DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Topographical Engineers out on the High Plains of Texas. Now settle in, because this is a story about men who walked into country that did not want them there — and came back with maps. The United States Army Topographical Corps.
Thirty-six officers. That's it. Thirty-six men, from 1838 to 1863, tasked with making sense of a continent.
And the tools they carried into some of the most unforgiving terrain in western America? A barometer. A compass.
A sextant. And a pencil. That's all.
You'd think you were packing for a Sunday picnic, not charting the path of a civilization. But that's exactly what they were doing — compiling scientific data on climate, geographical features, soil, and feasible routes for wagons or railroads, along with sites for towns and future industry. All of it, scratched out in the field, in territory the marker doesn't hesitate to call what it was: land held by hostile Indians.
Before these men came through, earlier travelers — conquistadors, mountain men — had moved across this ground. They mentioned their experiences. The topographers, though?
They mapped the terrain. There's a difference, and it's the kind of difference that changes everything for the settlers coming behind you. Now, three of those topographical parties turned their attention to the land that is now Potter County.
First came Lieutenant James W. Abert, in 1845, who invaded this Indian region to survey the environs of the Canadian River and others around it. Then in 1849, Lieutenant James H.
Simpson came through on a reconnaissance mission, scouting a proposed railroad route all the way from Fort Smith to Santa Fe. And then, in 1853, Lieutenant Amiel W. Whipple arrived to map yet another railroad route — this one reaching from the Mississippi River clear to the Pacific Ocean.
Three men. Three missions. Each one pushing further into the blueprint of a nation that was still very much being drawn.
The marker puts it plainly: the United States owes great honor to these and other topographers. And standing out here on the High Plains, looking out at the flat reach of Potter County, it's hard to argue with that. Somebody had to hold the pencil.
What the marker says
This region and much of western America was mapped under adversity, as territory held by hostile Indians. With the dual aims of compiling scientific data and opening the way for settlers, U.S. Army topographers covered ground earlier traversed by conquistadors and mountain men. Earlier travelers mentioned their experiences. The topographers mapped the terrain. The United States Army Topographical Corps from 1838 to 1863 consisted of 36 officers. Barometer, compass, sextant, and pencil were their instruments for handling data on climate, geographical features, soil, feasible routes for wagons or railroads, and sites for towns and industrial developments. Three topographical parties investigated the land that is now Potter County: Lt. James W. Abert invaded this Indian region in 1845 to survey environs of the Canadian and other rivers; Lt. James H. Simpson in 1849 reconnoitered a proposed railroad route from Fort Smith to Santa Fe; Lt. Amiel W. Whipple in 1853 mapped another railroad route from the Mississippi to the Pacific. The United States owes great honor to these and other topographers. (1973)