C. A. L. Totten
Encyclopedia
Charles Adelle Lewis Totten (February 3, 1851 - April 12, 1908) was an American military officer, a professor of military tactics, a prolific writer, and an influential early advocate of British Israelism
.
Charles Totten was born in a military family (his father, James Totten
was a Brigadier-General, and his uncle, Joseph Gilbert Totten
was Chief of the United States Army Corps of Engineers
). He graduated from West Point (where he had been an honor student), and taught military science and tactics at Massachusetts Agricultural College (now known as the University of Massachusetts Amherst
), (briefly) at West Point, and served with the Missouri Artillery before taking a post as Professor of Military Tactics at Yale University
from 1889 to 1892. Charles Totten and W. R. Livermore are variously credited with being the first to bring the practice of wargaming
from Germany to the United States. Totten's book on Kriegspiel was published in 1880.
He patented a system of weights and measures in 1884.
He resigned his commission in 1892, and devoted most of his remaining life to writing, chiefly on biblical chronology, biblical prophecy, pyramidology
, and British Israelism
. He was a prolific author, writing over 180 books and articles, including a massive 26 volume series entitled "Our Race" defending British Israelism, and his writings continue to exert influence in some Christian Zionist
circles.
British Israelism
British Israelism is the belief that people of Western European descent, particularly those in Great Britain, are the direct lineal descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The concept often includes the belief that the British Royal Family is directly descended from the line of King David...
.
Charles Totten was born in a military family (his father, James Totten
James Totten
James Totten was a career American soldier who served in the United States Army and retired from active service in 1870 as the Assistant Inspector General...
was a Brigadier-General, and his uncle, Joseph Gilbert Totten
Joseph Gilbert Totten
Joseph Gilbert Totten fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief Engineer and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences.-Early life and education:...
was Chief of the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
). He graduated from West Point (where he had been an honor student), and taught military science and tactics at Massachusetts Agricultural College (now known as the University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
), (briefly) at West Point, and served with the Missouri Artillery before taking a post as Professor of Military Tactics at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
from 1889 to 1892. Charles Totten and W. R. Livermore are variously credited with being the first to bring the practice of wargaming
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
from Germany to the United States. Totten's book on Kriegspiel was published in 1880.
He patented a system of weights and measures in 1884.
He resigned his commission in 1892, and devoted most of his remaining life to writing, chiefly on biblical chronology, biblical prophecy, pyramidology
Pyramidology
Pyramidology is a term used, sometimes disparagingly, to refer to various pseudoscientific speculations regarding pyramids, most often the Giza Necropolis and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt...
, and British Israelism
British Israelism
British Israelism is the belief that people of Western European descent, particularly those in Great Britain, are the direct lineal descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The concept often includes the belief that the British Royal Family is directly descended from the line of King David...
. He was a prolific author, writing over 180 books and articles, including a massive 26 volume series entitled "Our Race" defending British Israelism, and his writings continue to exert influence in some Christian Zionist
Christian Zionism
Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. It overlaps with, but is distinct from, the nineteenth century movement for the Restoration of the Jews...
circles.
Some works
- Laws of Athletics and General Rules
- The gospel of history;: An interwoven harmony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, with their collaterals, jointly and severally re-translated and consolidated word-by-word into one composite truth
- Joshua's Long Day and the Dial of Ahaz, a Scientific Vindication and "a Midnight Cry"(1890)
- The seal of history : our inheritance in the great seal of "Manasseh," the United States of America : its history and heraldry; and its signification unto "the great people" thus sealed (1897)
- An Important Question in Metrology: Based Upon Recent and Original Discoveries: A Challenge to "The Metric System." and an Earnest Word with the English-Speaking Peoples on Their Ancient Weights and Measures (1884)
- The Romance of History: Lost Israel Found; Or, Jeshurun's Pilgrimage Towards Ammi, from Lo-Ammi
- The Riddle of History, a Chronological Itinerary Through the Period of the Judges: Together with Other Biblico-Literary Excursus (1892)