- Title: Sketch H [Mouth of the Mississippi River]
- Author: A. D. Bache
- Date: 1869
- Medium: Engraving
- Condition: Very Good - age toning, wear and some minor separations along fold lines
- Inches: 20 1/2 x 19 5/8 [Image]
- Centimeters: 52.07 x 49.85 [Image]
- Product ID: 318039
Map of the Mississippi River Delta and coastline of Alabama showing Mobile Bay, Lake Pontchartrain, and the cities of New Orleans and Mobile.
Surveyor, scientist, and pioneering oceanographer A. D. Bache (1806-1867) served as the 6th Superintendent of the U.S. Coast Survey. Born in Philadelphia, he came from a prominent political family, and was the great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin. Under his leadership, the Coast Survey’s operations grew significantly, expanding from nine to seventeen states as it surveyed the Gulf and West Coasts. Bache ran meticulous studies relating to ocean currents, tides, and the earth’s magnetic field, endeavors which provided in-depth knowledge about U.S. coastal geography. Thanks to Bache, the Coast Survey evolved into an immense resource for the U.S. government and one of the foremost scientific institutions in the country leading up to the Civil War.