern, and the capture of Fort Macon.

Next assigned to the Army of the Potomac, Flagler took part in the Maryland Campaign, including the Battle of South Mountain. Flagler also participated in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.

Flagler was assigned to inspection duty at the West Point Foundry in October, 1863 and remained there until May, 1864. He was then transferred to the Army's Ordnance office in Washington, where he remained until June, 1865.

A Captain at the end of the war, Flagler was a brevet Lieutenant Colonel, having received three honorary promotions—one for valor at New Bern, one for meritorious service at Fort Macon, and one for distinguished service to the Ordnance Department throughout the war.

Post Civil War
Recognized as an expert on developing and producing artillery and other weapons, Flagler continued his Ordnance service after the war, including assignments at the Watervliet, Augusta, Rock Island, Fort Monroe, Fort Union, San Antonio, Frankford, and Watertown arsenals.

In 1877 Flagler authored "A History of the Rock Island Aresenal".

In January, 1891 he was promoted to Brigadier General and assigned as Chief of Ordnance, holding this assignment until his death.

Death and burial
General Flagler died at the Hygeia Hotel, a resort where he had gone in an effort to recover his health after suffering from rheumatism and other ailments. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section West E, Site 147. Daniel W. Flagler and his wife are memorialized on one side of the grave marker, and General Clement Flagler and his wife are memorialized on the other.

Family
On September 13, 1865 Flagler married Mary McCalla Finley, the daughter of Brigadier General Clement Alexander Finley. Their children included a daughter, Elizabeth (1866-1939) and a son, Clement (1867-1922).

Clement Arthur Finley Flagler was a career Army officer who attained the rank of Major General as a division commander in World War I.

In 1895 Elizabeth Flagler was found guilty of manslaughter after she shot and killed a fifteen-year-old African American boy, one of several who she fired a pistol at when she observed them stealing pears from her father's garden. Following her conviction she served three hours in the District of Columbia jail and paid a fine of $500. In 1901 she married Doctor George W. MacKean of Nova Scotia.

Other
Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island in Washington was named for him. The site is now a state park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Flagler Place Northwest in the Bloomingdale neighborhood of Washington, D.C. is named for him.

External resources

 * Daniel Webster Flagler page, Arlington National Cemetery web site, accessed October 31, 2011
 * Daniel Webster Flagler page, Find A Grave web site, accessed October 31, 2011