222 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 195 7 



angered almost all officialdom, it finally found its place in the grow- 

 ing land. As new territory was annexed, the job grew larger before 

 it was even started. This undertaking, which Congress supposed 

 would be finished in a few years, has now taken 150 years, and no 

 end is in sight. 



The "Survey of the Coast," known in midcentury as the "Coast 

 Survey," eventually became the "Coast and Geodetic Survey" when, 

 in 1878, its nationwide geodetic surveys, necessary as a foundation 

 for maps, were recognized as a basic function. In 1903, the Survey 

 was removed from the Treasury to what is now the Commerce De- 

 partment. In its long history there have been many events and 

 outstanding men, of which we can here glimpse but a few. 



In this period of serving the maritime, mapping, and, more lately, 

 the aviation interests of the country, the work of the Survey has 

 brought it into continuous and often intimate relations with the mili- 

 tary agencies. It has been merged on more than one occasion with 

 the Navy, only to be separated again on the grounds that its highly 

 specialized work required the administration of scientific rather than 

 military heads. The Navy has, of course, long had its companion 

 agency, the Hydrographic Office, for the discharge of commitments 

 in foreign areas and those having special military significance. Dur- 

 ing long periods Navy officers served Survey duty assignments, often 

 with great distinction. There still exists a law authorizing such 

 assignments on the request of the Survey, but it has not been used 

 since the Spanish-American War. Frequently, in the early days, 

 Army officers, usually topographic engineers, were also so assigned. 



Many of the skills of the Survey — recomiaissance surveying, geo- 

 detic work, photointerpretation, and chart production, for instance — 

 have military significance. In every war its officers have served on 

 direct detail with the military forces, engaging in many campaigns 

 as surveyors and scouts, map compilers, pilots, and navigators. Its 

 ships as well have performed many duties with the Navy. In part 

 because of these military connotations of the work and the nature 

 of its field operations and customs, the Survey became a commissioned 

 service during World War I, subject to military duty in wartime. In 

 World War II six of its ships served with the Navy, and numerous 

 officers in ranks up to Captain were assigned duty in naval and other 

 military commands, often in heavy combat. 



When President Jefferson found himself charged by Congress 

 with the duty of starting a national hydrographic survey, he asked 

 the American Philosophical Society to recommend an expert to take 

 charge. There were no established procedures, and so the Society 

 invited proposals from respected engineers, including James Madi- 

 son, for starting the work. The best plan of those received was from 



