A native of Vermont, Babcock graduated third in his class at West Point in 1861, and served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers throughout the Civil War.

As Assistant Engineer and aide-de-camp for district commander Nathaniel P. Banks, in 1862 Babcock worked on fortifications to aid in defending the nation's capital from Confederate attack.

In 1866, Babcock took an extensive tour of the U.S. Army western military posts and confronted Mormon leader Brigham Young over polygamy in Utah, believing the religious sect held "fanatical views".

In 1869, Grant sent him on a mission to explore the possibility of annexing the island nation of Santo Domingo to the United States, but the Senate, led by Charles Sumner, rejected the proposal.

A second indictment, in 1876, over the Safe Burglary Conspiracy, ended in an acquittal, but further alienated Babcock from Republicans who favored government reform, while public opinion turned against him.

Babcock's historical reputation is mixed; his technical engineering expertise, efficiency, bravery in battle, and Union loyalty were offset by his involvement in corruption, deception, and scandal.

Contrary to most of his contemporaries, Babcock also held no racial animosity toward blacks, which played a part in his advocacy of Grant's plan to annex Santo Domingo.

[1] From August through November, Babcock worked again on improving the fortifications surrounding Washington, responding to increased apprehension the Union capital was vulnerable to attack and capture by the Confederate Army.

[3] During the months of February and March 1862, while General Banks moved to Winchester, Virginia, Babcock set up military fortifications at Harper's Ferry and guarded pontoon bridges crossing the Potomac River.

[3] During the Peninsula Campaign, Babcock served bravely at the Siege of Yorktown with the Army of the Potomac's Engineer Battalion and was brevetted as a captain to rank from May 4, 1862.

[3] After fighting in the Knoxville Campaign at the Battle of Fort Sanders, Babcock became the Chief Engineer of the Department of the Ohio and was promoted to brevet major on November 29, 1863.

[3] On April 9, 1865, after being defeated at the Battle of Appomattox, Commanding Confederate General Robert E. Lee formally surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant.

Babcock (1866) Military PostsIn 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant rounded up and prosecuted Mormons in Utah, including Brigham Young, over polygamy.

The distance between these stations is so great that Indians can come upon the road and destroy trains, ranches, stages, and murder the people, and be off before the garrison, eighty or one hundred miles off, can possibly hear of it.

[24] Babcock's duties included involvement in patronage matters, finding negative information on critics of the Grant administration, and feeding political stories to pro-Grant newspapers.

Including Babcock, were Grant's brother-in-law Frederick Dent, Horace Porter, and Robert Douglas, the son of former presidential candidate and Senator, Stephen A.

[29] Speculators William L. Cazneau and Joseph W. Fabens formed the Santo Domingo Company in New York to attract financial supporters for annexing the Dominican Republic.

[55] Grant did not drop the treaty, believing annexation would help alleviate violent suppression of African Americans in the Southern states by providing in Santo Domingo a place where they could live and work undisturbed.

[62] When Grant became aware of the full extent of the attempt to corner the market in late September 1869, he ordered the release of $4,500,000 in Treasury gold, which caused the price to collapse.

[67] Murphy's replacement, Chester A. Arthur, implemented reforms directed by Secretary of Treasury George S. Boutwell, including stricter record-keeping and an end to private storage.

[82] Grant agreed and saw to it that a pro-Babcock panel was appointed, including Asa Bird Gardiner, who had a clear conflict of interest based on his business dealings with Babcock.

[83] Panel member Winfield Scott Hancock pointed out that Babcock was facing identical charges in federal court, and persuaded the court-martial to yield to civilian authorities.

[87] It took place at the U.S. Post Office and Customs House located at 218 North Third Street, and the status of the defendant made the trial a popular and well-attended spectacle.

[97][100] At that point, the Secret Service agents arrested two other conspirators who pretended to be the supposed burglars and had them sign false affidavits implicating Alexander in the burglary.

[107] On May 14, 1880, Democratic Senator William W. Eaton of Connecticut read a memorial from Davis Hatch, who had been arrested in Santo Domingo in 1868 and was requesting reimbursement for the financial losses he said resulted from his imprisonment.

[109][106] On June 2, 1884, Babcock and his associates were aboard the government schooner Pharos to deliver construction supplies when they became anxious to return to land because a sudden storm created hazardous ocean conditions.

Historians also make positive mention of Babcock's post-White House career, noting that he served for eight years as a government lighthouse inspector and engineer, and did so capably and honestly.

With Babcock's reputation largely narrowed to observations about his corruption, loyalty to Grant, and wartime bravery, historians are generally not able to consider him in a wider context because he did not author an autobiography, nor has he been the subject of an extended biography.

[112] Babcock's diaries began in 1863 during the height of the American Civil War, including his perspective on the siege of Vicksburg and his wartime experiences in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia.

[112] The diary collections also includes his famous post-war visit to Santo Domingo in 1869 serving as President Grant's special agent and personal secretary.