Walker Keith Armistead

Walker Keith Armistead (1785 – October 13, 1845) was a military officer who served as Chief of Engineers of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Walker K. Armistead, born in Virginia, was from a military family, and was one of five brothers who served in the War of 1812, either in the regular army or militia. His brothers included George Armistead. His son was Lewis Addison Armistead, a Confederate brigadier general in the American Civil War.

Armistead was named a cadet in the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers by President Thomas Jefferson in 1801. On March 5, 1803, he became the third graduate of the new United States Military Academy and was commissioned in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. He served as superintending engineer of the defenses of New Orleans and Norfolk, Virginia.

During the War of 1812, he was successively Chief Engineer of the Niagara frontier army and the forces defending Chesapeake Bay. He was promoted to colonel and Chief Engineer on November 12, 1818. When the Army was reorganized on June 1, 1821, he became commander of the 3d Artillery. He was brevetted brigadier general in 1828. He succeeded Zachary Taylor as commander of the army during the Second Seminole War against the Seminole Indians in Florida in 1840–1841.

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This article contains public domain text from Colonel Walker Keith Armistead. Portraits and Profiles of Chief Engineers. Retrieved on May 13, 2005.