1864 U.S.C.S. Chart of the Mississippi River Grand Gulf to New Carthage (Jefferson Davis Plantation)

This is a beautiful hand colored 1864 United States Costal Survey chart or map of a sinuous part of the Mississippi River from Grand Gulf, Mississippi to New Carthage, Louisiana. The bends in the river are named, as are the many river islands shown. Notes towns, wood lots, landings and farms, many of which are shown with family names. This map is especially important for Civil War buffs as it includes the Jefferson Davis Plantation. This map was created under the direction of A. D. Bache, Superintendent of the Survey of the Coast of the United States and one of the most influential American cartographers of the 19th century.

Cartographer

The Office of the Coast Survey (1807 - present) founded in 1807 by President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of Commerce Albert Gallatin, is the oldest scientific organization in the U.S. Federal Government. Jefferson created the "Survey of the Coast," as it was then called, in response to a need for accurate navigational charts of the new nation's coasts and harbors. The spirit of the Coast Survey was defined by its first two superintendents. The first superintendent of the Coast Survey was Swiss immigrant and West Point mathematics professor Ferdinand Hassler. Under the direction of Hassler, from 1816 to 1843, the ideological and scientific foundations for the Coast Survey were established. These included using the most advanced techniques and most sophisticated equipment, as well as an unstinting attention to detail. Hassler devised a labor-intensive triangulation system whereby the entire coast was divided into a series of enormous triangles. These were, in turn, subdivided into smaller triangulation units, which were then individually surveyed. Employing this exacting technique on such a massive scale had never been attempted before. Consequently, Hassler and the Coast Survey under his leadership developed a reputation for uncompromising dedication to accuracy and excellence. Unfortunately, despite being a masterful surveyor, Hassler was abrasive and politically unpopular, losing congressional funding for the Coast Survey twice. Nonetheless, Hassler led the Coast Survey until his death in 1843, when Alexander Dallas Bache, a great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, took the helm. Bache was fully dedicated to the principles established by Hassler, but proved more politically astute and successfully lobbied Congress to fund the endeavor generously. Under the leadership of A. D. Bache, the Coast Survey completed its most important work. Moreover, during his long tenure with the Coast Survey, from 1843 to 1865, Bache was a steadfast advocate of American science and navigation and, in fact, founded the American Academy of Sciences. Bache was succeeded by Benjamin Pierce, who ran the Survey from 1867 to 1874. Pierce was, in turn, succeeded by Carlile Pollock Patterson, who was Superintendent from 1874 to 1881. In 1878, under Patterson's superintendence, the U.S. Coast Survey was reorganized as the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (USCGS) to accommodate both topographic and nautical surveys. Today, the Coast Survey is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the National Geodetic Survey.   Further Details...

Condition

Fine condition. Professional restored and re-backed with linen.