DU PONT, Henry Algernon, American soldier and legislator : b. Eleutherian Mills, Newcastle County, Del., 30 July 1838. He is the son of Henry Du Pont and grandson of Eleuthere hen& Du Pont (qq.v.). He entered the University of Pepnsylvania in 1855, but spent only a year there and in 1856 entered the United States Military Academy, from which he was graduated in 1861, at the head of his class. Immediately after his graduation he was sent south, served in the defenses of Washington, May—July 1861 and in the 5th United States Artillery 1861-62, being promoted to adjutant in July 1861. In 1862-63 he was acting assistant adjutant-general of troops at Fort Hamilton, N. Y. In 1863 he was sent into active service in command of Light Battery B in the fields of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Vir ginia. He was promoted captain of the 5th Artillery in 1864, and took part in the battle of New Market He was soon afterward appointed chief of artillery of the department of West Virginia and during Hunter's campaign against Lynchburg he commanded the artillery at the battle of Piedmont, 5 June 1864, at the engage ment at Lexin ton 11 June, the affair near J Lynchburg 17 June, the battle of Lynchburg 18 June and the affairs at Liberty 19 June and Mason's Creek 21 June. He served next 9 in Sheridan's campaign in the valley of Virginia, commanding the artillery brigade of Crook's corps and participating in the affairs at Cedar Creek 12 August and Halltown 23, 25 and 27 August, the action at Berryville 3 September, the battle of Winchester (Opequan) 19 Sep tember, Fishers Hill 22 September. For "dis tinguished services at the battle of Cedar Creek" he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel and was also awarded a medal of honor by Congress for "most distinguished gallantry and voluntary ex posure to the enemy's fire at a critical moment') during the battle of Cedar Creek. After the war Du Pont continued in the army for a number of years, holding commands at Fort Monroe, Va.; Camp Williams, near Richmond;
Washington, D. C. and Fort Adams, Newport, R. I. He was a member of the board of officers which assimilated the tactics for the three branches of the service. On 1 March 1875 Colonel Du Pont resigned from the army and after a year's absence in Europe went back to live in Delaware. In 1877 he became a director and in 1878 the president and general manager of the Wilmington and Northern Railroad Com pany, then in very bad physical and financial condition. After 21 years of incessant labor he was at last successful in putting the road into satisfactory shape. He also became associated with the celebrated powder mills established near Wilmington, Del., by his grandfather, Eleuthere Irenee Du Pont, and which had proven an important factor in the Civil War. He retired from active business cares in 1902 and has since devoted his spare moments to agricultural pursuits. In 1895 he came into national prominence again because of the famous struggle with John Edward Addicks in Delaware for a seat in the United States Senate, a struggle which lasted nearly 20 years and resulted in several deadlocks. The contest finally ended with the election of Du Pont in 1906 for the un expired term beginning 4 March 1905, and he took his seat in the Senate 3 Dec. 1906. In 1911 he was re-elected for the term ending 3 March 1917. Mr. Du Pont has published several contributions to the science of military tactics, among which are two volumes issued separately in 1875, entitled Tactics U. S. A., Assimilated to the Tactics of Infantry and Artillery,' and 'Artillery Tactics, U. S. A., Assimilated to the Tactics of Infantry and Cavalry.) He is a member of numerous organ izations including the Historical Societies of New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, the American Philosophical Society, the American Geographical Society, the Society of Colonial Wars, the Huguenot Society and the Military Service Institute.