Vanguard of Expansion Army Engineers in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1819-1879

This book contains a compact narrative of Corps of Engineers activities in the trans-Mississippi West during the years of expansion and settlement. The work of the Corps in the West encompassed a wide range of services, from basic exploration and cartography to road surveys and the first river and harbor improvements on the Pacific coast. Through the entire period, in all their diverse assignments, Corps officers worked to bind this huge new country to the old, to increase the public's understanding of the West, and to develop critical networks of communication and transportation.

This study is not a definitive treatment of the subject. William H. Goetzmann's fine book, Army Exploration in the American West, 1803-1863, can more justly claim such a distinction. Yet, while Goetzmann's book is comprehensive, it is also massive. This publication seeks to reduce to a more convenient size the story of the diverse contributions of the Corps to Western development. For readers both inside and out of the Corps of Engineers, we hope this narrative will provide an adequate overview of a complex and fascinating subject.

Numerous people contributed to the production of this narrative and helped it become better than it otherwise would have been. An historian's best friend is a capable reference librarian, and this writer's best friend is Irene Schubert, a superb librarian and head of the reference department at the University of Maryland Undergraduate Library. Throughout the research and writing she answered numerous queries on diverse subjects willingly and well. Others who were more than ordinarily helpful were Joan Hoffman, Yale University Libraries; James Corsaro, New York State Library; Gary L. Morgan, Cartographic Archives Division, National Archives; William A. Deiss, Smithsonian Institution Archives; and Ann P. Crumpler, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Library. Here at the Historical Division, numerous colleagues—both past and present—read and criticized the manuscript in various stages of development. Among those who provided useful commentaries and other assistance were Alfred M. Beck, Margaret B. Combs, Albert E. Cowdrey, Lenore Fine, John T. Greenwood, Agnes M. Riedel, and Paul K. Walker. Robert W. Coakley and William G. Bell of the U.S. Army Center of Military History also made helpful suggestions, as did Clifford Nelson of the United States Geological Survey and Jerry W. Crenshaw of the Office of Administrative Services, Office of the Chief of Engineers. Stephanie Demma edited the manuscript, which was typed by Ruth E. Steers and Earline H. Lomax. For interpretations made, conclusions drawn, and any errors of omission or commission, the author alone is responsible.