The U.S. Civil War was a time of fierce political argument and unspeakable human tragedy. For the American scientific community, it was also a time of innovative advancements.
In a new NOAA Office of Coast Survey report, The U.S. Coast Survey in the Civil War, Dr. John Cloud explores the challenges as the agency’s hydrographic and topographic survey parties prepared for war. Using exquisite images of historical sketches, Cloud goes on to explain how the Survey’s scientific processes and creative applications led to landmark improvements in the nation’s mapping capabilities.
The U.S. Coast Survey was the major scientific agency in the U.S. government during the war, developing the information and tools needed by the Union to successfully prosecute the conflict. This report draws on the contemporary sources of the time to explain the processes, and the personalities, that contributed to the developments.
A 33-page 11.9Mb PDF of the report can be found HERE