The Engineers’ Frontier – Legends of America
Ever wonder how the Wild West got tamed? Sure, cowboys and gunslingers played a part, but let’s not forget the unsung heroes: the engineers! These weren’t your garden-variety desk jockeys; they were pioneers, problem-solvers, and risk-takers who literally paved the way for America’s expansion.
A Dream on Rails
The idea of a railway stretching all the way to the Pacific Ocean wasn’t exactly new. As soon as trains started chugging along in the East, some folks in the West started dreaming big. Imagine connecting the entire continent with iron rails!
One of the earliest champions of this idea was Asa Whitney, a New York merchant with an eye on trade with China. He saw a railway as the key to unlocking the riches of the Orient for the United States. He wasn’t the first to suggest it, but he was one of the most determined. Whitney even ditched his business and went scouting in Wisconsin and Iowa to prove it could be done. He was convinced that Oregon would become its own country if it wasn’t connected to the rest of the U.S.
Sectional Squabbles
Of course, nothing’s ever easy, especially when politics get involved. The North and South were already at odds, and everyone wanted the railway to benefit their region. Towns along the Mississippi River, from the Great Lakes all the way down to the Gulf, were all vying to be the main hub. Cities like New Orleans, St. Louis, and Chicago all had their supporters.
Enter the Politicians
Senator Thomas Hart Benton saw the potential of the railway and jumped on board. He was a big talker, envisioning a future where Asian goods would flow across the Pacific, up the Oregon River, over the Rocky Mountains, and into the heart of America. He wanted the country to build the railway with a giant statue of Columbus pointing the way to India.
Mapping the Unknown
Before anyone could lay a single track, they needed to know what they were dealing with. Explorers like John C. Fremont led expeditions into the West, mapping the terrain and gathering information. Before Fremont, nobody knew if a big river went into the Pacific Ocean between the Columbia and Colorado Rivers. Fremont’s team created detailed maps, and others filled in the gaps.
By the 1850s, people had a pretty good idea of the general layout of the West. They knew the railway could probably follow the Platte River. But they still needed a proper survey to figure out the best route.
Route Wars
The idea of the railway was popular, but everyone had their own idea of where it should go. This led to some serious disagreements. Asa Whitney, who had been one of the earliest supporters, got sidelined because everyone was too busy arguing about routes.
A Survey to End the Stalemate
In 1853, Congress finally agreed to fund a survey to find the best route. Senator William Gwin was skeptical, saying that any route picked would just make the others mad. But he figured it was better than nothing. The Army’s Topographical Engineers were put in charge of the job.
Exploring the Possibilities
Under the direction of Jefferson Davis, the Secretary of War, several teams set out to explore different routes. Isaac I. Stevens surveyed the northern route, while others looked at routes along the 41st, 38th, 35th, and 32nd parallels.
Stevens’s team included engineers, a topographer, an artist, a doctor, a naturalist, an astronomer, a meteorologist, and a geologist. They had a lot of stuff to carry and had to deal with mules that weren’t broken in yet.
The northern route was split into two. Stevens led one group east from St. Paul, Minnesota. They went up the Missouri River to Fort Union and then overland to Fort Benton, Montana. Another group was supposed to head east from the Columbia River, led by Captain George B. McClellan.
Stevens was super enthusiastic about the whole thing. He thought the Indians would be impressed by the whites. His report was detailed, and his crew was loyal. He praised his French voyageurs, who were "thorough woodsmen" and "just the men for prairie life".
The group reached Fort Union in 55 days. They met friendly Indians along the way, but one said he was worried the railway would drive his people off their lands. They then headed west to Fort Benton.
West of Fort Benton, the real challenges began. Lieutenant Saxton had already scouted ahead, crossing the Cascades and heading up the Columbia River. He thought the area was perfect for a railway.
Stevens reduced his group at Fort Benton and headed west with pack animals. He left some men behind to take weather readings and another group with Lieutenant Mullan among the Flathead Indians. He met McClellan’s group near Walla Walla, Washington, but McClellan’s advice led to the end of the survey for the year.
Stevens’s report was one of the first to come out. It said that a railway was possible along the northern route.
Other Routes, Other Challenges
Lieutenant Edward G. Beckwith surveyed the route along the 42nd parallel. He found it to be practical for railway construction.
Captain William Gunnison explored the route along the 38th and 39th parallels. He had trouble breaking in his mules. The group headed into the mountains and crossed the Rio Grande. Gunnison was killed by Paiute Indians near Sevier Lake. Beckwith took over the group and said the Mormons didn’t have anything to do with the murder.
Lieutenant Amiel W. Whipple surveyed the route along the 35th parallel. This route had only a few major problems to overcome. The group traveled up the Canadian River and across New Mexico. They went through a region where no white man had been before. They crossed the Colorado River at the Needles in California.
The 32nd parallel route was surveyed by several different groups. They found another good route.
The Verdict
By 1854, the reports from the Pacific railway surveys were coming in. They filled twelve huge volumes. But they didn’t really tell anyone anything they didn’t already know: that the continent could be crossed in many places and that the real problems were financial, not engineering.
The Secretary of War said that the continental divide could be crossed at five points and that railways were possible at four of them. He said the 32nd parallel route was the best because it was the cheapest and easiest to build.
A Dream Deferred
The Pacific railway surveys were supposed to break the deadlock in Congress. But even with the surveys, there was still no agreement on where to put the railway. The South liked the 32nd parallel route, but there was still little chance of building a railway.
The Civil War would remove one of the contesting sections from Congress.
But even before the war, railways in the East were expanding. The first bridge over the Mississippi River was being built in St. Louis, and the Illinois Central Railroad opened in 1856. By the time the Civil War started, the railway frontier was ready to cross the gap to the Pacific.