Joseph Goldsborough Bruff (October 2, 1804 - April 14, 1889) was an American artist, adventurer, surveyor, and cartographer active in the mid to late 19th century. Bruff was born in Washington D.C., the son of a wealthy physician, dentist, and inventor (coffee grinder). At 16 he was sent to West Point, but shortly afterwards dismissed for dueling. He subsequently signed on a merchant ship as cabin boy, initiating a five-year career as an itinerant seaman. In 1927 he returned to Washington, taking a position as a draughtsman at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Shortly thereafter he transitioned to a higher paid position at Fort Monroe, where he remained for 2 years. Gruff had an arrogant entitled character, but his work was exacting and much admired, enough so that in 1839, he was hired as a draftsman for the Army Bureau of Topographical Engineers. There he compiled and published numerous maps from hand-drawn field maps prepared by explorers. His work from this period includes drafting the important exploration maps of John C. Frémont (who became a personal friend), and the first map of Florida after statehood. In 1849, Bruff, like many Americans caught gold fever. He leveraged his connections in Washington to finance the Washington City and California Mining Association. The well-funded expedition traveled overland in a caravan of sixty-six men and 14 wagons. While Bruff did not discover gold in California, he did travel extensively throughout he gold region producing numerous important maps and diagrams. He returned to Washington via ship, landing in New York in July of 1851. Back in Washington he took work with the Treasury department in the Office of the Supervising Architect. He helped in the design and construction of the DC Treasury Building as well as Treasury offices around the country. Bruff continued his position with the treasury until his death in 1889, at which time he was the oldest active U.S. Government employee. Bruff is interred at the National Congressional Cemetery in Washington. D.C. More by this mapmaker...

David McClelland (1820 - 1899) was a Washington D.C. based copper plate engraver and publisher active from at least 1840 to about 1876. His work mainly consists of maps and other engraved documents for government publications, including maps for the Army Bureau of Topographical Engineers, Senate Reports, and General Land Office. In 1840, when he was just 19, McClelland was partnered with William Smith under the imprint of 'Smith and McClelland' with offices on Pennsylvania Avenue between 2nd and 3rd. The ordering of names in the imprint suggests that Smith was the senior partner, possibly the person who trained McClelland in engraving. While there is little evidence of Smith, there was an engraver of this name in Washington D.C. doing government engraving in the 1850s, and another living in Philadelphia. It is unclear if they are the same or different individuals. The partnership eventually dissolved, at which point Smith moved to Pennsylvania Avenue near 11h Street and McClellend to the Old Medical Collage at 10th and East Streets. McClelland is best known for his engraving of the important 1861 Albert Boschke map of Washington D.C. and the 1846 Topographical Engineers map of Florida. In 1863, during the American Civil War, McClelland had an altercation with the Federal Government War Department over the plates for the Boschke Map, which he owed in partnership with several others. The plates were ultimately seized without compensation for war use. After the war, McClelland appealed to Congress for restitution, which was finally granted in the 1890s. In the 1860s, McClelland published under the imprint of 'D. McClelland, Blanchard and Mohun' and 'D. McClelland, Blanchard and Mohun, Hugh b. Sweeny and Thomas Blagdon.' McClelland lived in Le Droit Park and is possibly responsible for that neighborhood being named as such. Learn More...

Army Corps of Topographical Engineers (fl.1838 - 1863) refers to the an elite branch of the U.S. Army created on July 4, 1838 to perform civil mapping and survey work throughout the United States. The origins of the Corps of Topographical Engineers can be traced back to the American Revolutionary War, where General George Washington recognized the need for accurate surveys pursuant to military action. Shortly following the war, in 1779, a civilian engineering corps was created by act of Congress. Identified in 1802 by Thomas Jefferson, the "Corps of Engineers," which was based at West Point, the group participated in the War of 1812 and in later in the fortification of New Orleans. It was not until 1838, however, that a separate group of "Topographical Engineers" was formally recognized. This elite group, consisting only of officers, most of whom were trained in surveying and engineering by the esteemed Andrew Ellicott at West Point, never numbered more than 36 individuals - the best and brightest. This small but determined group played a central role in the mapping and exploration of the American West. Few branches of the military can boast such a distinguished alumni. Their names resonate throughout the map of the west and include John Charles Fremont, Zebulon Pike, George Meade, Kemble Warren, William Amiel Weeks, A. B. Gray, Randolph B. Marcy, James H. Simpson, Howard Stansbury, John W. Gunnison, William Ludlow, and Robert S. Williamson. The onset of the American Civil War brought an abrupt end to the surveying activity of the Topographical Engineers. Many of the most prominent engineers went on to distinguished military careers on both sides of the War Between the States. The Army Corps of Topographical Engineers itself was folded into the Corps of Engineers on March 31, 1863. Though the Army Corps of Engineers continues to do military and civil survey work to this day, the elite club of adventures that formed the Topographical Engineers were no more. Learn More...