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Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley
Early in the 19th century, as wagon trains streamed into the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, settlers came upon vast numbers of abandoned earthworks that they attributed to a sophisticated race of long-gone mound builders. Giving rise to often-loaded questions about human origins, the mounds and the artifacts found within them became the focus of early American efforts toward a science of archaeology. Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley (1848) was the first major work in the nascent discipline as well as the first publication of the newly established Smithsonian Institution ...
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Smithsonian Institution
Map of the Country about the Mississippi, Circa 1755
A handwritten note on the back of this manuscript pen-and-ink map from around 1755 states: “Map of the country about the Mississippi. Drawn by Chegeree (the Indian) who says he has travelled through the country.” It is not known who Chegeree was, but he appears to have made the map for an anonymous British official early in the French and Indian War (1754–63). The map and accompanying notes portray the extent of French forces and troop strengths in the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys at the outset of the ...
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Library of Congress
Map of Kentucky and Tennessee
David H. Burr (1803–75) was a surveyor and cartographer, who served as topographer to the United States Post Office Department in 1832–38 and as geographer to the House of Representatives in 1838–47. Under the direction of the postmaster general, Burr compiled information from postmasters throughout the country about transportation routes—post roads, railroads, and canals—and the location of post offices to produce a large set of state and regional maps. Published in 1839 by the prominent London mapmaking firm of John Arrowsmith, Burr’s The American ...
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Library of Congress