When the United States acquired much of the Far West as a result of the War with Mexico much of the area was Terra Incognita, known only to a few mountain men, a few Mexicans and the Indians. Trouble was, they knew it like the back of their hands and made good guides but couldn’t survey or map it.
U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, as a separate corps, was authorized on July 4th 1838. Consisting only of officers, they were handpicked graduates of West Point and their mission was to
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