The following is a list of some of the more notable army expeditions and surveys from 1836 to 1879 (excepting the surveys for Pacific railroads which are noted on following page) There were also many reconnaissance trips and explorations for roads which can hardly be called surveys. Some of the maps were not published but remain on file in the War De partment.
Black Hills Survey'.— In 1874 Capt. W. Ludlow made expeditions through the Black Hills of South Dakota with N. H. Wincheil as geologist. The results were given in a quarto volume issued in 1875. Later the Indian Bu reau sent an expedition under W. P. Jenney and H. E. Newton to investigate reports of gold in these hills and a quarto report with folio of snaps was published by the Survey of the Rocky Mountain region.
Pacific In 1853 the War De partment began a series of explorations for routes for railroads across the Far West. The expeditions were conducted by army officers but had topographic and geologic assistants, who made surveys of various kinds. Among these geologists were Jules Marcou, Thomas Antisell, J. S. Newberry, W. P. Blake and James SchieL The routes surveyed were not far from the several transcontinental railroad lines of to-day. The results were published in 13 quarto volumes which contain not only geographic results of the surveys but a large amount of information on natural history, re sources, etc.
International boundaries of the United States have been surveyed by various organizations. In 1818 surveys were begun on the northern boundaries of New York, New Hampshire and Maine by .United States army engineers. In 1822( ?) the Northwest ry Bounda Commission, appointed under the Treaty of Ghent, made a survey of the boundary in the region about the outlet of Lake Superior, and in 1857-61 the United States Commission working under direction of the State Depart ment surveyed the boundary west from longi tude In 1872-75 the United States Bound ary Commission under the State Department surveyed the Canadian boundary along the 49th parallel and a narrow strip of contiguous country from Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, connecting there with the survey from the west. The Louisiana-Texas line sur vey in 1840 was made jointly by engineers of the United States army and surveyors ap pointed by Texas. The results are in Senate Ex. Doc. 199, 27th Congress, 2d Session. Con siderable boundary surveying has been done by the Coast and Geodetic Survey. The Mexican Boundary Survey was made by Maj. W. H. Emory in 1855-56 and its results were published in two quarto volumes which included geological observations by Parry and Schott. Detailed
remapping of this boundary in 1889 was done by a joint International Boundary Commission consisting of three Mexican members, two army engineers and a member of the United States Coast Survey. The result was a folio of maps showing topography and profiles from El Paso to the Pacific. The southern boundary of Kansas was surveyed by Lieut.-Col. J. E. Johnson in 1857 and the Texas boundary in 1858-60 by a commission organized by the Interior Department.
Lake A survey of the Great Lakes was made by the War Department (corps of engineers) in 1841 to 1881. Very detailed charts (79) were prepared of the lakes, their shores and of the straits and rivers imatediately connected with lake navigation. In 1876-79 this work was extended down the Mississippi River to Memphis.
Hayden The survey under F. V. Hayden began in 1867 for the General Land Office and its work was in Nebraska Territory, but it was not until 1871 that it began much surveying. In 1873 it became the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories and in the next five years covered 170,000 square miles with topographic and geologic mapping, mostly in Colorado, Wyom ing, Idaho and Montana. James T. Gardner was chief geographer and A. D. Wilson and Henry Gannett were in charge of parts of the work. The principal geologists were A. C. Peale, W. H. Holmes, A. R. Marvin; F. H. Endlich and F. V. Hayden. Twelve annual reports and a series of quarto memoirs were published.
Geological and Geographical Survey of Rocky Mountain Region.—These surveys were organized and conducted by Maj. J. W. Powell under the Interior Department. In 1869 Major Powell made his famous boat trip through the Grand Canyon under auspices of Smithsonian Institution. In 1871 continuation of his ex planatory work in the West was provided for by the government and from that time to 1878 an area of 67,000 square mites was covered by topographic and geological surveys. H. Thompson was chief geographer and G. K. E. Howell, Capt. C. E. Dutton and C. A. White were assistant Fortieth Parallel survey organized and conducted by Clarence King and under direction of the chief of engineers, United States army, operated from 1867 to 1872. It prepared topographic (contour) maps and geo logical map of a wide strip of country contigu ous to the 40th parallel west of the 105th merid ian. The geological work was by Clarence King, S. F. Emmons, Arnold Hague and James D. Hague. John D. Gardner was in charge of topographic work. The results were published in seven quarto volumes and a folio.