Return to Huntingfield Map Collection homepage

MAP #: 364U4

CARTOGRAPHER : UNITED STATES COAST SURVEY

DATE: 1864

SHORT TITLE : POTOMAC RIVER (IN FOUR SHEETS) SHEET NO. 4

REMAINING TITLE & ID : FROM INDIAN HEAD TO GEORGETOWN FROM A TRIGONOMETRICAL SURVEY UNDER THE DIRECTION OF A.D. BACHE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE SURVEY OF THE COAST OF THE UNITED STATES TRIANGULATION BY A.D. BACHE SUPDT. C FERGUSON C. HOSMER AND C.H. BOYD SUB-ASSTS. TOPOGRAPHY BY A.M. HARRISON C.M. BACHE ASSTS. J. MECHAN C. HOSMER AND C.H. BOYD SUB-ASSTS. HYDROGRAPHY BY THE PARTIES UNDER THE COMMAND OF LIEUT. COMDR. T.S. PHELPS U.S.N. AND C.P. PATTERSON ASSTS. SCALE 1/40,000 1864 (CENTER LEFT). "NO. 23" (LEFT TOP MARGIN). "REDd. DRng. BY H. LINDENKOHL AND L. KARCHER" (LEFT BOTTOM MARGIN). "ENGd. BY A. MAEDEL AND A. PETERSEN" (RIGHT BOTTOM MARGIN). SCALES IN STATUTE AND NAUTICAL MILES (BELOW TITLE). "THE TRIANGULATION WAS EXECUTED IN 1846 '61 '62 & '63 THE TOPOGRAPHY...do...IN 1862 '63 & '64 THE HYDROGRAPHY...do...IN 1862 & '63 THE ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS WERE MADE BY A.D. BACHE SUPDT. G.W. DEAN AND L.F. POURTALES ASSTS. IN 1850 '51 & '52 THE MAGNETIC OBSERVATIONS WERE MADE BY G.W. DEAN AND C.A. SCHOTT ASSTS. IN 1851 TO '63. THE CITIES OF WASHINGTON AND GEORGETOWN ARE FROM THE SURVEY OF A. BOSCHKE IN 1856 TO '59" (BELOW SCALES). TABLES AND/OR NOTES ON "LIGHT HOUSES", "TIDES", "SOUNDINGS", AND "ABBREVIATIONS" (BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER, IN THE ORDER GIVEN). SYMBOL OF THE COAST SURVEY OFFICE WITH "VERIFIED", SIGNED BY J.E. HILGARD, "ASSIST. COAST SURVEY IN CHARGE OF OFFICE." (BELOW AND TO LEFT OF TITLE). HEAVY NEAT LINES ARE GIVEN ON ALL SIDES, SINCE THIS CHART IS ON A DIFFERENT SCALE THAN THAT OF SHEETS 1-3. "23" IS STAMPED ON THE REVERSE SIDE. COMPASS ROSES (RIGHT, ABOVE CENTER, RIGHT, BELOW CENTER AND BOTTOM CENTER). CHART IS ORIENTED WITH NNE AT THE TOP. LONGITUDE FROM GREENWICH (TOP AND BOTTOM BORDERS). LATITUDE (RIGHT AND LEFT BORDERS).


DATE OF PUBLICATION : S1864
PLACE OF PUBLICATION : WASHINGTON
PUBLISHER : U.S. COAST SURVEY
LANGUAGE(S) : EN
SIZE (HEIGHT X WIDTH) : 99.2 X 57.6 CM.
SIZE - OTHER DATA : 105.5 X 65.4 CM. OM
SCALE - (RF) 1: : 40,000
SCALE - OTHER DATA : 4 STATUTE MILES = 15.8 CM.
LIB. OF CONGRESS # : -
Md. HALL OF RECORDS # 1 : MSA SC1399-593
# 2 : MSA SC1399-933
HUNTINGFIELD ACQ. # 1 : C015-2U1
# 2 : NOAA010-GIFT
REGION CATEGORY : DETAILED CHART OF PART OF THE MD/CHESAPEAKE AREA (2)
SPECIAL CATEGORY(IES) : U.S.C.S. CHART (4)
# SHEETS TO MAP : 1 OF 4
MAP ORIENTATION : NNE IS AT THE TOP OF THE CHART.
RELIEF SHOWN ? : YES
HYDROGRAPHIC DATA : SOUNDINGS ARE SHOWN IN FEET.
: SHOALS ARE SHOWN IN SHADING.
: BOTTOM CONDITIONS ARE INDICATED.
CARTOUCHE : NONE (1)
BORDER : SIMPLE FUNCTIONAL (5)
PRIME MERIDIAN(S) : GREENWICH (1)
SEE ALSO MAP #s : 362U7, 368U6, 404U5 (ALL SHEET 1), 362UA (SHEET 2), 363U7, 402U5 (BOTH SHEET 3), 484N9 (ED. 43, CHART 12289), 490N2 (ED. 44, CHART 12289).
BEST INFO SOURCE : NOAA CHART HISTORY CARD FOR CHART 391.
DESCRIPTION : THIS U.S. COAST SURVEY PRELIMINARY CHART IS THE NORTH-WESTERNMOST OF FOUR SHEETS COVERING FROM THE MOUTH OF THE POTOMAC TO GEORGETOWN. THIS SHEET, WHICH ENCOMPASSES THE AREA FROM INDIAN HEAD TO GEORGETOWN, INCLUDING ALEXANDRIA AND WASHINGTON, D.C., IS ON PLATE 1060 (THE NOAA CHART HISTORY CARD HAS A ? AFTER THAT NUMBER). IT IS ON A SCALE OF 1/40,000, COMPARED WITH 1/60,000 FOR THE OTHER THREE SHEETS. THIS VERSION OF THE CHART STILL LACKS TOPOGRAPHICAL DETAILS ON THE CREEKS OF BOTH SIDES OF THE RIVER AND SOME OF THE SHORELINES ARE DOTTED TO INDICATE THAT THE SURVEY HAD NOT BEEN COMPLETED IN THOSE AREAS. THE CITY OF WASHINGTON AND GEORGETOWN ARE DETAILED AND ARE TAKEN FROM SURVEYS OF THOSE CITIES DONE BY A. BOSCHKE FROM 1856 TO 1859.

THE 1864 USCS ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS INDICATES THAT A PRELIMINARY EDITION WAS RELEASED IN 1862. WORK AFTER 1862 WAS DONE IN TRIANGULATION, TOPOGRAPHY, HYDROGRAPHY AND MAGNETIC OBSERVATIONS. THIS CHART WAS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT DURING THE CIVIL WAR BECAUSE OF THE AREA COVERED. THE 1864 REPORT NOTES THAT ALL THE FIELD-WORK DONE IN SECTION III WAS DONE, AS IN THE PRECEDING YEARS OF THE WAR, WITH IMMEDIATE REFERENCE TO MILITARY AND NAVAL OPERATIONS OR IN CONNECTION WITH PURPOSES OF DEFENSE. THE 1863 REPORT STATES THAT "THE CHART OF THE POTOMAC, IN FOUR SHEETS, WAS SPEEDILY ISSUED, AND HAS BEEN LARGELY DISTRIBUTED FOR THE USE OF THE NAVAL AND TRANSPORT SERVICE."

BETWEEN DECEMBER, 1863 AND MARCH, 1864, CHARLES FERGUSON EXTENDED THE TOPOGRAPHY ALONG THE NORTH-EAST LINE OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AT THE REQUEST OF THE ENGINEER OF DEFENSES, ADDING 3 MILES ALONG THAT BOUNDARY. IN JANUARY, 1863, AT THE REQUEST OF MAJ. GEN. BARNARD IN CHARGE OF FORTIFICATIONS AT THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, C..A. SCHOTT MEASURED TDHE ELEVATION OF EACH FORT ABOVE THE TIDE-LEVEL OF THE POTOMAC. IN 1863, PLANE-TABLE SURVEY WORK WAS DONE ADJOINING THE SOUTHEASTERN BOUNDARY OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND NEAR CHAIN BRIDGE, ABOVE GEORGETOWN. A MINUTE SURVEY OF THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ROSIER'S BLUFF, OPPOSITE ALEXANDRIA WAS MADE. TRIANGULATION WAS DONE IN 1863 TO EXTEND THE TRIANGULATION BETWEEN ALEXANDRIA AND GEORGETOWN BEYOND FT. LYON AND BOTH SHORELINES FROM LITTLE FALLS BRIDGE TO ALEXANDRIA WAS BEGUN.

THE NOAA CHART HISTORY CARD FOR CHART 391 INDICATES THAT FOUR ADDITIONAL PLATES WERE ISSUED AFTER THIS 1864 PLATE IN FIVE TOTAL STATES. THE CHART WAS CANCELLED AFTER THE JUNE, 1905 EDITION AND REPLACED BY CHART 560.

DATA IS PRIMARILY FROM THE NOAA CHART HISTORY CARD, THE U.S.C.S. ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS AND FROM OBSERVATION OF THE COPY IN THE HUNTINGFIELD COLLECTION.

EDITION & STATE INFO : THERE WERE A TOTAL OF 5 PLATES USED IN THE PUBLICATION OF THIS SHEET 4 OF THE POTOMAC RIVER. THE FIRST WAS PLATE 1060 [?], FURNISHED TO THE NAVY IN 1862 AND TO THE PUBLIC IN THE 1864 USCS ANNUAL REPORT, RELEASED AFTER THE WAR IN 1866. EDITION 2 CAME OUT IN 1871 AND WAS ON PLATE # 930 [?]. EDITION 3, ON PLATE 1319, WAS FIRST ISSUED IN FEBRUARY, 1883 AND IN REVISED FORM IN AUGUST, 1896. EDITION 4 WAS PUBLISHED IN MARCH, 1902 ON PLATE 2685 AND THE FINAL EDITION CAME OUT IN JUNE, 1905 ON PLATE 2926. THE CHART WAS SUBSEQUENTLY CANCELLED AND SUPERSEDED BY CHART 560. WRITER HAS SEEN ONLY THE FIRST EDITION AND CANNOT YET DESCRIBE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM.

THE FIRST EDITION OF CHART 560 WAS EDITION 8 OF FEBRUARY, 1906. AN INSET OF WASHINGTON HARBOR ON A SCALE OF 1:20,000 WAS ADDED WITH EDITION 9 OF JUNE, 1909. THE CHART WAS PUT ON THE 1927 NORTH AMERICAN DATUM WITH EDITION 18 OF SEPTEMBER 3, 1935. THE HYDROGRAPHY WAS EXTENSIVELY REVISED IN THE ANACOSTIA AND POTOMAC RIVERS, NEAR WASHINGTON, IN EDITION 22 OF OCTOBER 4, 1948. THE CHART NUMBER WAS CHANGED TO 12289 WITH EDITION 35 OF APRIL 12, 1975 AND THE NORTH AMERICAN DATUM OF 1983 WAS ADDED WITH EDITION 44 OF JANUARY 27, 1990.

DATA IS FROM THE NOAA CHART HISTORY CARD FOR CHARTS 391, 560 AND 12289.

HFC OWNERSHIP DATA : THE HUNTINGFIELD COLLECTION HAS A COPY ON THIN PAPER WITH SOME BROWNING AND WRINKLING ALONG THE FOLDS. THE CENTER LEFT INTERSECTION OF THE FOLDS HAS A SMALL HOLE, WITH NO DATA MISSING. IT HAS AN ACQ. # OF C015-2U1 AND A MDHR # OF MSA SC1399-593. IN ADDITION, THE COLLECTION HAS A POOR COPY OF THIS CHART ON THIN, BROWNING, BRITTLE PAPER WITH CONSIDERABLE SEPARATION AT THE FOLDS. THIS ISSUE WAS "No. 13" IN THE LEFT TOP MARGIN RATHER THAN "No. 23" AND HAS NO NUMBER STAMPED ON THE REVERSE SIDE. THE COMPASS ROSES ARE ABOVE AND BELOW THE CENTER ON THE RIGHT SIDE AND IN THE BOTTOM CENTER. THIS PROBABLY WAS PUBLISHED IN THE 1864 USCS ANNUAL REPORT, SINCE THE CHART IS LISTED AS THE 13TH SKETCH ACCOMPANYING THE REPORT. IT HAS AN ACQ. # OF NOAA010-GIFT AND A MDHR # OF MSA SC1399-933.

BIBLIGRAPHICAL REFS. : NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION CHART HISTORY CARD FOR CHART 391; U.S. COAST SURVEY, REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE COAST SURVEY SHOWING THE PROGRESS OF THE SURVEY DURING THE YEAR 1864, H.R. EX. DOC. NO. 15, 38TH CONGRESS, 2d. SESSION, WASHINGTON: U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 1866, 7, 22, 103; MORRISON, RUSSELL AND ROBERT HANSEN, CHARTING THE CHESAPEAKE, ANNAPOLIS: MARYLAND STATE ARCHIVES, 1990, 150.

July 5, 1992


This web site is presented for reference purposes under the doctrine of fair use. When this material is used, in whole or in part, proper citation and credit must be attributed to the Maryland State Archives. PLEASE NOTE: The site may contain material from other sources which may be under copyright. Rights assessment, and full originating source citation, is the responsibility of the user.


Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!



© Copyright April 26, 2006 Maryland State Archives