Brigadier General
Daniel W. Flagler

Brigadier General Daniel W. Flagler was born in 1835 in Lockport, New York. Graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1861, he served brilliantly in a military career that spanned over 38 years.

General Flagler was cited many times for his distinguished and meritorious services during the Civil War. Between the years of 1861 and 1865, he was promoted from lieutenant to brevet lieutenant colonel. Serving in several different positions during the war, his most significant was that of Chief of Ordnance, Army of the Potomac.

In the post-Civil War era, he continued to carry out many challenging assignments but was returned to his permanent rank. When he assumed command of Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, in June 1871, he was only a captain. For 15 years, he was totally devoted to the development of the arsenal. During those years, he supervised as well as developed the completion of a fire station, numerous manufacturing shops, a powerplant, the Moline Bridge, the arsenal railroad, as well as a hot water/power system. High Army officials of that day credited him with supervising a difficult job of construction. His meticulous attention to detail is reflected today in the graceful lines of many of his buildings, which have stood for more than a hundred years.

In 1891, General Flagler assumed the post of Chief of Ordnance, the command at which he died on active duty on March 29, 1899.