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Map of Reconnaissance Exhibiting the Country Between Washington and New Orleans With the Routes examined in reference to a contemplated National Road between these two cities.
[Washington (DC): War Department, Topographical Bureau], [1826]. Engraving, 19.5” x 26.25” plus margins. CONDITION: Very good, some spotting, mostly faint and mostly to margins; 2 minor losses at intersections of old folds (the larger of which is .25” x .25”, neither affecting text or anything important; closed 1” v-shaped tear beneath “River” in “Ohio River” at top center, not affecting text/printed area; 1” closed tear across neat line at top left; a few minuscule nicks to paper, mostly in margins. A rare map illustrating potential routes for a “National Road” from Washington to New Orleans, proposed in the 1820s by the John Quincy Adams Administration. The map was issued separately, but in tandem with a report by the Board of Engineers submitted to Congress on April 13, 1826, “Letter from the Secretary of War Transmitting the Report of the Board of Internal Improvement, upon the Subject of a National Road from the City of Washington to New Orleans.” It depicts the country from Washington to New Orleans, bounded by the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in the west and encompassing large portions of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The map’s detail—topography, river systems, towns, and settlements—is concentrated along the three routes being considered for the proposed National Road, each of which is shown by double lines: An eastern route passing through capitals of the southern states, a middle route further west, but still east of the Blue Ridge; and a western route passing through the valleys of the Blue Ridge. For comparative purposes, the map also shows a straight line between Washington and New Orleans, marked off at intervals with latitude and distances. The Adams administration had an ambitious program to implement capital projects (“internal improvements”) funded by the federal government–the premise being that some projects were vital to the national interest but too ambitious to be undertaken by either state governments or private enterprise. Notably, Adams proposed a national road network that would bind the far-flung parts of the country together, providing better routes for travel and the movement of goods, improved service by the U. S. Postal Service, and faster movement of troops to the country’s far-flung borders. Congress first debated constructing a road from D.C. to New Orleans in 1824 but evaluation of potential routes by the U.S. Army’s Board of Engineers began in earnest in late 1825. A report in Niles’ Weekly Register neatly summarizes the Board’s task: Pursuant to the instructions of the war department, the board, consisting of general Bernard and Mr. David Shriver, in the further prosecution of the objects contemplated by the act of congress, of the 30th April, 1824, “to procure the necessary surveys, plans and estimates, on the subject of roads and canals,” set out on the — of March last, from this place, to commence the reconnaissance and examination of the country between the seat of government of the United States and New Orleans, with a view of selecting the most eligible site for locating the great national road contemplated to be constructed between the two cities. The board was directed, in considering this subject, to take into view three routes, viz: 1. The Atlantic, or the route passing through the capitals of the southern states, as Richmond, Raleigh, Columbia, Milledgeville, &c. 2d. The intermediate route, comprehending all the routes west of the first, and east of the mountains. 3d. The western route, or the route through the valley of the mountains west of the Blue Ridge. In determining which of these routes should be preferred, the board was instructed to take into view every consideration which ought to have weight; such as the comparative distances of the several routes; the facilities and cheapness of construction; the political, commercial and military advantages; and the transportation of the mail. (January 1, 1826, page 11). The principal surveyors were Isaac Ridgeway Trimble (1802-1888) and Guillaume-Tell de la Vallée Poussin (1794–1876), both army officers attached to the Topographical Engineers. The Board of Engineers’ report was presented to Congress on April 13, 1826. It evaluated the three routes though engineering, commercial, military, political, and other lenses, including a brief assessment of their impact on postal service, but in the end declined to make a recommendation: But, if certain advantages pointed out in this report can be expressed by figures, to help in the comparison, yet the others, being of a moral kind, each of them is liable to receive unequal weight from different minds; and if to this difficulty is added that of comparing moral with physical advantages, we must acknowledge that we cannot, without presumption, attempt to draw a conclusion as to the route which is entitled to the preference. (p. 26) Despite the waffling, Congress ordered three thousand copies of the report printed, along with a separately-issued map to illustrate the report, also with a print run of three thousand.[1] According to the report, the map was drawn by two other officers of the Corps of Engineers, Jefferson Vail (1801–1835) and William George Williams (1801–1846). Unfortunately for the project, the broad consensus in Congress, and among the many states, was against it, and it never progressed beyond the planning stage. By way of example, here is one line of objection from a New Hampshire editor: The last Mail brought us an engraved “Map of Reconnoisance, exhibiting the country between Washington and New-Orleans, with the routes examined in reference to a contemplated National Road between these two cities.” It is a large sheet, handsomely lettered and engraved, and we do hope here will be an end of this expensive, and, as we think, almost useless project. We are not opposed to the principle of expending a small portion of surplus revenue for internal improvements …. But this contemplated road from Washington to New-Orleans, is without object, other than the more direct transportation of the mail … It would cost millions, only for the benefit of the States through which it would pass, and hundreds of thousands annually to keep it in repair. The thousands already expended in the surveys are lost. Let them go. (New Hampshire Sentinel, January 27, 1827, p. 11). Considering the quantity in which it was supposed to have been printed, the map is very scarce. As of November 2024 OCLC 759518512 et. al. record 11 examples in institutional collections, and per RareBookHub the last to appear on the market was offered for sale by William Parkinson Auctions (Vermont) in November 2004… though it is possible that the example offered here is one and the same. [1] There was resistance to – and considerable debate about – such a large print run. One editor complained, “On a motion to print [three thousand] copies of the accompanying map, a debate of an hour’s duration, involving no more than a question of Economy, eventuated in laying the proposition on the table. The expenses of Congress, for one hour, is estimated, and we believe accurately, at $600 – while the cost of the printing in question was supposed to be about $375…verily, it is not that kind of plain common sense Economy that the people can be made to comprehend” (Alexandria Gazette, April 14, 1826, page 3). Offered in partnership with Boston Rare Maps of Southampton, Mass.
Item #9418
Price: $6,500.00
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