1857 U.S. Coast Survey Map of Matagorda Bay and Lavaca Bay, Texas

Important Texas coast chart detailing the Matagorda ay Lavaca Bay area.

This is an uncommon 1857 U.S. Coast Survey nautical chart or maritime map of Matagorda Bay and Lavaca Bay in Texas. This sheet depicts three different sections of the Texas coast. The primary map, occupying the left portion of the sheet, details the Entrance to Matagorda Bay. Matagorda Island and Matagorda Peninsula are illustrated in excellent detail, noting the Decros Point Beacon. The second map, situated on the right, depicts Lavaca Bay, including wonderful detail of Lavaca City (or as it is known today Lavaca Port). A third smaller map, occupying some space between the two larger ones, illustrates both Matagorda and Lavaca Bays in relation to one another. Countless depth soundings are indicated throughout the three maps. Notes on tides, lighthouses, and sailing instruction are included next to the smaller map of Matagorda and Lavaca Bays.

The Triangulation for this survey was completed by S. A. Gilbert. The topography is the work of S. A. Gilbert and M. Seaton, and the hydrography was accomplished by a party under the command of J. C. Febiger. The whole was compiled under the cirection of A.D. Bache, Superintendent of the Survey of the Coast of the United States, and one of the most influential and prolific figures in the early history of the U.S. Coast Survey.

Cartographers

The Office of the Coast Survey (1807 - present), founded in 1807 by President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of the Treasury 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, to produce accurate navigational charts of the new nation's coasts and harbors. The first two superintendents defined the spirit of the Coast Survey. The Coast Survey's first superintendent was Swiss immigrant and West Point mathematics professor Ferdinand Hassler. Under Hassler's direction, from 1816 to 1843, the Coast Survey established its ideological and scientific foundations. These included the use of the most advanced techniques and most sophisticated equipment, along with unstinting attention to detail. Hassler devised a labor-intensive triangulation system that divided the entire coast into a series of enormous triangles. These were then subdivided into smaller triangulation units, which were individually surveyed. No one had ever attempted this exacting technique on such a massive scale. As a result, Hassler and the Coast Survey under his leadership earned a reputation for uncompromising dedication to accuracy and excellence. Unfortunately, despite being a masterful surveyor, Hassler was abrasive and politically unpopular, and Congress cut funding for the Coast Survey twice. Nonetheless, Hassler led the Coast Survey until his death in 1843, when Alexander Dallas Bache, Benjamin Franklin's great-grandson, 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 A. D. Bache's leadership, the Coast Survey completed its most important work. During his long tenure with the Coast Survey, from 1843 to 1865, Bache steadfastly advocated American science and navigation and, in fact, founded the American Academy of Sciences. Benjamin Pierce succeeded Bache and ran the Survey from 1867 to 1874. Pierce was succeeded by Carlile Pollock Patterson, 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...

Alexander Dallas Bache (July 19, 1806 - February 17, 1867) was an American physicist, scientist, and surveyor. Bache is best known in cartographic circles as the Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey from 1843 to 1865. Born in Philadelphia, Bache, a great-grandson of the statesman and inventor Benjamin Franklin, had a varied career primarily focused on education. He toured Europe on behalf of Girard College and composed an important treatise on European Education. Later he served as president of Philadelphia's Central High School and was a professor of natural history and chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. On the death of Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler (1770 - 1843), Bache was appointed Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey. Picking up where Hassler left off, Bache presided over the Survey during its most prolific period and oversaw the mapping of most of the United States coastline. To this day his name appears on countless marine pilot books and U.S. Coast Survey nautical charts. For his work, he was elected Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Society. Following the Civil War, Bache was elected a 3rd Class Companion of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He died in Newport, Rhode Island, and was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC, where he is commemorated by a monument designed by American architect Henry Hobson Richardson.   Further Details...

Source

Report of the Superintendant of the U.S. Coast Survey, (1857 edition).    

Condition

Very good. Backed on archival tissue for stability. Left margin extended. Blank on verso.