FOSTER
FOSTER
literature, 1872-94. On liim the college first con-
ferred the honorarj- title of professor emeritus.
He was trustee of Waterville college, 1856-59.
He was married to Ann, daughter of Nicholas
and Nancy (Estey) Doe of Parsonsfield, Maine;
and their son, John M. Foster, became a mission-
ary to China. On Aug. 14, 1806, Professor Foster
was married to Elisabeth Boutelle Philbrick. In
1864 he received the degree of A.M. and in 1876
that of LL.D. from Colby university. He died
at Waterville. :Maine, Aug. 19, 1897.
FOSTER, John Gray, soldier, vi-as born in Whitetield, X.IL. May 27, 1823; son of Perley and Mary ((iray) Foster; grandson of Diamond Foster and of Moses and Mary Gray; and of Scotch and English ancestry. He was gradu- ated at the U.S. military academy in 1846 and assigned to active duty under Geueial Scott as lieutenant of sappers and miners. He saw ser- vice in all the battles leading up to the capture of the city of Mexico, until he was severely woundeil at Molino del Eey and in the campaign received brevets of 1st lieuten- ant and. captain. He was stationed in Maryland and the Dis- trict of Columbia, 1848-54, was pro- moted 1st lieutenant in 1855, and was as- signed to the Mili- tary academy as assistant professor of engineering. He was engineer in the construction of Forts Sumter and Moultrie and of works for coast defence in North Carolina, 1857-60; was in Fort Moultrie when the state of South Carolina demanded the surrender of the Federal forts in 1860 and di- rected the removal of the garrison to Fort Sum- ter, Dec. 26-37, 1860; supervised the strengthening of that fort and was with Major Anderson in its defence, receiving the brevet of major for his services. He was commissioned a brigadier- general in the volunteer army. Oct. 23, 1861, joined Burnside's expedition to North Carolina as brigade commander, and was brevetted lieuten- ant-colonel for action at Roanoke Island. He was then placed in command of the department of North Carolina with the rank of major-general of volunteers, and gained possession of important points; on the coast, 1862-63, being from July to November of the latter year commander of the department of Virginia and North Carolina. He was transferred to the command of the army of the Ohio, and directed the department until
injured by a fall from his hor.se, December, 1864.
On his recovery he was placed in conmiand of
the department of the South; received General
Sherman and his army at Savannah on the com-
pletion of the march through Georgia, Dec. 21,
1864, and commenced the operations for the
reduction of Fort Sumter and the capture of
Cliarleston, S.C., when the condition of his old
wound necessitated his retirement and Gen.
Q. A. Gillmore carried out his plans. He was
brevetted brigadier- and major-general in the
regular army for services at Savannah and in
the field during the civil war; commanded the
department of Florida, 1865-66, and was super-
intending engineer iu river and harbor imiirove-
ments at Boston and Portsmouth. He published:
Notes on Submarine Bhislintj in Boston Harbor
(1869). He died at Nashua, N H., Sept. 2, 1874.
FOSTER, John Watson, diplomatist, was
born in Pike county, Ind., March 2, 1836; son of
Matthew Watson and Eleanor (Johnson) Foster.
His father was a native of England and his
mother the descendant of a Virginia family. He
was graduated at Indiana university in 18S5,
studied law one year
at Harvard and prac-
tised law in Evans-
ville, Ind., 1857-61.
He entered the Union
army in 1861 as major
of the 25th Indiana
volimteers, was pro-
moted lieutenant-
colonel for action at
Fort Donelson, where
he commanded his
regiment, and colonel
for conduct at Shiloh.
He was in command
of the 65th and 136th
Indiana volunteers, respectively, led a brigade of
cavalry in the operations of General Burnside iu
the armj' of the Ohio in Kentucky and Tennessee
in 1863, and was the first to enter Knoxville,
September 4, when that city was occupied by the
Federal troops He was brevetted brigadier,
general of volunteers in 1805 and at the close of
the war returned to Evansville where he con-
ducted the Daily Journal, 1865-09, and was
postmaster of the citj', 1869-73. He served as
chairman of the Republican state central com-
mittee in 1872, and was appointed by President
Grant U.S. minister to Mexico, where he served,
1873-80. President Hayes transferred him to the
Russian mission in 1880 and he was reaccredited
to that mi.ssion in 1881 by President Garfield.
He rasigned in November, 1881, and established
himself in Washington, D.C., as counsel for
foreign legations. He was U.S. minister to
