Rothrock, correspondence

This material is held atScott Polar Research Institute Archives, University of Cambridge

  • Reference
    • GB 15 Joseph Rothrock/Correspondence
  • Dates of Creation
    • March 1865
  • Name of Creator
  • Physical Description
    • Letter

Scope and Content

  • MS 902/3/8;D Letter to Spencer Fullerton Baird, 30 March 1865 [Regarding the Western Union Telegraph Expedition, 1865-1868] 2 leaves, holograph (Xerox)

Administrative / Biographical History

The Western Union Telegraph Expedition, 1865-1867 (aimed survey a route for, and to construct, a telegraph line between the United States and Europe by way of British and Russian America, Bering Strait, and Siberia. The expedition was organized on a quasi-military basis under the general command of Charles Bulkley (who served as engineer-in-chief), and divided into four divisions. In 1867, news that North Atlantic Telegraph Company had successfully laid a cable from Newfoundland to Ireland the previous year caused the Western Union Telegraph Company to abandon its enterprise. Nevertheless, the scientific and geographical results of the expedition, especially in Alaska, were of great value.

Arrangement

Chronological

Alternative Form Available

This is a copy

Related Material

The Institute holds several archival collections containing material relating to the Western Union Telegraph Expedition, 1865-1867 and its personnel, See SPRI collections GB 15 Robert Kennicott, GB 15 Charles Bulkley, GB 15 William Dall, GB 15 Henry Elliott, GB 15 William Banister

Location of Originals

The original letters are held by the Natural History Library Smithsonian Institute USA (1982)

Subjects

Telegraph