Letters to John James Abert [facsimiles], 1850-1859.

  1. Resources
  2. View Resource

ArchivalResource

Letters to John James Abert [facsimiles], 1850-1859.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/662491084

Set of facsimile letters written from George Horatio Derby to Colonel J.J. Abert, mainly regarding work on the San Diego River levee. Derby writes of his activities at Monterey, his appointment to San Diego, his various expenses, his "long and tedious passage" from New York to San Diego, the results of his levee building survey for the San Diego River, the difficulties of acquiring funding for the project, his troubles trying to carry equipment on horseback, the completion of work on the San Diego River, Abert's unhappiness with modifications made by Derby to original levee plans ("I believe I am the only officer on this coast whose official drafts have ever been dishonored" writes Derby of the incident), his appointment as Aide-de-Camp of General Wool, and his work in the Cascades (Washington state). Derby also writes of being delayed on his travels by the birth of his child aboard a ship and his request to "improve in my profession...by examining the fortifications of Europe" with the hope of achieving the rank of Captain. Also includes a letter to Secretary of War Jefferson Davis in which Derby asks to be sent east to be near his ailing mother, a list of equipment lost in the Punta River, and various plans and estimates relating to the San Diego River.

34 pieces.

Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7953552

Related Entities

There are 4 Entities related to this resource.

Abert, John James, 1788-1863

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68t5f53 (person)

John James Abert (1788-1863) was a topographical engineer for the United States Army. He supervised many early national engineering projects, including the planning for a wagon road from Genoa, Utah to Carson Valley, Nevada. From the description of John James Abert letter, 1861 February 7. (Brigham Young University). WorldCat record id: 159957417 ...

United States. Army. Corps of Topographical Engineers

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6cv8w4f (corporateBody)

Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xk8d2z (person)

Mary Ann Lamar Cobb (1818-1889), wife of Gen. Howell Cobb (1815-1868). From the description of Letter to Mary Ann Lamar Cobb, 1888 Oct. 2. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 38476494 Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) was born in Kentucky. He attended Transylvania University for a short time before enrolling at West Point in 1824, at the age of 16. He graduated in 1828 and immediately joined the First Infantry. His regiment was engaged in the Blackhawk War of 1831. In 1833, he became a...

Derby, George Horatio, 1823-1861

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6th92gz (person)

George Horatio Derby was born on April 3, 1823, in Dedham, Massachusetts. He graduated from West Point in 1846 and served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Topographic Corps. He mapped the San Diego River in 1853 before moving to San Francisco in 1854 to marry Mary A. Coons. While in San Francisco, Derby began writing satiric articles for the San Francisco Herald and California Pioneer Magazine, for which he used the pseudonyms "John P. Squibob" and "John Phoenix." Derby died of a possible brain ...