Thomas Jefferson Cram (March 1, 1804 – December 20, 1883) was an American

topographical 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 sc ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

from New Hampshire who served in the

United States Army 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 ...

from 1839 to 1863 and the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

from 1863 to 1869. He served as General Superintendent for harbor works on Lake Michigan and the construction of roads in

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

. He led surveys to determine the border of Michigan and Wisconsin Territory in the

Upper Peninsula The Upper Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. – is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by ...

, to explore Oregon and Washington Territories, and to determine the feasibility of a water route to the Pacific through Central America. He served under General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

in the Army of Occupation during the Mexican American War and conducted coastal and river surveys in Texas. He participated in the

United States Lake Survey The United States Lake Survey (USLS) was a hydrographic survey for the Great Lakes, New York Barge Canal, Lake Champlain and the Boundary Waters of the Canada–United States border between Minnesota and Ontario. The Survey's activities began on ...

and led the survey section between Green Bay, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois. He conducted multiple river, canal and harbor improvement assessments including for the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and

Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At approximately 430 miles (692 km) long, it is the state's longest river. The river's name, first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskous ...

in Wisconsin, the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky and the St. Louis, Missouri harbor on the Mississippi River. He assisted the

United States Coast Survey United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

in New England from 1847 to 1855 and in North Carolina from 1858 to 1861. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel and served as aide-de-camp to General John E. Wool.

Biography

Cram was born in

Acworth, New Hampshire Acworth is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 853. History Originally chartered by colonial governor Benning Wentworth in 1752, it was called "Burnet" after William Bu ...

. He graduated from the

U.S. Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1826 and taught mathematics and natural and experimental philosophy at the Academy from 1829 to 1836. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery. In 1835 he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and resigned his commission in 1836. He worked as an assistant engineer for the railroad industry in Maryland and Pennsylvania for two years and returned to Army service as a captain in 1838. In 1839, he was assigned as the General Superintendent for harbor works in Lake Michigan and road construction in Wisconsin Territory with

Howard Stansbury Howard Stansbury (February 8, 1806 – April 17, 1863) was a major in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. His most notable achievement was leading a two-year expedition (1849–1851) to survey the Great Salt Lake and its surroundings ...

and

Lorenzo Sitgreaves Lorenzo I. Sitgreaves (March 15, 1810 – May 14, 1888) was a U.S. Army officer from Pennsylvania who led the 1851 Sitgreaves Expedition down the Zuñi and Colorado rivers. Early life and career Lorenzo I. Sitgreaves was born on March 15, 1810, ...

assigned to assist him. He made improvements to the harbors of Chicago, St. Joseph and Michigan City and built new harbors at Kenosha, Calumet, Milwaukee and Racine. Cram built seven roads in Wisconsin and used timber

truss bridges A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

designed by Stephen Long for all spans greater than 20 feet long. 1849 Land Survey Map of Michigan Upper Peninsula - Geographicus - Michigan-ls-1850

As part of the settlement of the

Toledo War The Toledo War (1835–36), also known as the Michigan–Ohio War or the Ohio–Michigan War, was an almost bloodless boundary dispute between the U.S. state of Ohio and the adjoining territory of Michigan over what is now known as the Toledo ...

, between Michigan and Ohio, most of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was granted to Michigan. The U.S. Congress created the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and appropriated funds to conduct a survey to determine the boundary between Wisconsin and Michigan. In 1840, Cram and

Douglass Houghton Douglass Houghton (September 21, 1809 – October 13, 1845) was an American geologist and physician, primarily known for his exploration of the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. It was the site of a copper boom and extensive copper mining beginnin ...

led the boundary survey team up the

Menominee River The Menominee River is a river in northwestern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in the United States. It is approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Dece ...

to its source at Brule Lake. A previous map incorrectly listed

Lac Vieux Desert Lac Vieux Desert is a lake in the United States divided between Gogebic County, Michigan, and Vilas County, Wisconsin. Fed primarily by springs in the surrounding swamps, it is the source of the Wisconsin River, which flows out of its southwest c ...

as the headwater of the Menominee River and the Montreal River. He negotiated a treaty with the Ojibwa Chief Ca-sha-o-sha which allowed the survey to continue. The survey could not be completed in 1840 due to errors in the map used by Congress to determine the boundary. Cram returned to the Upper Peninsula in 1841 to continue the survey. He identified

as the source of the

and recommended a different boundary between Wisconsin and Michigan. Congress used the border recommended by Cram when they passed the Wisconsin Enabling Act of 1846 prior to Wisconsin becoming a state in 1848. Michigan refuted the results of the survey and claimed that Cram's interpretation of the boundary cheated Michigan out of 800 square miles of land. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1926 and was decided in favor of Wisconsin. In 1841, Cram participated in the United States Lake Survey. His portion of the survey began at Green Bay and moved south toward Chicago while William G. Williams began his portion at Green Bay and moved north toward Mackinac Island. In 1843, Cram conducted work in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

to improve navigation of the falls on the Ohio River. Cram recommended the expansion of the canal and construction of a second canal to provide two way river traffic, however the recommendations were not approved by Congress and were not implemented. In 1844, Cram was assigned to improve the harbor works at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. The harbor required improvements since the flow of the Mississippi River had formed sandbars that trapped ships or required long diversions to avoid them. He proposed several works to remedy the situation but they were deemed too experimental and expensive. The construction of a dam was selected and work began on it until the outbreak of the Mexican American War. In 1845, Cram served as chief topographical engineer in the Army of Occupation under General

during the Mexican American War. He conducted systematic topographic surveys of the

Nueces River The Nueces River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nueces'' ...

, the Laguna de la Madre and

Aransas Bay Aransas Bay is a bay on the Texas Gulf Coast, approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, and south of San Antonio. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by San José Island (also referred to as St. Joseph Island). Aransas Pass is the m ...

. He fell ill with

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

and was replaced by

George Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. H ...

. From 1847 to 1855, he worked as an assistant to the

U.S. National Geodetic Survey The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is a United States federal agency that defines and manages a national coordinate system, providing the foundation for transportation and communication; mapping and charting; and a large number of applications ...

of the Coast and had responsibility for the New England region. From 1855 to 1858 he was the chief topographical engineer for the

Department of the Pacific The Department of the Pacific or Pacific Department was a major command (Department) of the United States Army from 1853 to 1858. It replaced the Pacific Division, and was itself replaced by the Department of California and the Department of Or ...

. He led survey teams on expeditions through the Oregon and Washington Territories and worked to determine the feasibility of a water route to the Pacific through Central America. Military Reconnaissance Map of Hampton Roads and Norfolk VA Made by TJ Cram

Military Reconnaissance Map of Hampton Roads and Norfolk VA Made by TJ Cram

In 1861, Cram was promoted to major in August and then lieutenant colonel in September. He served as aide to General John E. Wool from 1861 to 1863 and was engaged in the campaign to capture Norfolk, Virginia, in May 1862. Lt. Col. Cram was transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers when the Topographical Engineers were disbanded in 1863, and was promoted to full

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 o ...

at the end of the war in 1865. He was later

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

to Major General to recognize his war service, and served until his retirement in 1869. Cram died in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

Bibliography

Basin of the Mississippi, and its Natural Business Site, Briefly Considered.
New York: Narine & Co., 1851
Address of Captain T.J. Cram, U.S. Corps of Topographical Engineers, Delivered at the Board of Trade Rooms, June 28 and Repeated Before the Corn Exchange Association, of Philadelphia, July 11, 1860, Upon Ocean Steam Ships Proposed to Run Between Philadelphia and Europe, and California, In the Lines of a Corporation Titled the "California, Philadelphia, and European Steamship Company."
Philadelphia: Jackson Printer, 1860
Memoir Upon the Northern Inter-Oceanic Route of Commercial Transit, Between Tide Water of the Puget Sound of the Pacific, and, Tide Water of the St. Lawrence Gulf of the Atlantic Ocean.
Detroit: Board of Trade, 1868

Citations

Sources

* Beers, Henry P., "A History of the U.S. Topographical Engineers, 1813-1863." 2 parts, ''The Military Engineer'' 34 (Jun 1942): pp. 287–91 & (Jul 1942): pp. 348–52. Available as of April 16, 2006 from https://web.archive.org/web/20140926122419/http://topogs.org/History.htm and https://web.archive.org/web/20110728120914/http://www.topogs.org/History2.htm * * *

External links

Manitowish Waters Historical Society - Thomas Jefferson Cram Maps 1838-1841Report of the Secretary of War, communicating, in compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 5th instant, a copy of the report of Captain Thomas J. Cram, Corps of Topographical Engineers of November, 1856, on the oceanic routes to CaliforniaTopographical memoir and report of Captain T.J. Cram, on Territories of Oregon and WashingtonUniversity of Wisconsin Milwaukee - American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection - Thomas J. Cram Maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cram, Thomas J. 1804 births 1883 deaths American explorers of the Pacific American military personnel of the Mexican–American War American topographers Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Explorers of Central America Explorers of Oregon Explorers of Texas Explorers of Washington (state) People from Acworth, New Hampshire People of New Hampshire in the American Civil War People of pre-statehood Wisconsin Union Army colonels United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers United States Coast Survey personnel United States Military Academy alumni Upper Peninsula of Michigan