William J. Snow-- Part 5: Retirement and Family

After retiring, he resided in Washington, D.C., and Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania.  In 1940, he published  a memoir "Signposts of Experienece."  He died in Washington on February 27, 1947, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section South, Site 3953.

Snow was the recipient of the  U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal for his World War I service. and the British  Order of Bath (Companion) and the French Legion of Honor (Commander).

On 1892, Snow married  Isabel  O'Hear Locke (1872-1944) of  Atlanta, Georgia and had a son named William A. Snow (1894-1940), who was also a graduate of West Point.  The son was a veteran of World War I who attained the rank of lieutenant colonel and an engineer.  I have already written, he constructed what is today called Snow's Cut near Wilmington, North Carolina, which connects the Cape Fear River to sounds along the Intercoastal Waterway.

William J. Snow was survived by two grandchildren, Margaret (1922-2011) and William J. Snow II (1923-2011)  Margaret Payne Snow Coburn's first husband, John Harrell Hill (1911-1980) who served during WW II in the Pacific Theater and her second one, Melville  Brown Coburn (1912-1992) who was an Army major general and graduated from West Point as well.

William J. Snow II  also was a West Point graduate in  and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

A West Point Family.  --Cooter

William J. Snow-- Part 4: Post World War I

Back in last month, I was writing about Army General William J. Snow, the father of Lt. Col. William A. Snow, who engineered Snow's Cut in North Carolina near Wlmington.  Always, reaching the Snow's Cut Bridge on US Highway 421, meant you were entering Carolina Beach, my favorite all-time beach.

Major General Snow was a major figure in the U.S. Army's artrillery in the first part of the 20th century.  Much like Anne-Louis Toussard was for the Continental Army and early 1800s U.S. Army (I've been writing about him in my Cooter's History Thing blog last month.

AFTER WORLD WAR I

After World War I, Wiliam Snow continued to serve as Chief of U.S. Artillery.  This position was codified by law in 1920.  He served until retiring in 1927.  

During this time, he oversaw the artillery branch's postwar reorganization, including the beginning of testing and experimentation to determine how to transition from horse drawn equipment to mechanized and modernized processes for directing and  controlling  indirect fire to improve speed and accuracy.

--Cooter

William Arthur Snow-- Part 2: World War I Service and Engineering

World War I:  Engineer with American Expeditionary  Force and wounded.

1926-1930:  District engineer at Wilmington, North Carolina.

1930: Major and living in Harnett,  North Carolina.

1930-1935:   District and division engineer in St. Louis, Missouri.

Lieutenant Colonel:   September 25, 1940.

Died at Washington, D.C..

Snow's Cut, Cape Fear Are Great for Flounder

From Carolina Sportsman site.

The waters of the Lower Cape Fear River and Snow's Cut are great for catching flounder, especially large flounder.  Indeed the state record for this fish, twenty pounds, was caight here in 1980.  However, flounder fishing isn't as good as it once was, but you can still catch ten pounders and heavier.

Snow's Cut is a manmade  channel that carries the Intercoastal Waterway from Carolina Beach to the Cape Fear River.  Named for Major William A. Snow, project manager for the U.S. Corps of Engineers for the initial dredging, it is about 1.75 miles long and originally dredged to 120 feet wide and  12 feet deep.

Many locals opposed its construction because of the introduction of more salt seawater through Carolina Beach Inlet into the Cape Fear River ten miles inland, the project was apprived and completed.  It killed many of the cypress trees lining the river banks.

--Cooter

About William A. Snow (Snow's Cut)-- Part 3: How It Came to be Named That

Following the war, Major Snowserved in the Army Corps of Engineers in Kansas after which he obtained a BS in Civil Engineering at M.I.T..  For the next two years he was in Washington, D.C., as an assistant to the Chief Engineer in that district.

In July 1926, he was assigned to Wilmington, N.C., as the Chief Engineer of the Wilmington District.  he was 32 years old at the time.  His assignment was to complete the 93 miles continuation of the Intercoastal Waterway from Beaufort, N.C., to the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

There was only parcel of land to be cut in that stretch and that was what we now call Snow's Cut.  This would be to connect Masonboro Sound with the Cape Fear River.  

This cut was completed in 1920 and transformed Federal Point Peninsula into an island requiring a bridge to cross over.

The cut and bridge have been known ever since as Snow's Cut, named for the young Army Corps engineer.

--CooterCut

About Major William A. Snow (of Snow's Cut)-- Part 1: (How You Know You've Arrived at Carolina Beach, NC)

From the May 2017 Federal Point Historic Preservation Society Newsletter.

If you're driving on U.S. Highway 421 south of Wilmington, North Carolina, heading to the beaches on what is now referred to as Pleasure Island, you may notice crossing a pretty big bridge over some water.  That is the Snow's Cut Bridge.

That bridge always excited me growing up because that meant I got my first glimpse of the ocean and my favorite beach of all time, Carolina Beach.  The old heart started going pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat.  We have ARRIVED.  Hot Dog!!

Of course,  speaking of hot dogs, we already would have stopped at Paul's Place in Rocky Point for their famous hot dogs (with that sauce!!).  Just part of the going to the beach thing.

Well, that stretch of water that the bridge crosses has a name.  It is Snow's Cut.  It took its name from the man who engineered it, Major William A. Snow, a World War I veteran.  That water the bridge crossed is part of the Intercoastal Waterway and connects the Cape Fear River on the west side to sounds on the east side.

--Cooter