Lorenzo Sitgreaves

Lorenzo I. Sitgreaves (March 15, 1810 – May 14, 1888) was a U.S. Army officer from Pennsylvania who led the 1851 Sitgreaves Expedition down the Zuñi and Colorado rivers.

Early life and career Lorenzo I. Sitgreaves was born on March 15, 1810, in Easton, Pennsylvania, the son of Mary (née Kemper) and Samuel Sitgreaves. His mother was born to Daniel Kemper, a colonel in the American Revolutionary War. From 1836 to 1838, he was a civil engineer.

Corps of Topographical Engineers Sitgreaves was again appointed a 2nd Lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers on July 7, 1838. As Assistant Topographic Engineer he served in the construction of roads in Wisconsin from 1839 to 1840, and on a survey of Sault Ste. Marie, 1840-41 during which he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, Corps of Topographic Engineers, July 18, 1840. He then served as an Assistant Topographic Engineer in surveying the U.S. border with Texas in 1841 and near New Orleans in 1841–42. In 1842-43 he served as an assistant in the Topographical Bureau in Washington, D.C. Returning to the field from 1843 to 1844, he was Assistant Topographic Engineer in the improvement of the Hudson River, and in the 1844-45 survey of the harbor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and of the reefs of Florida in 1845–46. The trip took from September 4 to November 30, 1851, between Zuñi and the Yuma Crossing. Soon afterward, on March 3, 1853, he was promoted to captain, Corps of Topographical Engineers, after 14 years of continuous service in the Corps. They had two daughters: Mary Jesup and Lucy.

Sitgreaves died at home on May 14, 1888, at 1300 N Street in Washington, D.C., and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery.