Bryan's Expedition from Fort Riley to Bridger's Pass: 1856
Lt. Francis Theodore Bryan (1823-1917) of the Topographical Engineers conducted a military expedition in the summer and fall of 1856. The collections were deposited with the Smithsonian. Accompanying Bryan were Henry Engelmann (
Illinois Geological Survey, 1853) as geologist and John Lambert (
Pacific Railroad Survey, 1853) as topographer. Both wrote reports. B.F. Shinnard (
Owen's Survey of Iowa, 1848) reported on paleontology and S.F. Baird on birds.
S.F. Baird
APS: Relevant letters may possibly be found in the J.P. Lesley Papers, Letters of Scientists, and, especially, the J.L. LeConte Papers.
Warren's Explorations in Nebraska and Dacotah: 1856
Lt. G. K. Warren led an exploring party through the region. Many reports on the collections appeared in Society publications.
ANSP: The Joseph Leidy Correspondence is the best source. Con. I has J.D. Dana's letters on Nebraska geology, and Cotl. 1, 1-A and 1-B have James Hall's letters on the Warren collections.
G.K Warren
ANSP: See Warren's letters of 1858-1859 to his friend Leidy in Joseph Leidy Correspondence (Coll. 1).
F. V. Hayden
See
Warren's Sioux Expedition: 1855. Hayden assisted in the field and catalogued the collections in geology and natural history.
F.B. Meek
HSP: In the Society Collection, see Meek's letter of 21 September 1860 to Dr. Fisher, dispatching his catalogue of Nebraska fossils to the ANSP.
S.F. Baird
APS: See Baird letters in Letters of Scientists, the J.P. Lesley Papers, and, especially, the J.L. LeConte Papers.
W. G. Binney
APS: Letters of Scientists and J. L. LeConte Papers have Binney's letters on shells perhaps collected on this expedition. The Library also has a proof copy of Binney's
Terrestrial Air-Breathing Mollusks of the United States (1878), containing manuscript notes and photographs of shells.
HSP: In the Society Collection, see Binney's letters of 12 July 1859 and 25 October 1862 on molluscs.
Isaac Lea (1792-1886; APS 1828) DAB
Born in Wilmington, Delaware, but a longtime resident of Philadelphia, Lea early developed an enthusiasm, fostered by his friend Lardner Vanuxem, for natural history and became an early (1815) member of the ANSP. Though a paleontologist and geologist, his important work was his series of memoirs of thirteen volumes on the land shells of the United States. In 1855 Lea reported unofficially on the shells of the
Cass Expedition (1820).
**APS, HSP, ANSP: Of the Lea letters scattered among eleven different collections at the APS and seven in the HSP, none appears to concern this exploration.
Arkansas Geological Survey: 1856
State Geologist David Dale Owen led the survey. After his death in 1860, Richard Owen and J.P. Lesley completed the report. Robert Peter (
Indiana Geological Survey, 1837) was chemist to the survey.
D. D. Oven
APS: See Owen's letters in the J.P. Lesley Papers.
HSP: See Owen's letter to Joseph Leidy of 9 October 1859 in the Society Collection. Unlike Lesquereux, Owen thought Arkansas "an interesting country."
ANSP: See Owen's remarks on the survey's paleontology in Joseph Leidy Correspondence (Coll. 1-B).
Assisting Owen in the field were:
E. T Cox
APS: See Cox's correspondence with Lesley in the J.P. Lesley Papers.
Joseph Lesley
APS: Correspondence between the two Lesleys in the J.P. Lesley Papers touches on the survey.
C.L. Lesquereux
APS: The J.P. Lesley Papers has letters from Lesquereux-e.g., 13 February 1859: "Arkansas is poor in everything." See also those in the J.L. LeConte Papers.
Richard Owen
APS: See Owen's 1860 letter to G.E. Sellers in the Peale-Seflers Papers; others appear in the J.P. Lesley Papers.
Ives's Expedition up the Colorado River: 1857
Lt. J.C. Ives (
Pacific Railroad Surveys, 1853) sought to determine the navigability of the Colorado River for the transport of supplies to military posts in New Mexico and Utah. Newberry and the Prussian-Born topographer and landscapist Baron Frederick W. von Egloffstein (1824-1885; **HSP) accompanied the party.
J. S. Newbeny
APS: In Linnaean Society of London Papers (H.S. Film no. 6), see Newberry's 1859 letter to Torrey on Ives's concern about the survey report.
In addition to Newberry, George Engelinann (Emory's Reconnaissance, 1846) and George Thurber (U.S. and Mexican Boundary Survey, 1848) the following reported on the collections:
S.F. Baird
APS: The J.L. LeConte, the J.P. Lesley Papers, and Letters of Scientists may repay careful examination.
Asa Gray
APS: Scattered references may possibly be found in the following collections: Linnaean Society of London Papers (H.S. Film no. 6); J.L. LeConte Papers; Asa Gray Papers (H.S. Film no. 35); Asa Gray Correspondence; Letters of Scientists; Royal Botanic Gardens Correspondence (H.S. Film no. 7).
John Torrey
APS: See the Torrey letters in Letters of Scientists for possible references.
ANSP: See Torrey letters in John Torrey, Letters (Coll. 364; copy at APS,
Film no.628), for possible references.
Michler's Survey of the Isthmus of Darien: 1857
W.H. Harvey
APS: The W.H. Harvey Papers (Film no.1093, from originals in possession of Georgina Biddle), containing 136 family letters, may have references to Harvey's report on the algae, as may also the papers (Film no. 1111 from originals in possession of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel M. Feins) of his brother, Jacob Harvey, who emigrated to the U.S. and established himself as a merchant.
Northwest Boundary Survey: 1857
A decade after the treaty with Great Britain, Congress acted to carry its first article into effect by determining the boundary between the United States and Canada. Archibald Campbell (1813-1887; **HSP), a West Pointer, civil engineer, and chief clerk of the War Department, was appointed commissioner. Lt. J.G. Parke of the Topographical Engineers (
Sitgreaves's Expedition, 1851) served as chief astronomer and surveyor until 1861. In contrast to the
Mexican Boundary Survey, few scientists were employed in the field. Dr. Joseph S. Harris doubled as surgeon and naturalist, and George Gibbs as interpreter and geologist. Field work was completed in 1861 and official reports appeared in 1860 and 1869. Because of the Civil War the final report was never published. However, many of the specialists reported in Society publications.
George Gibbs
APS: Gibbs's letters of 1856, 1859, 1861, and 1868 in the J.L. LeConte Papers concern the survey and the preparation of his reports.
Joseph S. Harris (1836-1910; APS 1887)
Harris remained with the survey from 1857 to 1864. He later became an officer of the Coast and Geodetic Survey and president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad.[
46]
**APS,HSP
In addition to Gibbs's report, others, official or unofficial, on the extensive collections were made by P.P. Carpenter, Theodore Gill (California Geological Survey, 1853), J.S. Newberry (Illinois Geological Survey, 1851), William Stimpson (Rodgers & Ringgold Exploring Expedition, 1853), George Suckley (Pacific Railroad Surveys, 1853), and John Torrey (New York Natural History Survey, 1836), as well as by those listed below.
S.F. Baird
APS: See the Baird letters in the J. L. LeConte and J. P. Lesley Papers.
Elliott Coues (1842-1899; APS 1878, ANSP 1861) DAB
Born in New Hampshire, Cones grew up in Washington, D.C., and took an M.D. at Columbian College in 1863. Acquaintances at the Smithsonian stimulated his interest in ornithology, a subject on which he published widely. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, he was professor of anatomy at Columbia University, 1877-87. In the next decade he published fifteen volumes on exploration of the west. Cones reported on birds.
APS: Of the many scattered Cones letters, none relates to the survey.
J.L. LeConte
APS: See the J. L. LeConte and the J.P. Lesley Papers.
F.B. Meek
ANSP: Meek's letters in Joseph Leidy Correspondence (Colls. 1, 1-B) may repay search.
P.R. Uhler
APS: J.L. LeConte Papers has six Uhler letters, 1854-1875, some of which pertain to the survey.
Mullan's Expedition from Fort Wallawalla to Fort Benton on the Missouri River: 1858
Lt. John MuHan (1830-1909), a West Point graduate of 1848 and veteran of the
Pacific Railroad Surveys, made various explorations to determine a route for a military road between navigation on the Missouri and Columbia Rivers. In 1863 he completed the road and published his report. Hayden and Meek reported on Cretaceous fossils. Other reports on the few natural history collections appeared in Society transactions.
F. V Hayden
APS: In the J. L. LeConte Papers a few of Hayden's letters between 1858 and 1879 deal with this survey, and in the J.P. Lesley Papers several of Lesquereux's refer to Hayden and his work. In Archives see Hayden's manuscript of 1861 on the geology of the Missouri Valley.
ANSP: See Hayden's letters in Joseph Leidy Correspondence (Colls. 1, 1-A, 1-B).
F.B. Meek
ANSP: See the Meek-Leidy correspondence in Joseph Leidy Correspondence (Colls. 1, 1-B). Much interested in "the Nebraska discoveries," in 1856 Leidy had wanted the ANSP to send Hayden and Meek into the West the next year (to Meek, 18 November 1856).
Simpson's Utah Expedition: 1858
Capt. J.H. Simpson (
Simpson's Survey, 1849) opened a wagon route across Utah to San Francisco, thus shortening the distance traveled by 254 miles. His reports appeared in 1859 and 1876. The half dozen scientists who accompanied Simpson are under-represented in these collections. Henry Engelmann (
Illinois Geological Survey, 1851) accompanied the party in the field as geologist, meteorologist, and botanical collector and reported on geology and meteorology. George Engelmann (
Emory's Reconnaissance, 1846), Theodore Gill (
California Geological Survey, 1853), Spencer Baird, and F.B. Meek reported on the collections.
S.F. Baird
APS: Though references to specific surveys are few, careful search among the Baird letters distributed among fifteen collections might yield results.
F.B. Meek
ANSP: See the exchange of letters between Meek and Leidy in Joseph Leidy Correspondence (Colls. 1, 1-B).
Texas Geological Survey: 1858
As state geologist, B.F. Shumard headed the survey until 1859, when he was replaced, for political reasons, by Francis Moore, Jr. (1808-1864; ANSP 1860), physician and newspaper editor who enjoyed a sideline in geology. Interrupted by the Civil War, the survey afterwards resumed under S.B. Buckley, who reported in 1866. Caleb G. Forshey (1812-1881; **HSP, ANSP), civil engineer and natural history collector, served as meteorologist. The Hungarian immigrant Anton R. Roessler (**ANSP), cartographer and geologist, served as topographer and fossil collector.
B. F. Shumard
APS: The J. L. LeConte Papers has Shumard's promise of 1860 to collect Texas insects for LeConte.
ANSP: In 1859-1860 Shumard sent Red River and other fossils to Leidy for examination. Joseph Leidy Correspondence (Coll. I-B).
Samuel Botsford Buckley (1809-1884; ANSP 1871) DAB
Born in Torrey, New York, Buckley graduated at Wesleyan College and spent much of his life as a collector of plants and shells in the southern states. He joined the survey as Shumard's plant collector. After a stint with the Sanitary Commission during the Civil War, Buckley again served as state geologist in 1866-1867 and 1874-1877 and prepared two geological maps of the state. He reported on new plants in society publications.
ANSP: Buckley was yet another dispatcher of fossil bones to Leidy: Joseph Leidy Correspondence (Coll. 1-B).
**APS, ANSP
Macomb Expedition in New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado: 1859
Captain John N. Macomb (1811-1889), one of the original members of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, explored parts of New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado during the summer. The coming of the Civil War delayed publication of his final report until 1876. J.S. Newberry accompanied Macomb as naturalist and geologist and reported on geology. F.B. Meek reported on fossils.
J. S. Newberry
APS: In the Joseph Henry Papers, see Henry's letter of 21 March 1861 to H.B. Anthony on the printing of the map to accompany Newberry's report on the Colorado country.
F.B. Meek
APS: Meek's paleontological correspondence in the J.L. LeConte Papers and in the John Wesley Powell Correspondence probably refers to collections and observations made on the survey.
Raynolds's Exploration of the Yellowstone: 1859
Captain William F. Raynolds (1820-1894; APS 1867; **HSP) explored the tributaries of the Yellowstone River between May 1859 and October 1860, his report appearing in 1868. F.V. Hayden served as surgeon and naturalist to the expedition. With the exception of the brief geological notes of CM. Hines, unrepresented in these collections, the scientific reports (by Coues, Meek, and Hayden) appeared in Society transactions.
F. V. Hayden
APS: Hayden's letters, 1858-1879, in the J.L. LeConte Papers are informative.
HSP: From Deer Creek, Nebraska, in 1860 Hayden wrote to [Lewis Henry] Morgan of the difficulties in recording Indian languages. "I send you all I could get on the Sheyenne -- I worked hard for a week.... There is no one in the country who speaks both Sheyenne & English." Simon Gratz Collection.
Hall's Expeditions to the Arctic: 1860
Charles Francis Hall led expeditions to the Arctic in 1860-1862 and 1864-1869. Though scientists accompanied neither, Benjamin K. Emerson (1843-1942; APS 1897; **APS) described the geological collections in the official narrative of the expeditions.
Charles Francis Hall (1821-1871)
A native of Rochester, New York, Hall arrived at polar exploration by way of blacksmithing, journalism, engraving, and the disappearance of Sir John Franklin. He financed his expeditions of 1860-1862 and 1864-1869 by public subscription. The second returned relics of Franklin's party. In the course of a third, financed by Congress in 1871, the indefatigable explorer died in what appear to have been suspicious circumstances.
HSP: See Hall's letters of 1862, 1863, eloquent in behalf of his obsession, in the Simon Gratz Collection; in the Ferdinand J. Dreer Collection, his letter of 1870 attempting to drum up support for the third expedition; and in the Salmon P. Chase Manuscripts, his 1871 invitation to the chief justice to visit the Polaris.
Hayes's Arctic Expeditions: 1860
I. I. Hayes explored the Arctic in 1860-1861. Scientific institutions and public subscription financed the expedition, with the Smithsonian furnishing materials for collecting and preserving specimens. Samuel Ashmead (
New Jersey Geological Survey, 1835), E.M. Durand (
Pacific Railroad Surveys, 1853), and F.B. Meek (
Owen's Survey of Wisconsin, 1848) described the collections in Society publications, as did those listed below.
Isaac Israel Hayes
See
Kane's Expedition: 1852. Hayes reported briefly on the scientific results of the voyage.
APS: Letters concerning the projected expedition, including Hayes's pleas for support, appear in Archives, Misc. Mss., J.F. Frazer Papers, and J.L. LeConte Papers. Letters of Scientists has several of his letters, including correspondence with Joseph Henry over publication of Hayes's map. E.K. Kane Papers has his letter of condolence on Kane's death.
HSP: The Simon Gratz Collection and the Etting Papers have letters to and from Hayes about both this expedition and another the tireless explorer was projecting in the 1870s.
The following published papers on the natural history collections:
Thomas Potts James (1803-1882; APS 1857) DAB
A wholesale druggist in Philadelphia, James botanized in his spare time and became an authority on mosses, ranking with W.S. Sullivant and Leo Lesquereux. He collaborated with the latter on a Manual of American Mosses. James reported on the expedition plants.
HSP: T.P. James Letterbooks are devoted almost exclusively to James's drug business.
**APS
William Stimpson
APS: References may be found in Stimpson's letters, 1858-1869, in Letters of Scientists (Concerning Shells) and in the J.L. LeConte Papers.
Isthmus of Chiriqui Expedition: 1860
Captain Frederick Engle (1799-1868; **HSP), commanding the steamer
Brooklyn, conducted a ten weeks' exploration of a railroad route across the Isthmus. His report appeared in 1861. John Evans (
Owen's Survey of Wisconsin, 1848) accompanied the survey and reported on geology. Lt. W.N. Jeffers (
Rodgers and Ringgold Expedition, 1853) served as hydrographer. W.M. Gabb (
California Geological Surveys, 1853) reported in Society transactions.
Lt. James St. Clair Morton (1829-1864) DAB
Son of the distinguished Philadelphia anatomist Samuel George Morton and a graduate of West Point, Morton made his career with the Topographical Engineers and published several volumes on military engineering. He served as topographer to this expedition.
LCP: The Samuel George Morton Papers has a "Journal of the Chiriqui Surveying Party" (23 August-13 November 1860) in two volumes, a small notebook of jottings by Morton, and a volume of field notes by his assistant, Thomas Jekyll.
**APS, HSP
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