James Putnam Kimball

He had been a student at the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard (1854), then the University of Frederick Wilhelm in Berlin, finally graduating in 1857 from the University of George Augusta, Gottingen, with Masters and Ph.D degrees in mining and metallurgy. He was then was on geological surveys in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. By about 1861 he was a professor at the New York State Agricultural College at Ovid (merged with Cornell), where Marsena Patrick was President. After the outbreak of War, he took a commission as Captain and Adjutant General (AAG) on General Patrick's staff to date from 14 April 1862.

He was on General Patrick's staff as acting Adjutant General (AAG) on the Maryland Campaign. He was later honored by brevet for action there.

He continued as AAG until he resigned for reasons of ill-health on 9 December 1863. He was brevetted Major on 23 March 1865 for his actions at Gainesville, Groveton, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.

He continued his career as mining engineer and metallurgist, based in New York City. He was President of the Everett Iron Company in the 1880s. He was appointed Director of the United States Mint in July 1885 and served to October 1889. In about 1902 he relocated to Red Lodge, Montana where he had helped develop coal fields.

Service information from Heitman1. Life details from a sketch in Evans' Illustrated History of the United States Mint (1892). His gravesite is on Findagrave. He is sometimes confused with the US Army Surgeon of similar name - James Peleg (later Patterson) Kimball (1840-1902).

His doctoral thesis (1857) is online from Google Books.

04/26/1836; Salem, MA

10/23/1913; Cody, WY; burial in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA