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Map Map of the territory of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean; ordered by Jeff'n Davis, Secretary of War to accompany the reports of the explorations for a railroad route.

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About this Item

Title

  • Map of the territory of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean; ordered by Jeff'n Davis, Secretary of War to accompany the reports of the explorations for a railroad route.

Summary

  • "The United States gained vast territories in the West through the Mexican War of 1846-48 and the 1846 Oregon Treaty with Great Britain. By the early 1850s, government and commercial interests were debating the possibilities of building a transcontinental railroad to the Pacific. The Army Appropriations Act of 1853 provided for the completion of railroad surveys to determine possible routes. This map, issued in 1858 by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, depicts the United States west of the Mississippi on the eve of the Civil War. California and Texas were at this time the only Western states. Western regions initially became part of the United States as military departments, which only later were organized into territories and, eventually, states. The map uses colors to show the military departments and Indian lands. Brown flags indicate military establishments. In the lower right are listed all of the important surveys and expeditions that contributed to the mapping of the West, from the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to a survey of roads between the Sacramento and Columbia Rivers undertaken by two army officers in 1855. The routes of these expeditions are shown on the map. The map was compiled by then-Lieutenant Gouverneur K. Warren of the Army Topographical Engineers and a future Union general in the Civil War. Davis later became president of the Confederacy and a bitter adversary of President Abraham Lincoln under whose leadership, ironically, work on the transcontinental railroad began in 1862." World Digital Library.

Names

  • Warren, G. K. (Gouverneur Kemble), 1830-1882.
  • Siebert, Selmar.
  • United States. War Department.

Created / Published

  • [Washington, D.C., War Dept., 1858?]

Headings

  • -  Pacific railroads--Explorations and surveys--Maps
  • -  Railroads--West (U.S.)--Maps
  • -  West (U.S.)--Maps
  • -  United States--West

Notes

  • -  Includes "Note" and "Authorities."
  • -  Incorporates note and surveys added after Jan. 8, 1858.
  • -  Relief shown by hachures and spot heights.
  • -  Shows Indian tribal locations, military posts, routes and dates of expeditions and surveys.
  • -  Two copies. Copy 1 has brown flags and is sectioned and mounted on cloth backing. Copy 2 has red and brown flags.
  • -  Scale 1:3,000,000.
  • -  Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image.
  • -  LC copy annotated in color to show Indian reservations and military departments, and colored flags to show military establishments.
  • -  AACR2
  • -  Vault

Medium

  • map 108 x 118 cm. on 2 sheets 62 x 121 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • G4050 1857 .W32

Repository

  • Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. 20540-4650 USA dcu

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 76695826

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The maps in the Map Collections materials were either published prior to 1922, produced by the United States government, or both (see catalogue records that accompany each map for information regarding date of publication and source). The Library of Congress is providing access to these materials for educational and research purposes and is not aware of any U.S. copyright protection (see Title 17 of the United States Code) or any other restrictions in the Map Collection materials.

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Credit Line: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Warren, G. K, Selmar Siebert, and United States War Department. Map of the territory of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean; ordered by Jeff'n Davis, Secretary of War to accompany the reports of the explorations for a railroad route. [Washington, D.C., War Dept., ?, 1858] Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/76695826/.

APA citation style:

Warren, G. K., Siebert, S. & United States War Department. (1858) Map of the territory of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean; ordered by Jeff'n Davis, Secretary of War to accompany the reports of the explorations for a railroad route. [Washington, D.C., War Dept., ?] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/76695826/.

MLA citation style:

Warren, G. K, Selmar Siebert, and United States War Department. Map of the territory of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean; ordered by Jeff'n Davis, Secretary of War to accompany the reports of the explorations for a railroad route. [Washington, D.C., War Dept., ?, 1858] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/76695826/>.