He was promoted to 1st lieutenant in June 1881 and to captain in July 1888. From 1895 he was assigned to construction of fortifications at Fort Monroe and the Hampton Roads area in Virginia. In July 1898, he was promoted to major and supervised the installation of underwater mines to defend Hampton Roads during the Spanish–American War. He then served at Vicksburg, Mississippi from 1899 to 1901 and was in charge of Mississippi river improvements at St. Louis, Missouri from 1901 to 1906.