John James Abert (17 September 1788 – 27 January 1863) was a United States soldier. He headed the
Corps of Topographical Engineers
The U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers was a branch of the United States Army authorized on 4 July 1838. It consisted only of officers who were handpicked from West Point and was used for mapping and the design and construction of federal ...
for 32 years, during which time he organized the mapping of the
American West
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
(now West Virginia; also disputed to be
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...
) to John Abert and Margarita Meng, his father being said to have emigrated to the States as a soldier with
Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau
Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807, was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the ...
in 1780. He graduated from
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
in 1811, but declined a commission to practice law. After leaving West Point, he married Ellen Matlack Stretch in January 1812. He enlisted in the D.C. Militia during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, and rejoined the army as a topographical engineer with the rank of brevet
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
in October 1814. Abert volunteered as a private in the District of Columbia Militia for the defense of Washington in 1814, and was brevetted Major, Staff Topographical Engineer, for gallantry at the
Battle of Bladensburg
The Battle of Bladensburg was a battle of the Chesapeake campaign of the War of 1812, fought on 24 August 1814 at Bladensburg, Maryland, northeast of Washington, D.C.
Called "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms," a British force ...
, Maryland, August 24, 1814.
His son,
James William Abert
James William Abert (November 18, 1820 – August 10, 1897) was an American soldier, explorer, bird collector and topographical artist.
Early life
Abert, the son of John James Abert,U.S. Corps of Tophographical Engineers In March 1829, John Abert was appointed to the leadership of the corps, and promoted to
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
in July 1838. Officers working under him were responsible for the exploration and mapping of the lands west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
. He was elected a member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 1832 and an Associate Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 1845.
In 1818, the US War Department created the Topographic Bureau as part of the Corps of Engineers, under the command of Major
Isaac Roberdeau
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
. The
Topographic Bureau
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scien ...
was assigned six men and was to collect and store maps and topographical reports. When Roberdeau died in 1829, Abert became the head of the Bureau. He wanted to be free from the oversight of the
United States Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
and establish a separate Topographic Corps. in 1831 Abert was able to persuade Congress to remove the topographic engineers from the Corps of Engineers, and place them directly under the
United States Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Se ...
. In 1838, Abert was appointed the command of the
Corps of Topographical Engineers
The U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers was a branch of the United States Army authorized on 4 July 1838. It consisted only of officers who were handpicked from West Point and was used for mapping and the design and construction of federal ...
, which position he would hold for 23 years. The Corps of Topographical Engineers had grown by then to thirty-six officers, including six majors, four captains by brevet, six civil engineers and twenty
subaltern
Subaltern may refer to:
*Subaltern (postcolonialism), colonial populations who are outside the hierarchy of power
* Subaltern (military), a primarily British and Commonwealth military term for a junior officer
* Subalternation, going from a univer ...
s of the line. Abert recruited the best soldier-scientists he could find. These included
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...
,
William H. Emory
William Hemsley Emory (September 7, 1811 – December 1, 1887) was a prominent American surveyor and civil engineer in the 19th century. As an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers he specialized in mapping the United States ...
and
Andrew A. Humphreys
Andrew Atkinson Humphreys (November 2, 1810December 27, 1883), was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and a Union General in the American Civil War. He served in senior positions in the Army of the Potomac, including division c ...
.
Abert was a member of a number of legal, geographical and scientific societies. He was also a member of the Geographical Society of Paris, the
Société de Géographie
The Société de Géographie (; ), is the world's oldest geographical society. It was founded in 1821 as the first Geographic Society. Since 1878, its headquarters have been at 184 Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris. The entrance is marked by two gig ...
. He retired from the Army in September 1861. Abert died in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and was buried in
Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. It is across the stree ...
.
When he died, the US War Department wrote about Abert's accomplishments with the Corps of Topographical Engineers: "The Army and the country will not need to be reminded of the vast interest and value attached to the operations of this Corps since its organization. The geographical and other information concerning this continent which its officers have collected and published has challenged the admiration of the scientific world, while the practical benefit of their labors has been felt in nearly every State and every Territory; the whole forming a proud monument to him who was its founder. As a citizen and a man, Colonel Abert was remarkable for the steadfastness of his friendships, for his candor and unostentatious hospitality. Equally unostentatious, but no less sincere, was the simple piety which supported his declining years, and left behind an example which the proudest soldier would not be ashamed to follow."
Abert is the namesake of Lake Albert in South Dakota. Captain
John C. Fremont
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
named
Lake Abert
Lake Abert (also known as Abert Lake) is a large, shallow, alkali lake in Lake County, Oregon, United States. It is approximately long and wide at its widest point. It is located northeast of the small, unincorporated community of Valley Fall ...
and
Abert Rim
Abert Rim in Lake County, Oregon is one of the highest fault scarps in the United States. It rises above the valley floor, finishing with an sheer-sided basalt cap. It was formed during the Miocene epoch. At that time basaltic flood lavas cove ...
in his honor when his 1843 expedition passed through southern
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. The
Abert's squirrel
Abert's squirrel or the tassel-eared squirrel (''Sciurus aberti'') is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' native to the southern Rocky Mountains from the United States to the northern Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico, with concentrations fo ...
Silvanus Thayer Abert
Silvanus or Sylvanus may refer to:
*Silas (Silvanus), disciple, mentioned in four New Testament epistles
* Silvanus (monk), one of the Desert Fathers
*Silvanus of the Seventy, a traditional figure in Eastern Orthodox tradition assumed to be one of ...