Sketch I Showing the Progress of the Survey in Section No. IX [Galveston Bay to Corpus Christi Bay], Bache 1866

• Title: Sketch I Showing the Progress of the Survey in Section No. IX [Galveston Bay to Corpus Christi Bay]
• Author: A. D. Bache
• Date: 1866
• Condition: Very good, some light creasing, fold at center
• Inches: 27 x 11 [Paper]
• Centimeters: 68.58 x 27.94 [Paper]
• Product ID: 308213

Map of the Gulf Coast showing Galveston Bay southwest to Corpus Christi 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.