David du Bose Gaillard

David du Bose Gaillard (September 4, 1859 – December 5, 1913) was a U.S. Army engineer instrumental in the construction of the Panama Canal.

[1] Lieutenant Colonel David DuBose Gaillard was born in Fulton Crossroads, South Carolina, which is located in what is now the Manchester State Forest near Sumter.

In 1908 Gaillard was placed in charge of construction of the central portion of the Panama Canal, crossing the continental divide.

Men who worked with him said he gave 12 hours every day to the Culebra Cut, besides which, he took his share in the labor of general administration of the Canal Zone.

He returned to the US suffering from what was thought to be nervous exhaustion brought on by overwork and died of a brain tumor on December 5, 1913 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, aged 54.