Skip to search
Skip to main content
Catalog
Help
Feedback
Your Account
Library Account
Bookmarks
(
0
)
Search History
Search in
Keyword
Title (keyword)
Author (keyword)
Subject (keyword)
Title starts with
Subject (browse)
Author (browse)
Author (sorted by title)
Call number (browse)
search for
Search
Advanced Search
Bookmarks
(
0
)
Princeton University Library Catalog
Start over
Cite
Send
to
SMS
Email
EndNote
RefWorks
RIS
Printer
Bookmark
Diary of an officer on John N. Macomb's Expedition in Utah, 1859
Author
Cogswell, Milton, 1825-1882
[Browse]
Format
Manuscript
Language
English
Description
1 v. 13 cm.
Details
Subject(s)
Geological surveys
—
Four Corners Region
—
History
—
19th century
—
Sources
[Browse]
Scientific expeditions
—
Four Corners Region
—
History
—
19th century
—
Sources
[Browse]
Four Corners Region
—
Discovery and exploration
—
Sources
[Browse]
Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)
—
Discovery and exploration
—
Sources..
[Browse]
Utah
—
Discovery and exploration
—
Sources
[Browse]
Getty AAT genre
Diaries
—
19th century
[Browse]
Compiled/Created
1859
Biographical/Historical note
Arranged by the Smithsonian Institution, the exploring expedition led by John Macomb of the army's topographical engineers and chief scientist Dr. John Strong Newberry, was the first U.S. government expedition to explore the canyon country of Utah and the Four Corners. The expedition was tasked with surveying and mapping the Old Spanish Trail in search of the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers, and looking for alternative routes into Utah, which was of particular interest in the wake of the Utah War.
U.S. Civil War veteran and graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point (1849), Milton Cogswell was the fortieth (provisional) mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, serving in 1868. Many of his military assignments prior to and following the Civil War were in the South and on the Western frontier.
Summary note
Diary attributed to 1st Lieutenant Milton Cogswell, who led the 8th United States Infantry military escort that accompanied John N. Macomb's 1859 exploring expedition. Datinng from about July to October 1859, the diary documents frequent encounters with American Indians, many of them known to the author from his previous time in the region; discussions of the author's task, aside from military duties, of being in charge of a large supply team of soldiers and Mexican laborers who followed the expedition with pack mules and sheep; and descriptions of the landscape.
Although the diary is unsigned, its content strongly suggests that it was written by the leader of Macomb's military escort, and the handwriting matches known examples from Cogswell.
Language note
English.
Source acquisition
Purchased at auction, 2014. AM 2015-49.
Other format(s)
Also available in an electronic version.
OCLC
903097279
Statement on language in description
Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage.
Read more...
Other views
Staff view
Ask a Question
Suggest a Correction
Report Harmful Language
Supplementary Information