1857 Map of the Territory of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean

Map of the Territory of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean; ordered by Jeff'n Davis, Secretary of War to accompany the reports of the explorations for a railroad route. A well-preserved example of one of the most important and complete maps of the western United States to come out of the mid-19th century. This remarkable cartographic work by Lieutenant Gouverneur Kemble Warren is drawn upon nearly half a century of American exploration, military operations, scientific expeditions, and a massive undertaking in government funded land surveying with the intention of identifying the best route of a trans-continental railroad. Early Visions of a Transcontinental Railroad The idea for a trans-continental railroad can be traced to a New York business man and importer of goods from China, Asa Whitney. He desperately wanted an overland route to connect his imports of Chinese tea, spices, and other goods from the harbors San Francisco to New York and everywhere in betwe