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1855 U.S. Coast Survey Chart or Map of the Savanna River, Georgia
SavannahRiver-uscs-1855$237.50
Title
(E No. 6) Preliminary Chart of Savannah River Georgia.
1855 (dated) 20 x 33 in (50.8 x 83.82 cm)
1855 (dated) 20 x 33 in (50.8 x 83.82 cm)
Description
This is a very attractive example of the 1855 U.S. Coast Survey nautical chart or map of the Savannah River, Georgia. Centered on Jones Island, this map extends from the river's mouth at Tybee and Turtle Islands inland as far as the city of Savannah, which is itself drawn in considerable detail. This chart notes Fort Pulaski at the mouth of the river as well as the Fort Jackson and the Union Causeway. The city of Savannah itself is beautifully rendered with its hallmark grid structure and even important buildings and parks clearly in evidence. The lower left quadrant features an inset that continues the map from Savannah westward to Argyle Island. The triangulation for this map was completed by E.O. Cord, C. O. Boutelle, C. P. Bolles and D. T. Van Buren. The topography is the work of H. I. Whiting. The Hydrography was accomplished by a party under the command of J. N. Maffitt. The entire chart was produced under the supervision of A. D. Bache, of the most prolific and influential Superintendents of the U.S. Coast Survey.
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 that were then individually surveyed. Employing this exacting technique on such a massive scale had never before been attempted. Consequently, Hassler and the Coast Survey under him developed a reputation for uncompromising dedication to the principles of accuracy and excellence. Unfortunately, despite being a masterful surveyor, Hassler was abrasive and politically unpopular, twice losing congressional funding for the Coast Survey. Nonetheless, Hassler led the Coast Survey until his death in 1843, at which time 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 liberally fund the endeavor. 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 (C & GS) to accommodate topographic as well as nautical surveys. Today the Coast Survey is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA as the National Geodetic Survey. More by this mapmaker...
Source
Report of the Superintendant of the United States Coast Survey, (Washington) 1855.
Condition
Good condition. Some foxing here and there especially in the left-hand quadrants. Wear, verso reinforcement, and light toning on original fold lines. Some margins extended.