Col. Wm. D. Pickett 



Preston on Red River and ended at a 'point on the 

 south fork of the Trinity near the present site of 

 Fort Worth. 



After young Pickett' s discharge from the service 

 he returned to Lexington, Ky., and entered the 

 profession of civil engineering. Serving under 

 such distinguished engineers as Sylvester Welch 

 and Julius W . A dams , he assisted in the survey 

 and construction of the several systems of rail- 

 roads of central Kentucky until the spring of 1855, 

 when he was transferred to the Memphis sf Ohio 

 R. R., of Tennessee, as principal assistant engineer 

 to Julius W . Adams, Chief Engineer. After about 

 one year's service in the survey and location of the 

 upper end of that road, Mr. Adams resigned, and 

 W. D. Pickett succeeded him as Chief Engineer, 

 and as such he finished its construction to Paris, 

 Tennessee, in the fall of 1859. 



He remained in the service of the Company 

 until the latter part of 1860, and until the clouds of 

 impending war cast their shadows over the land. 



In the conflict which followed, he cast his for- 

 tunes with his home State, Tennessee, and except 

 for about six months' service in the State Army, 

 he served continuously in the Confederate Army 

 from about April i, 1861, to April 26, 1865, 

 when he was paroled with the army of General 



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