The Joint United States and Mexican Boundary Commission was stipulated by the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

which ended the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

in 1848. The Joint Commission was required to carefully survey and mark the new boundary which had only been imprecisely described in the treaty between the two countries. Each country appointed a commissioner and a surveyor to jointly lead the project and the group met for the first time in San Diego on July 6, 1849. The survey was expected to take only a year, but the effort was poorly funded and fraught with internal dissension and personnel turnover, especially within the American contingent. In addition, neither country had appreciated the extremely difficult terrain through which the survey would be conducted. The 1847 Dirsturnell map accompanied the

There were discrepancies in the map and in the Spring of 1851 the Commissioners negotiated the Bartlett-García Conde Compromise to end the dispute over where the southern border of New Mexico would be. The Compromise was rejected by the US Senate however, and a new boundary limit had to be negotiated. The

Gadsden Purchase The Gadsden Purchase ( "La Mesilla sale") is a region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States acquired from Mexico by the Treaty of Mesilla, which took effect on June 8, 1854. The purchase included lan ...

and negotiation determined that new boundary.

John Russell Bartlett John Russell Bartlett (October 23, 1805 – May 28, 1886) was an American historian and linguist. Early life Bartlett was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 23, 1805, the son of Smith Bartlett and Nancy (Russell) Bartlett. In 1819 he ...

replaced

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

as the US Boundary Commissioner on June 15, 1850. The Mexican Commissioner was

Pedro García Conde Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

. List of US Boundary Commissioners * 1.

Ambrose Hundley Sevier Ambrose Hundley Sevier (November 4, 1801 – December 31, 1848) was an attorney, politician and planter from Arkansas. A member of the political Conway-Johnson family that dominated the state and national delegations in the antebellum yea ...

1848 (Died before confirmed by Senate) * 2.

John B. Weller John B. Weller (February 22, 1812August 17, 1875) was the fifth governor of California from January 8, 1858, to January 9, 1860, who earlier had served as a congressman from Ohio and a U.S. senator from California, and minister to Mexico. ...

1849-1850 * 3.

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 ...

February 1850 appointed but resigned to serve as senator in California * 4.

William H. Emory William Hemsley Emory (September 7, 1811 – December 1, 1887) was a prominent American surveyor and civil engineer of the 19th century. As an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers he specialized in mapping the United States ...

(interim), the only of the US Commissioners who had previous experience in "surveying, diplomacy, or organizing and carrying out a major expedition" * 5.

June 1850 - May 1886 List of US Boundary Surveyors * Andrew B. Gray 1849- *

Amiel Weeks Whipple Amiel Weeks Whipple (October 21, 1817 – May 7, 1863)Anderson, TSHA was an American military officer and topographical engineer. He served as a brigadier general in the American Civil War, where he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Chanc ...

1851 *

Arthur Carl Victor Schott Arthur Carl Victor Schott (27 February 1814 – 26 July 1875) was a German-American artist, naturalist and ethnographer. He was hired as a "special scientific collector" for the United States Boundary Commission, and participated in th ...

* James Radziminski *

Joseph Smith Harris Joseph Smith Harris (April 29, 1836 – June 1, 1910) was an American surveyor, civil engineer, and railroad executive. Largely self-taught, he worked on several projects for the United States Government, including the United States Coast S ...

and G. Clinton Gardner List of Mexican Boundary Commissioners * Pedro Garcia Conde 1849 - December 1851 (died) *

José Salazar Ylarregui José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

1851 List of Mexican Surveyors *

1849 - 1851 * Francisco Jiménez 1852-1853 * Agustín Díaz

References

{{Reflist Mexico–United States border

See also

References