Return to Huntingfield Map Collection homepage

MAP #: 371U5

CARTOGRAPHER : UNITED STATES COAST SURVEY

DATE: 1871

SHORT TITLE : SKETCH C SHOWING THE PROGRESS OF THE SURVEY IN SECTION NO. III

REMAINING TITLE & ID : FROM 1843 TO 1871 SCALE 1/400.000 1871 (BOTTOM LEFT CORNER). "U.S. COAST SURVEY BENJAMIN PEIRCE SUPERINTENDENT" (ABOVE TITLE). "NO. 4" (LEFT TOP MARGIN). SCALE IN STATUTE MILES (CENTER BOTTOM MARGIN). TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS, SYMBOLS AND LINES (BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER). ENGRAVED DATA EXTENDS INTO THE MARGINS ON THE LEFT AND TOP THROUGH THE NEAT LINES. THE SKETCH IS WIDER BETWEEN THE NEAT LINES AT THE BOTTOM THAN AT THE TOP (54.5 CM. AT TOP AND 56.8 CM. AT BOTTOM). THE REVERSE SIDE IS BLANK. LONGITUDE WEST FROM GREENWICH (TOP AND BOTTOM BORDERS), LATITUDE (RIGHT AND LEFT BORDERS).

DATE OF PUBLICATION : S1874
PLACE OF PUBLICATION : WASHINGTON
PUBLISHER : U.S. COAST SURVEY
LANGUAGE(S) : EN
SIZE (HEIGHT X WIDTH) : 87.3 X 54.5 CM. (BETWEEN NEAT LINES)
SIZE - OTHER DATA : 92.0 X 64.2 CM. OM
SCALE - (RF) 1: : 400,000
SCALE - OTHER DATA : 40 STATUTE MILES = 16.2 CM.
LIB. OF CONGRESS # : -
Md. HALL OF RECORDS # 1 : MSA SC1399-291
HUNTINGFIELD ACQ. # 1 : J017-DDT
REGION CATEGORY : MAP ON WHICH THE MD/CHESAPEAKE AREA IS ONE MAIN FOCUS (1)
SPECIAL CATEGORY(IES) : USCS TYPE CHART (4)
: PROGRESS SKETCH (20)
# SHEETS TO MAP : 1
MAP ORIENTATION : N IS AT THE TOP OF THE CHART.
RELIEF SHOWN ? : NO
HYDROGRAPHIC DATA : SHOAL SOUNDINGS ARE SHOWN IN FEET AND FATHOMS.
: SHOALS ARE SHOWN BY DOTTED LINES AND BY SHADING.
CARTOUCHE : NONE (1)
BORDER : SIMPLE FUNCTIONAL (8)
PRIME MERIDIAN(S) : GREENWICH (1)
SEE ALSO MAP #s : -
BEST INFO SOURCE : THE 1871 USCS ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS IS THE ONLY SOURCE FOUND.
DESCRIPTION : THIS SKETCH OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AREA WAS ISSUED AS SKETCH NO. 4 TO ILLUSTRATE THE REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE COAST SURVEY, SHOWING THE PROGRESS OF THE SURVEY DURING THE YEAR 1871. IT GIVES THE MAJOR AND SECONDARY TRIANGULATION LINES FOR THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND ITS RIVERS, WHICH WAS LARGELY COMPLETED BY 1871. THE SKETCH ALSO SHOWS BY DOTTED LINES THE AERIAL EXTENT OF MORE DETAILED SHEETS OF THE TOPOGRAPHY AND HYDROGRAPHY, WHICH WERE DONE IN MANUSCRIPT AND NEVER PUBLISHED OR ISSUED TO THE PUBLIC, TOGETHER WITH THEIR NUMBERS AND DATES OF EXECUTION. ASTRONOMICAL, MAGNETIC, TIDAL AND CURRENT STATIONS IN USE ARE NOTED.

DURING 1871, FIVE PARTIES WERE ACTIVE IN THE CHESAPEAKE AREA AND IN OTHER PARTS OF SECTION III. ONE WAS ENGAGED IN ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION, ONE ON HYDROGRAPHY, ONE ON TOPOGRAPHY AND HYDROGRAPHY, ONE ON TRIANGULATION AND ONE ON GEODETIC OPERATIONS. ALSO, TIDAL OBSERVATIONS CONTINUED AT OLD POINT COMFORT.

THE TOPOGRAPHY AND HYDROGRAPHY OF THE MARSHY EXPANSE OF THE COAST OF VIRGINIA NORTH OF CAPE CHARLES WAS COMPLETED, AND THIS FINISHED THE SURVEY OF THE OUTER COAST OF VIRGINIA BETWEEN MAGOTHY BAY AND METOMPKIN INLET. LATITUDE, AZIMUTH AND MAGNETIC OBSERVATIONS OCCURRED AT VARIOUS SITES IN THE CHESAPEAKE AREA, INCLUDING CALVERT STATION, TANGIER ISLAND AND WOLF TRAP, VIRGINIA, AND CAPITOL HILL. PENDULUM OBSERVATIONS WERE MADE FOR EXPERIMENTAL PURPOSES FOR USE OF THAT INSTRUMENT IN THE ARCTIC. SOUNDINGS AND TIDAL OBSERVATIONS WERE COMPLETED ON THE BRANCHES OF CHESTER RIVER AND WERE CONTINUED ON THE SEVERN UNTIL CLOSED DOWN BY ICE. SEVERAL BRANCHES OF THE BIG CHOPTANK WERE TRACED AND SOUNDED AS WERE THE ARMS AND CREEKS THAT MAKE INTO THE LITTLE CHOPTANK. TWENTY-SIX OF THE SMALLER BRANCHES OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY WERE TRACED AND SOUNDED THAT HAD BEEN BYPASSED IN THE FIRST ISSUE OF THE CHART OF CHESAPEAKE BAY. TRIANGULATION OF THE JAMES RIVER CONTINUED UPSTREAM OF CYPRESS SHIELDS. PRIMARY TRIANGULATION CONTINUED SOUTHWARD ALONG THE BLUE RIDGE. TIDAL OBSERVATIONS WITH A SELF-REGISTERING GAUGE WERE CONTINUED AT OLD POINT COMFORT.

WORK WAS COMPLETED ON COAST CHARTS NO. 29 AND 30, CHINCOTEAGUE INLET TO HOG ISLAND LIGHT, VIRGINIA AND HOG ISLAND LIGHT TO CAPE HENRY, VIRGINIA. ADDITIONS WERE MADE TO GENERAL COAST CHART NO. IV, CAPE MAY TO CAPE HENRY AND ADDITIONS WERE COMPLETED ON COAST CHART NO. 34, CHESAPEAKE BAY, POTOMAC RIVER TO CHOPTANK RIVER, MARYLAND. THE NEW EDITION OF THE PATAPSCO RIVER CHART WAS COMPLETED, AS WAS THE PLATE FOR SHEET 2 OF THE POTOMAC RIVER. WORK CONTINUED ON THE PLATES OF GENERAL COAST CHART NO. IV, CAPE MAY TO CAPE HENRY AND ON COAST CHARTS NO. 30-32, COVERING THE SOUTHERN SECTION OF CHESAPEAKE BAY.

DATA IS FROM THE 1871 USCS ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS AND FROM OBSERVATION OF THE COPY IN THE HUNTINGFIELD COLLECTION.

EDITION & STATE INFO : INFORMAL REPORTS WERE MADE ANNUALLY BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE COAST SURVEY FROM 1816 THROUGH 1850. THESE WERE PUBLISHED BY THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT AND WERE SENT TO CONGRESS. BEGINNING WITH 1851, THESE PROGRESS REPORTS BECAME MORE FORMAL. THEY WERE PRODUCED IN MUCH LARGER QUANTITY AND WERE MORE WIDELY DISTRIBUTED TO SCHOOLS AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS IN ADDITION TO CONGRESS. THE U.S. COAST SURVEY BECAME THE PUBLISHER BEGINNING IN 1851. THE WIDER DISSEMINATION WAS AN ATTEMPT BY THE AGENCY TO BUILD A WIDER BASE OF SUPPORT FOR THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COAST SURVEY. BEGINNING IN 1844, THESE REPORTS DESCRIBED IN CONSIDERABLE DETAIL THE PROGRESS OF THE SURVEY INCLUDING IN SECTION III, WHICH PRIMARILY CONSISTED OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND THE OCEAN FRONT OF DELAWARE, MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA. ANNUAL PROGRESS SKETCHES WERE APPENDED, SHOWING THE EXTENT OF THE TRIANGULATION, TOPOGRAPHY, HYDROGRAPHY AND OTHER WORK ACCOMPLISHED UP TO THAT TIME.

HFC OWNERSHIP DATA : THE HUNTINGFIELD COLLECTION HAS A COPY ON THIN PAPER WITH SOME BROWNING AT THE FOLDS. IT HAS AN ACQ. # OF J017-DDT AND A MDHR # OF MSA SC1399-291.

BIBLIGRAPHICAL REFS. : U.S. COAST SURVEY, REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE COAST SURVEY, SHOWING THE PROGRESS OF THE SURVEY DURING THE YEAR 1871, H.R. EX. DOC. NO. 121, 42d CONGRESS, 2d SESSION, WASHINGTON: U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 1874, 2, 6, 17, 34-37, 73, 80, 82.

March 1, 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