Howard Stansbury
Encyclopedia
Howard Stansbury 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. The expedition report entitled Exploration and survey of the valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, including a reconnoissance of a new route through the Rocky Mountains was published in 1852 providing the first serious scientific exploration of the flora and fauna of the Great Salt Lake Valley as well as a favorable impression of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who had settled there beginning in 1847.
in 1836, and the Illinois
and Kaskaskia River
s in 1837. In 1838 he oversaw the construction of a road from Milwaukee to the Mississippi River
. In July 1838 he joined the new U.S Corps of Topographical Engineers as a first lieutenant. As a member of the corps, he surveyed the Great Lakes
in 1841 and conducted an extensive survey of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire
harbor between 1842 and 1845. In 1848 he oversaw the start of construction of the Carysfort Reef Light
in Florida
. During the Mexican–American War
he oversaw the building of fortifications in the Dry Tortugas
in the Gulf of Mexico
.
in Utah, to evaluate emigration trails along the way (especially the Oregon
and Mormon
trails), and to scout for possible locations for a transcontinental railroad. The expedition consisted of 18 men including second-in-command Lieutenant John Williams Gunnison. During the next two years, the expedition explored the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake
and the Cache Valley
of northern Utah all the way to Fort Hall
in southern Idaho. When he arrived in the Utah Territory, the Mormon
leaders were worried that the expedition was part of an effort by the U.S government to oust the settlers. Stansbury held a meeting with Brigham Young
where he assured the leader that the expedition was purely scientific. Young responded by assigning his personal secretary, Albert Carrington, to assist the expedition.
In his report, Stansbury wrote:
Upon completing the mission in Utah, the expedition started back east to Leavenworth. Rather than follow the standard Oregon Trail route from Fort Bridger
over South Pass
through the Sweetwater River
valley, Stansbury wanted to scout a more direct route east. Following the advice of Jim Bridger
and local trappers and traders, the expedition followed the Blacks Fork
River east, crossed the Green River
near the present town of Green River, Wyoming
and proceeded east along the Bitter Creek
valley, crossing the Red Desert
, and skirting the northern side of Elk Mountain
across the Laramie Plains
. They passed over the Laramie Mountains
and made their way to Fort Laramie where they struck the Oregon Trail heading east.
and as a recruiting officer in Wisconsin
during the early years of the Civil War
. He died on April 13, 1863.
). The method of triangulation used to map the lake was a first for the Topographical Corps, and the method was put into standard use by the Corps and later by the US Geological Survey. The expedition collected many different species of birds, plants, lizards and mammals as well as rock samples and fossils. Several esteemed scientists of the day provided commentary in the expedition report, including Spencer Fullerton Baird
(ornithologist and ichthyologist), Charles Frédéric Girard
(ichthyologist and herpetologist), John Torrey (botanist) and James Hall (paleontologist)
. Several discovered species were heretofore unknown to science including Uta stansburiana which was named for the expedition leader.
In the late 1850s, Native American conflicts on the Oregon Trail forced the government to establish a new trail through Colorado and Wyoming known as the Overland Trail
. Between Laramie and Fort Bridger, the trail follows almost exactly the route mapped by the expedition. In the 1860s the First Transcontinental Railroad
also followed the path through southern Wyoming and Utah, although Stansbury had suggested that the railroad descend the Wasatch Mountains via Provo Canyon
and cross the valley to the south of the lake rather than the actual path taken through Weber Canyon
to the north. In the 20th century two major highways also followed the route: the Lincoln Highway
and Interstate 80
.
Lieutenant Gunnison wrote a book entitled The Mormons or Latter-Day Saints, in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake: A History of Their Rise and Progress, Peculiar Doctrines, Present Condition that together with the official expedition report provided many Americans with their first in-depth look at the Mormon faith. In 1853 Gunnison returned to Utah to survey a railroad route and was killed with 7 of his men by a band of Pah Vants
.
, Carrington Island and Gunnison Island. The Stansbury Mountain range is located on the western side of the Tooele valley, and the community of Stansbury Park, Utah
is located within the valley. In addition to Uta stansburiana, Stansbury was also honored with Purshia stansburiana
(cliff-rose).
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
and its surroundings. The expedition report entitled Exploration and survey of the valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, including a reconnoissance of a new route through the Rocky Mountains was published in 1852 providing the first serious scientific exploration of the flora and fauna of the Great Salt Lake Valley as well as a favorable impression of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who had settled there beginning in 1847.
Career
Stansbury was born in 1806 in New York City. He was trained as a civil engineer and joined the Topographical Bureau in 1828. In the service of the bureau he surveyed the James RiverJames River
The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...
in 1836, and the Illinois
Illinois River
The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...
and Kaskaskia River
Kaskaskia River
The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in central and southern Illinois in the United States. The second largest river system within Illinois, it drains a rural area of farms, as well as rolling hills along river bottoms of hardwood forests in its lower...
s in 1837. In 1838 he oversaw the construction of a road from Milwaukee to the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. In July 1838 he joined the new U.S Corps of Topographical Engineers as a first lieutenant. As a member of the corps, he surveyed the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
in 1841 and conducted an extensive survey of the Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
harbor between 1842 and 1845. In 1848 he oversaw the start of construction of the Carysfort Reef Light
Carysfort Reef Light
Carysfort Reef Light is located approximately six nautical miles east of Key Largo, Florida. The lighthouse has an iron screw-pile foundation with a platform, and a skeletal octagonal pyramidal tower, which is painted red. The light is 100 feet above the water. The original lens was a first order...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. During the Mexican–American War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
he oversaw the building of fortifications in the Dry Tortugas
Dry Tortugas
The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located at the end of the Florida Keys, USA, about west of Key West, and west of the Marquesas Keys, the closest islands. Still further west is the Tortugas Bank, which is completely submerged. The first Europeans to discover the islands were the...
in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
.
Stansbury Expedition
In 1849 Stansbury was ordered to travel from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to survey the Great Salt LakeGreat Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
in Utah, to evaluate emigration trails along the way (especially the Oregon
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
and Mormon
Mormon Trail
The Mormon Trail or Mormon Pioneer Trail is the 1,300 mile route that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled from 1846 to 1868...
trails), and to scout for possible locations for a transcontinental railroad. The expedition consisted of 18 men including second-in-command Lieutenant John Williams Gunnison. During the next two years, the expedition explored the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake
Utah Lake
Utah Lake is a freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Utah. On the western side of Utah Valley, the lake is overlooked by Mount Timpanogos and Mount Nebo. The lake's only river outlet, the Jordan River, is a tributary of the Great Salt Lake and is highly regulated with pumps. Evaporation accounts...
and the Cache Valley
Cache Valley
The Cache Valley is an agricultural valley of northern Utah and southeast Idaho that includes the Logan metropolitan area. The valley was used by 19th century mountain men and was the site of the 1863 Bear River Massacre.-History:...
of northern Utah all the way to Fort Hall
Fort Hall
Fort Hall, sitting athwart the end of the common stretch shared by the three far west emigrant trails was a 19th century outpost in the eastern Oregon Country, which eventually became part of the present-day United States, and is located in southeastern Idaho near Fort Hall, Idaho...
in southern Idaho. When he arrived in the Utah Territory, the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
leaders were worried that the expedition was part of an effort by the U.S government to oust the settlers. Stansbury held a meeting with Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
where he assured the leader that the expedition was purely scientific. Young responded by assigning his personal secretary, Albert Carrington, to assist the expedition.
In his report, Stansbury wrote:
This pledge thus heartily given was as faithfully redeemed and it gives me pleasure here to acknowledge the warm interest manifested and efficient aid rendered as well by the president as by all the leading men of the community both in our welfare and in the successful prosecution of the work.
Upon completing the mission in Utah, the expedition started back east to Leavenworth. Rather than follow the standard Oregon Trail route from Fort Bridger
Fort Bridger
Fort Bridger was originally a 19th century fur trading outpost established in 1842 on Blacks Fork of the Green River and later a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trail. The Army established a military post here in 1858 during the Utah War until...
over South Pass
South Pass
South Pass is two mountain passes on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. The passes are located in a broad low region, 35 miles broad, between the Wind River Range to the north and the Oregon Buttes and Great Divide Basin to the south, in southwestern Fremont...
through the Sweetwater River
Sweetwater River
Sweetwater River may refer to:*Sweetwater River , a river in San Diego County, California, USA*Sweetwater River , a river in Natrona County, Wyoming, USA...
valley, Stansbury wanted to scout a more direct route east. Following the advice of Jim Bridger
Jim Bridger
James Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...
and local trappers and traders, the expedition followed the Blacks Fork
Blacks Fork
Blacks Fork is a tributary of the Green River in Utah and Wyoming. The river rises on the northern side of the Uinta Mountains as the combination of three streams draining the area around Tokewanna Peak near the Utah-Wyoming border...
River east, crossed the Green River
Green River (Utah)
The Green River, located in the western United States, is the chief tributary of the Colorado River. The watershed of the river, known as the Green River Basin, covers parts of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The Green River is long, beginning in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming and flowing...
near the present town of Green River, Wyoming
Green River, Wyoming
Green River is a city in and the county seat of Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 11,808 at the 2000 census....
and proceeded east along the Bitter Creek
Bitter Creek (Wyoming)
Bitter Creek is an 80 mile long stream in the U.S. state of Wyoming. It passes through several Wyoming counties including Sweetwater, and Carbon.. The creek rises near the Delaney Rim on the western side of Wyoming's Red Desert in Carbon County. For most of its course, Bitter Creek parallels the...
valley, crossing the Red Desert
Red Desert (Wyoming)
The Red Desert is a high altitude desert and sagebrush steppe located in south central Wyoming, comprising approximately 9,320 square miles...
, and skirting the northern side of Elk Mountain
Elk Mountain, Wyoming
Elk Mountain is a town in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 192 at the 2000 census. The town shares its name with a mountain southwest of town.-Geography:Elk Mountain is located at ....
across the Laramie Plains
Laramie Plains
The Laramie Plains is an arid highland in south central Wyoming in the United States. The plains extend along the upper basin of the Laramie River on the east side of the Medicine Bow Range. The city of Laramie is the largest community in the valley...
. They passed over the Laramie Mountains
Laramie Mountains
The Laramie Mountains are a range of moderately high peaks on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S states of Wyoming and Colorado. The range is the northernmost extension of the line of the ranges along the eastern side of the Rockies, and in particular of the higher peaks of the...
and made their way to Fort Laramie where they struck the Oregon Trail heading east.
Having now brought our reconnoissance for a new route from the waters of the Pacific to a point where its results can be at least approximately ascertained it is very gratifying to be able to state that these results are in a high degree satisfactory more so indeed than I had anticipated. It has been ascertained that a practicable route exists through the chain of the Rocky Mountains at a point sixty miles south of that now generally pursued and in a course as much more direct as the chord of an arc is than the arc itself.
Later life
After the Utah expedition, Stansbury oversaw construction projects in Minnesota and Ohio. He served briefly as a mustering officer in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
and as a recruiting officer in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
during the early years of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. He died on April 13, 1863.
Legacy
The Stansbury expedition to Utah was a huge scientific success. He was the first to determine that the lake was actually a remnant of a larger inland sea (today called Lake BonnevilleLake Bonneville
Lake Bonneville was a prehistoric pluvial lake that covered much of North America's Great Basin region. Most of the territory it covered was in present-day Utah, though parts of the lake extended into present-day Idaho and Nevada. Formed about 32,000 years ago, it existed until about 14,500 years...
). The method of triangulation used to map the lake was a first for the Topographical Corps, and the method was put into standard use by the Corps and later by the US Geological Survey. The expedition collected many different species of birds, plants, lizards and mammals as well as rock samples and fossils. Several esteemed scientists of the day provided commentary in the expedition report, including Spencer Fullerton Baird
Spencer Fullerton Baird
Spencer Fullerton Baird was an American ornithologist, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
(ornithologist and ichthyologist), Charles Frédéric Girard
Charles Frédéric Girard
Charles Frédéric Girard was a French biologist specializing in ichthyology and herpetology.Born in Mulhouse, France, he studied at the College of Neuchâtel, Switzerland as a student of Louis Agassiz. In 1847, he accompanied Agassiz as his assistant to Harvard...
(ichthyologist and herpetologist), John Torrey (botanist) and James Hall (paleontologist)
James Hall (paleontologist)
James Hall was an American geologist and paleontologist. He was a noted authority on stratigraphy and had an influential role in the development of American paleontology.-Early life:...
. Several discovered species were heretofore unknown to science including Uta stansburiana which was named for the expedition leader.
In the late 1850s, Native American conflicts on the Oregon Trail forced the government to establish a new trail through Colorado and Wyoming known as the Overland Trail
Overland Trail
The Overland Trail was a stagecoach and wagon trail in the American West during the 19th century. While portions of the route had been used by explorers and trappers since the 1820s, the Overland Trail was most heavily used in the 1860s as an alternative route to the Oregon, California and Mormon...
. Between Laramie and Fort Bridger, the trail follows almost exactly the route mapped by the expedition. In the 1860s the First Transcontinental Railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
also followed the path through southern Wyoming and Utah, although Stansbury had suggested that the railroad descend the Wasatch Mountains via Provo Canyon
Provo Canyon
Provo Canyon is a canyon located in unincorporated Utah County, Utah, USA and Wasatch County, Utah. Provo Canyon splits between Mount Timpanogos on the north and Mount Cascade on the south. The canyon extends from Orem on the west end to Heber City on the east. The canyon's main thoroughfare is...
and cross the valley to the south of the lake rather than the actual path taken through Weber Canyon
Weber Canyon
Weber Canyon is a canyon in the Wasatch Range near Ogden, Utah, through which the Weber River flows west toward the Great Salt Lake. It is fed by 13 tributary creeks and is 40 miles long.- History :...
to the north. In the 20th century two major highways also followed the route: the Lincoln Highway
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...
and Interstate 80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
.
Lieutenant Gunnison wrote a book entitled The Mormons or Latter-Day Saints, in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake: A History of Their Rise and Progress, Peculiar Doctrines, Present Condition that together with the official expedition report provided many Americans with their first in-depth look at the Mormon faith. In 1853 Gunnison returned to Utah to survey a railroad route and was killed with 7 of his men by a band of Pah Vants
Ute Tribe
The Ute are an American Indian people now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. There are three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah ; Southern Ute in Colorado ; and Ute Mountain which primarily lies in Colorado, but extends to Utah and New Mexico . The name of the state of...
.
Namesakes
The Stansbury expedition named numerous geographical features in the Salt Lake Valley and evirons. Some islands in the Great Salt Lake are named for members of the expedition, including Stansbury IslandStansbury Island
Stansbury Island is the second largest island within the Great Salt Lake in Utah, USA. Located in Tooele County, it is considered an island even though a dirt causeway connects it to the main land. Stansbury Island was named after Howard Stansbury, the leader of a government expedition that...
, Carrington Island and Gunnison Island. The Stansbury Mountain range is located on the western side of the Tooele valley, and the community of Stansbury Park, Utah
Stansbury Park, Utah
Stansbury Park is a census-designated place in Tooele County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,385 at the 2000 census; the 1990 census population was 1,049....
is located within the valley. In addition to Uta stansburiana, Stansbury was also honored with Purshia stansburiana
Purshia
Purshia is a small genus of 5-8 species of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae, native to western North America, where they grow in dry climates from southeast British Columbia in Canada south throughout the western United States to northern Mexico. The classification of Purshia within the...
(cliff-rose).