Figure ii. — Teakettle and stand given to Gen. 

 Montgomery C. Meigs in 1853 ^Y ^^^ citizens of 

 Washington for his work on the Washington Aque- 

 duct. Gift of Gen. M. C. Meigs. In Division of 

 Political History. (Ace. 25386, cat. 5864; Smith- 

 sonian photo 57008.) 



depicted on the center front. There is a depression 

 in the top of the base for holding a small alcohol 

 lamp. Four rocks, one on each corner of the base, 

 provide support for the kettle. The kettle's feet, in 

 the form of fish, rest on the rocks and are fastened 

 to them with hinges held by a chain and silver pin. 

 The pins can be released so that the kettle can be 

 tilted for pouring without moving it from the base. 

 By withdrawing all four pins, the kettle can be com- 

 pletely detached from the base. The body of the 

 kettle is decorated with nautical designs — waves, 

 fish, shells, etc. — and cattails and lily pads. Under the 



spout is an anchor entwined witli a fish o\er the initial 

 "M." A belt ornamented with stars encloses the 

 castellated towers of the Army Engineers symbol with 

 the letters "U," "S," and "E" on one side of the kettle. 

 On the other side is the inscription: 



Presented to Captain Montgomery C. Meigs U.S. Engineers 

 by the Corporation of Washington with a Resolution of 

 Thanks approved 12th March 1853 for his Report on the 

 Washington Aqueduct. 



The handle of the kettle is in the form of a serpent's 

 lail, and the spout is the serpent's open mouth. The 

 Hcl is a nautilus shell on which stands an eagle with 

 raised wings. On one side of the ba;;e is inscribed: 



Presented gth June 1854 by John W. Maury — Mayor, 

 Joseph Borrows of B'' Aid., A. W. Miller of B'' Com. C. 

 Committee of the Corporation. 



The piece is marked "M. \V. Gait & Bro.," a firm 

 established in Washington in 1802 that has been in 

 continuous business since that time. 



Montgomery Cunningham Meigs graduated from 

 the U.S. Military Academy in 1836 and was soon as- 

 signed to the Engineer Corps. Thereafter, for a 

 quarter of a century his outstanding talents were 

 devoted to many important engineering projects. His 

 faxorite was the construction of the Washington Aque- 

 duct, which carried a large part of Washington's 

 water supply from the Great Falls of the Potomac to 

 the city. This work, under his direction between 1852 

 and 1860, involved devising ingenious methods of con- 

 trolling the flow and distribution of the water and also 

 the design of a monumental bridge across the Cabin 

 John Branch — a bridge that for 50 years was the 

 longest masonry arch in the world. At the same time 

 Meigs was supervising the building of wings and a new 

 dome on the Capitol and an extension on the General 

 Post Office Building. 



During the Civil War, Meigs served as quarter- 

 master general, and in 1864 he was brevetted major 

 general. As quartermaster general he supervised 

 plans for the War Department Building, 1866-1867; 

 the National Museum Building, 1876; and an exten- 

 sion of the Washington Aqueduct, 1876. 



After his retirement, in 1882, General Meigs became 

 architect of the Pension Office Building. He served 

 as a regent of the Smithsonian Institution, was a inem- 

 bcr of the American Philosophical Society, and one of 

 the earliest members of the National Academy of 

 Sciences. 



94 



BULLETIN 24 1 : CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



