- Title: Sketch H [Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast]
- Author: A. D. Bache
- Date: c. 1849
- Medium: Engraving
- Condition: Very Good - light age toning, wear and discoloration along fold lines, trimmed margins
- Inches: 20 3/4 x 13 1/4 [Image]
- Centimeters: 52.71 x 33.66 [Image]
- Product ID: 318091
Sketch H
Showing the Progress of Section No. 8.
U. S. Coast Survey
in 1846-7-8 & 9
Scale 1/600,000
Map depicting the Mississippi Sound along with the coast of Alabama and Mobile Bay.
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.