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{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
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{{Infobox military person
|name= Joseph Gilbert Totten
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Joseph G. Totten was born in [[New Haven, Connecticut]], to Peter Gilbert Totten and Grace Mansfield. He was the tenth person to graduate from the [[United States Military Academy]], being one of three graduating members of the class of 1805. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Corps of Engineers]] on July 1, 1805.
He resigned in March 1806 to assist his uncle, Major [[Jared Mansfield]], who was then serving as [[Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory]].
He was a cousin of [[Joseph K. Mansfield]], who rose to the rank of major general and died at the [[Battle of Antietam]].
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One of Totten's most significant achievements was the design and construction of the [[Minot's Ledge Light]] near [[Cohasset, Massachusetts]]. Previous efforts to build a lighthouse on the small ledge of rock had failed but Totten conceived a plan whereby the lighthouse would be pinned by its own weight to the ledge, making it able to withstand the harshest extremes of weather. It stands to this day flashing a distinctive 1–4–3 light pattern which has been interpreted to mean "I LOVE YOU".
Totten served most of his time as chief engineer in the rank of colonel but was promoted to brigadier general on March 3, 1863.
Totten was promoted to [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Major general (United States)|major general]] on April 21, 1864, having served almost six decades in the army. He died the following day of pneumonia in [[Washington, D.C.]], and was buried in the [[Congressional Cemetery]] there.
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[[Fort Totten, North Dakota]] hosts [[Fort Totten State Historic Site]], named for the General, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
[[Tottenville, Staten Island]], was named for the family of an older relative, one of three "Captain Tottens" who supported the Loyalist cause during the American Revolution.
Robert E. Lee surveyed Biscayne Bay ([[Miami, Florida]]) in 1850 for the Army Corps of Engineers under then-Colonel Joseph Totten. Lee named [[Totten Key]] just south of Caesars Creek for him.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Totten, Joseph Gilbert}}
[[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:American
[[Category:Union Army generals]]
[[Category:1788 births]]
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