Sumter County · Marker 43-07
Col. David DuBose Gaillard Engineer of the Panama Canal
Millcreek Rd., 3 mi. S of S.C. Hwy. 261, at intersection of Milford Plantation Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 43-808) and Camp Mac Boykin Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 43-51), Fulton Crossroads
Front inscription
Born at Fulton Crossroads, Sept. 4, 1859, David DuBose Gaillard spent his boyhood in this section. He was graduated from West Point in 1884, rising to rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers. During the Spanish American War he organized and commanded the 3rd U. S. Volunteer Engineers. He served on the general staff of the army and on major engineering projects, including the Panama Canal.
Reverse inscription
) Gaillard Cut of the Panama Canal was named for Col. Gaillard as a tribute to his distinguished work there. He planned and supervised the digging through the backbone of the continent at Culebra, acclaimed as a feat of engineering genius. He succeeded in this where others had failed, but gave his life to the effort, dying from the result of overwork, Dec. 5, 1913.