Most descriptions of Ferdinand Hassler cover the last ten years of his life. Information concerning his appearance and personality came from the memoirs of RADM Charles Wilkes, RADM Benjamin F. Sands, Major General John Charles Fremont, and Hassler's children. The documents included in Hassler's publications and the Congressional documents associated with various investigations provide additional insights, as well as Rosalie Hassler Norris's two works including her Recollections and her Translation from German of the Memoirs of Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler.
 

Charles Wilkes, Benjamin Sands, and John C. Fremont gave the most complete contemporary descriptions of Hassler's physical and personality traits. But, it must be noted, that Wilkes was associated with Hassler both as a student and friend during many of the darkest years of Hassler's life. There is an element of a love-hate relationship, as well as an intellectual competition (from Wilkes point of view), that tempers many of his recollections. Benjamin Sands, on the other hand, knew Hassler primarily in the context of a field engineer. He presents a somewhat benign, affectionate view of Hassler. Hassler, however, when associating with Sands was in the environment he loved most: conducting the field work or inspecting it. It is entirely possible that, when engaged in the field work, Hassler left the cares of politics and finances behind him and was a different man than Wilkes knew. John C. Fremont, the "Pathfinder" of the American West, stayed close to a year with Hassler in the Coast Survey offices at the close of Hassler's most productive years on the Survey and came to know him intimately during this period.
 
 

APPEARANCE AND DEMEANOR
 

Wilkes related that physically, "Mr. Hassler was of medium height, very spare and thin, sharp angular features, aquiline nose & deep set small eyes of grey, one of which was defective. His sight was not good, but he said well defined. His head was oval and little hair, but not bald. His forehead was high and his whole expression intellectual." Caring little for the style of his clothing, "He was very slovenly in his attire, very old fashioned, and his clothes so large as to hang loose about his person and countrified. The color was a light Brown with a white cravat and large shirt collar so tied as to admit the retreat of his chin & part of his face into it. His pantaloons were very loose on his legs and a few inches too long which covered his stockings, always of woolen and rolled about his ankles and his coarse Shoes. I have often laughed at his rig, and on his inquiry why, he always replied it was not the dress, but the Man...." When Hassler went out about Washington, "... he was enveloped in an ample blue cloth cloak -- wore it after the Spanish style which he thought becoming. I never saw him abroad without it, even in hot weather. No one could pass him without noticing his appearance. His hat was usually large and drawn over his eyes."⁽¹⁾
 

John Charles Fremont, back from an expedition to the upper Great Plains with the French scientist J. N. Nicollet, stayed with Hassler and Nicollet at the Coast Survey offices from early 1840 to early 1841. This was a pleasant year for Fremont in which he was able to partake of the culinary delights of a French chef hired by Hassler and Nicollet as well as engage in rooftop astronomy with Nicollet from the top of the Coast Survey buildings. More importantly to Fremont, he met the ardent expansionist Senator Thomas Hart Benton who often came to the Coast Survey offices to see the progress of the map of the upper Great Plains being prepared by Fremont and Nicollet. Fremont also met Benton's young daughter Jesse at this time whom he married less than two years later. Senator Benton became Fremont's main patron in Congress and was instrumental in assuring that he was placed in charge of future exploring expeditions.
 

During 1840, Fremont came to know Hassler well and drew a comparison between him and Nicollet:
 

"... Both were indurated in science, and so far congenial, but both entirely opposite in complexion of mind and of manner; the one flint, and the other steel, fire flashing out in every argument. Mr. Nicollet was urbane, forbearing, rounding off obstructions in intercourse; polished and persuasive, and careful of the feelings of others. Mr. Hassler was abrupt, full of sharp edges and intolerant of pretentious mediocrity. Going directly to the heart of his subject and in language the most direct, he was almost a distinct species, where the exterior photographed the inner man. What he did, or the manner in which he did it, was absolutely without reference to outside opinion or outside effect. What he intended to do he did in what seemed to him the best way, and that was all. His life had been the pursuit of science, and his occupation now was its application; and for this he was exceptionally well qualified, and any interference with his work he resented with indignant promptitude."⁽²⁾
 

Fremont, like Sands and Wilkes, also spoke of his mode of dress, his carriage, and many of his personal characteristics:
 

"All Washington of that date remembers the figure dressed in white flannel, which habitually was driven through the streets in a large ... carriage, commonly called the "ark." ... The ark was so arranged that in it on these occasions were always packed some of the essentials for clean and comfortable sleeping and toilet needs; together with red and white German wines, and some such provision as was good for the health of a man who knew that good food was essential to good brain-work .... He was both abstemious and fastidious .... But his abruptness never degenerated into common rudeness. The thin, intellectual face, and tall, slight figure contradicted any idea of that kind. It was always intellect speaking, not passion; and withal there was a kindly disposition."⁽³⁾
 

Hassler was consistent with his view that "it was not the dress, but the man." Lieutenant John Maffitt, USN, was ordered to Coast Survey duty in 1842 and saw this attitude first-hand. This amusing incident was retold by Maffitt's wife in later years:
 

"Professor Hassler, himself, and others of the Coast Survey party were very busy one day in their office preparing charts, when the announcement was made that a party of dignitaries from some foreign court had called to pay their respects. The Professor was without his coat and merely looking up said, 'Invite them in.'

"But, Professor," said Lieutenant Maffitt, "you have not on your coat."

"Ach, mein Gott!" was the reply. "Dey come to see me, here I am; dey come to see mine vordrobe, dere it is," pointing to the closet where his coat hung suspended; nor could they prevail upon him to assume it."⁽⁴⁾
 
 

MANNERS OF SPEECH
 

Wilkes described Hassler's voice as having a "peculiar tone ... crackling and Sarcastic, with a conceit in his knowledge over those who were ignorant of Scientific principles.... He had always a great deal to talk of and so loud that his voice penetrated to every part of the house & was heard by passersby in the Street." Concerning the content of his conversations, Wilkes relates that, "He had ... no sociability in the conversation and monopolized all attentions on himself and what he had to do..." Basically, Hassler only wanted to "talk shop."⁽⁵⁾
 

RADM Benjamin Sands, who worked with Hassler in the field as a young officer, related that, "He was quaint in his language, particularly in his orthography, cautioning his assistants always to inquire closely into the derivation and spelling of the names of localities in our surveys. He would never accept the spelling of 'Neversink,' one of the prominent points near Sandy Hook, but insisted upon 'Navesink' as the correct orthography; and upon every name put down by us on the charts he would make his comments." He did absorb American colloquialisms, or perhaps even was the source of one, as when Sands "asked him what the secretary of the treasury said in regard to a certain question", Hassler replied, "I do not know, I did not unbutton myself to him!" Sands observed, "Many of his oddities were looked upon as simply the eccentricities of genius."⁽⁶⁾
 

He sometimes used odd terminology, occasionally with humorous results, both intentional and unintentional. In response to a line item of an audit by Amos Kendall, he responded, "The cause of rejecting one day's horse-feeding [after accepting other days] is occult to me."⁽⁷⁾ Any beleaguered Government administrator dealing with the myriad regulations governing travel and procurement can sympathize with that statement. Concerning budget battles, "...to save $100,000 annually, out of an appropriation of just that amount, is a problem not yet soluble mathematically."⁽⁸⁾
 

Hassler thought his use of the English language quite commendable and wrote for inclusion in the Congressional inquiry of 1842, "The complaint against my language is new and is affected, merely arising from want of acquaintance with the subject. Already in 1806, people of good society in Philadelphia considered my language as very appropriate in expression. Mr. Jefferson called it very clear, one of the best public editors of this country declared it very precise and perspicuous."⁽⁹⁾ Evidence that not everyone shared this view of his mastery of the English language was shown by an anti-Hassler editorial of The New World dated April 1, 1843, that includes the lines, "...but we now come to the farce. An old Swiss named Hassler, who writes a miserable jargon, which he calls English, and scolds like a fish fag, was, in an evil hour selected as chief surveyor."⁽¹⁰⁾
 
 

QUARRELSOME NATURE
 

Hassler occasionally found himself embroiled in petty quarrels with friends and strangers alike. Wilkes refers to many quarrels that Hassler had including one with a "pumpmaker boring logs" whom Hassler, while walking by, offered his unsolicited opinion that, "he did not understand what he was about" and that "he was a fool." Naturally, "A violent altercation ensued."⁽¹¹⁾

Hassler argued occasionally with Wilkes; this was inevitable as Wilkes and Hassler were very similar in temperament with the exception that Hassler was never accused of cruelty as was Wilkes in relation to his command of the United States Exploring Expedition and the Georges Bank survey.⁽¹²⁾ According to Wilkes, "Hassler was usually in hot water with some one, and at times with myself..." But Wilkes tried to aid him where he could, although "it was at times difficult to reconcile oneself to aid one who had so little thought or consideration for others. Hassler was exceedingly self-opini[on]ated and very selfish, & although a very capable person in his way, yet entirely too obstinate and withal suspicious of every body he came in contact with [which] caused his company to be rather avoided than sought."⁽¹³⁾ Wilkes might have added that this also was a perfect description of Charles Wilkes, C. But it is well to keep in mind that Wilkes' loyalties were with the Navy in all matters, and the above description of Hassler followed a passage describing Hassler's maneuverings to extricate the Coast Survey from the Navy Department.
 

In looking through the early records of employment on the Coast Survey, the question arises as to why so few Army officers were involved on the triangulation. Besides Captain Swift, Hassler had two Army officers attached to the Survey in 1832, Lieutenants A. D. Mackay and J. D. Bomford. Mackay was quite adept at the work and Hassler wished to retain his services. During the winter of 1833-1834, Mackay "was ordered off to quell the insurrection of the laborers on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. When this duty had an end, I [Hassler] applied again for him. Speaking to that effect with the Secretary of War, I was directed to Major General McComb. When I entered his room with him, he pretty loudly said: 'No sooner have I ordered an officer somewhere that there comes a reclamation for another disposition. Can you not get other people to do your work?' I answered: 'Yes, sir; I can get plenty English, French, Poles, Swiss, &c.' To this he answered immediately: 'Then take your d_____d Poles, Swiss, German, &c., and let my officers alone.'" General Wool was also present and laughed at the scene. With a little tact, Hassler probably could have arrived at an amicable solution to General McComb's initial reception. The subject of this dispute was Lieutenant Alexander MacKay who was ordered to Florida. Hassler "attempted again a written application for him" but Mackay departed "and, on his voyage to Florida was drowned, by the misfortune of the steamboat."⁽¹⁴⁾
 

Even while in the field, Hassler was not immune from these problems. The nature of the triangulation work was such that occasionally a farmer's crops or timber might be damaged as the result of either gaining access to a station site or cutting down trees to develop a line-of-sight. In 1840, Hassler was accosted by a clergyman by the name of Brown who demanded $200 payment for damages to his property at Mount Holly, New Jersey. Upon refusal to pay, a "so-called Judge Haywood" presented Hassler with a bill for $25 damages, which even that he refused to pay until he could obtain an impartial estimate which would then allow him to disburse a legitimate payment. Following an unfruitful discussion, Hassler found himself thrown in jail as a result of a warrant signed by Judge Dayton of Trenton. The case eventually came to trial. Hassler expounded: "...such acts go to the direct overthrow of the work; the court concern following it cost both sides useless, but I had to stand the disagreement, and the Treasury Department had to defend the suit, which awarded the reverend Mr. Brown, with difficulty, as highest extreme the $25 claimed, most of the jury voting first for 10, 15, or $20, instead of the hundreds which he had sworn to." In this instance, Hassler was victimized by an unscrupulous individual who wished to take advantage of the Government. His pugnacious nature coupled with his integrity led to his being thrown in jail. But, he protected the interests of the Government and his own good name.⁽¹⁵⁾
 
 

AS A MANAGER
 

Hassler had a tendency to instruct on the most minute actions of all those with whom he came in contact; on one occasion Wilkes observed Hassler, while engaged in calculations, leave his table and take time to explain to a carpenter how to "drive a nail to make no more noise than was necessary."⁽¹⁶⁾ Concerning the management of the Survey, "The difficulty with Mr. Hassler was he would attend to every thing himself. He made his own calculations and kept his own records. He had no talent to organise a work like the Coast Survey and was unable to take a comprehensive view of the whole."⁽¹⁷⁾ (Wilkes, in this respect, was speaking for elements of the Navy Department. He had, in fact, been the source of the suggestion that the Coast Survey be placed under a board consisting of "Naval Officers & others" in 1834 that caused Hassler much anger.) Wilkes continues, "Though ... the most competent to be employed as chief of the Coast Survey, he was the most unfit to organise & arrange the business to conduct its funds and operations.... He was honesty itself as far as he was concerned, but entirely inefficient in the business. Common sense, he had little or none."⁽¹⁸⁾
 

Hassler's view of his management was entirely different. He intentionally divorced himself from the day-to-day financial operations of the Survey by designating Captain Swift his disbursing officer; but he did keep apprised of the balances in the total appropriation so as to manage the strategic operations such as number of field parties operating year to year, major procurements, etc. In response to the attack of Representative Caleb Cushing upon his perceived lack of administrative ability in 1842, Hassler presented that "a work requiring scientific and mechanical operations of all kinds, and the guidance of a considerable number of men, of very different qualifications and dispositions"⁽¹⁹⁾ must have a good administrator at its head. The ability displayed by Hassler, in overcoming impediments to start the Coast Survey and keep it going in the face of powerful opposition, spoke well of his abilities as an administrator.
 

In Rosalie Hassler's "Recollections," she offers the observation that "Horace Binney, an eminent Philadelphian, told me not long since that papa's principal fault was want of knowledge of human nature (or, said I, he had too high an opinion of his fellow creatures and never believed them capable of playing a treacherous part) ..."⁽²⁰⁾ Perhaps that was Hassler's major problem in his dealings with his fellow men. He lived his life by the precept that it was "the duty of every man to be honest and to do good."⁽²¹⁾
 

A MAN POSSESSED
 

In the late Twentieth Century, Ferdinand Hassler would be considered the classic workaholic. When in early 1835 Levi Woodbury inquired as to how he would handle the duties of both the Coast Survey and Weights and Measures, he responded: "As I generally work from 9 o'clock A.M. until 12 or 1 o'clock at night, short meals excepted, I am enabled, by a proper distribution of my time, to give time enough every day to each of the two works, to accelerate them as much as otherwise two men separate for each work would do, by the change of occupation which man's mind needs, to work with refreshed reflection, while the sameness of one work tires out unavoidably."⁽²²⁾ This was not idle boasting on Hassler's part, but a statement of fact. Wilkes said of him, "Mr. Hassler had no Repose in him. I never saw him in the attitude of lounging or any place where he could indulge in a rest -- as for his Sofa, it was a receptacle for his books and all sorts of traps and not used as a settee."⁽²³⁾
 

RADM Benjamin F. Sands relates that he would work far into the night inspecting field sheets. "He never used glasses in reading or writing, having his vest pockets filled with snuff to excite his optic nerves. He would say that this was the only help his eyes required.... Often upon our return to office-work in the mornings we could 'follow his tracks' by the snuff scattered over the charts, which he had been inspecting in our absence, leaving, also, pencil-notes and criticisms upon our lettering, such as 'd____d bad sign painting!' under some fancy lettering in the titles of our charts; or if the letters were inclined to right or left too much for his fancy, he would write 'Drunken letters' as expressive of his opinion of our efforts."⁽²⁴⁾
 

His daughter Rosalie described him working at the office: "There he labored day and night as no man ever did before or since, completely wrapped up in his work, determined to push it ahead as fast as his means would allow him. He never went to bed before two or three o'clock in the morning; he finally lost the sight of one eye, shortly before dying, by the over fatigue in adjusting the yard and liquid measures..." Concerning his assistants, "...he had to teach and review everything, every calculation, which made his task doubly arduous."⁽²⁵⁾
 

His daughter-in-law, the wife of Charles Augustus, gives a picture similar to Rosalie's: "No one who ever saw Mr. Hassler, as he sat at his office table in the large sparsely unfurnished, uncarpeted room of the old coast survey office, can forget his appearance. There, night after night, he could be found with the light of six or eight large wax candles ... shining upon his intelligent countenance as he silently and persistently with unimpaired eyesight, without the use of glasses, made his calculations or wrote his reports."⁽²⁶⁾
 

In a poignant letter to a friend, Hassler described his working style while also betraying both his hurt at being abandoned by his wife and a tinge of homesickness for his native land. "I work deep into the night with my music box by my side, for I have no friendly wife to sing me a cheering song while I work; I wish, however, that my box would regale me, not with foreign tunes, but with Swiss melodies, Kuhreyen, etc., which I have not yet been able to secure, but it will be easy to have one sent along with an instrument."⁽²⁷⁾
 

Such a life took its toll physically. Whether caused by utter fatigue, the normal rigors of life in the early Nineteenth Century, or perhaps even psychosomatic effects, Hassler was sick on numerous occasions during his years with the Coast Survey. In fact, in 1811, when the letter arrived in Schenectady, New York, requesting that he undertake a mission to London to procure instruments, Hassler "was in a bilious fever" which delayed his response to Gallatin. He was under extreme pressure on numerous occasions with precious few resources or friends to fall back on. Today, it is known that such pressures and isolation can lead to physical ills. This tendency towards sickness has led to criticism of "talking endlessly about his health."⁽²⁸⁾ An example of this is included in Hassler's letter of September 20, 1833, to H. J. Duane, then Secretary of the Treasury: "If the season and my health, which at the present moment seem to combine unfavorably against me, should favor me a little better, I intend to protract this campaign until December.... The constant exposure to the unfavorable weather, and the cold nights upon the hills, the bleakest places in the country, were extremely contrary to my health: exerting myself always, notwithstanding, in my work, in expectation to overcome this effect by habit, produced ultimately a painful disease, which ... obliged me to stop."⁽²⁹⁾
 

Hassler was also accident prone and experienced at least three serious falls between 1833 and 1843. The last was a contributing factor to his death. Recall the school boy from Union College who reported that he tripped in the street while reading a letter and remained on the ground till finishing. Was he so involved with his work that he was oblivious to his personal safety, or did he have an underlying physical problem? Regardless of his health problems, Hassler was driven to accomplish all that he could. Few men worked as hard for or accomplished so much for our young Nation. In his own words, "I must take the liberty to state: that the bad state of my health, which has been produced solely by the too long protracted distress, and disagreements, of my situation, ... has not been suffered to influence the results of my work more than what nature absolutely refused to yield; I have worked in sick days and in well days, always to the full extent of possibility."⁽³⁰⁾
 
 

IN THE FIELD
 

Hassler was in his element while engaged in field operations. He loved the work and was surrounded by men who had deep respect for his knowledge and also had gratitude for his caring for their welfare as he had secured them decent wages and per diem. Sands described him as "quaint in his manner, but greatly admired and respected by his assistants, being always genial and very accessible, except to those whom he suspected of being unfriendly to him; with such he would give way to displays of temper that would simply astound us."⁽³¹⁾
 

He would travel about the country in his "curious old carriage" traveling from survey crew to survey crew inspecting their work. As mentioned earlier, the carriage was designed primarily for the safe transportation of his instruments; "... but the additional provisions for his individual comfort were ingenious.... A little spirit-room, as it were, was underfoot for his Swiss wines, the seats providing lockers for the little baggage he carried and the stationery and books that always accompanied him."
 

"This equipage, drawn by four horses, with Mr. Hassler occupying the back seat in his 'company' suit of brown, always attracted attention on the avenue, and he would frequently, with great unselfishness, lend it to his assistants when they had any long rides before them.... In camp, when he was at his stations, it took the place of a bedstead, the running gear being removed, and the front let down; it was also his office in the daytime, with everything he desired at his hand, even to the Swiss wine, crackers and cheese for his lunches."⁽³²⁾
 

Hassler always had a large entourage at his primary triangulation stations; the question was raised at the 1842 Congressional hearings on the Coast Survey if there were not 30 tents at the station sites. No matter the number, "... his camp consisted of quite a number of tents and they were often visited by strangers." Among those who frequented his campsite was Alexander Dallas Bache whom Hassler commented upon, "It is singular what a great interest young Bache takes in the Coast Survey -- more than any one -- he visits me often at the stations, takes interest in everything relating to the work, asks so many questions, reads all the books I recommend."⁽³³⁾ It would seem that Hassler would have approved of Bache's selection as the second Superintendent of the Coast Survey.
 

The points for the primary triangulation were usually chosen on promontories. On one occasion, one of Hassler's countrymen was visiting one of these stations and walked to the edge of a precipice and exclaimed "Eh, Monsieur, vous vivez ici, haut comme les anges!" [Oh, Monsieur, here where you are living is as high as the angels!] Hassler's quick retort was "Oui, Monsieur, haut comme les singes!" [Yes, Monsieur, we are at least as high as the monkeys!] Sands reported that his eyes twinkled "at the baldness of his pun."
 

Sands goes on, "He could appreciate a joke as well as any of his younger assistants, and on his staff, composed as it was of army and navy officers and civilians, there was generally an abundance of fun going on when duty was done, and he would take kindly the comments made even upon his costume, which was of loose white flannel,⁽³⁴⁾ both summer and winter, he remarking that wool would keep off heat as well as cold without regard to the color of the fabric."⁽³⁵⁾
 

It is obvious that Hassler was a good field leader. His camps were happy, as were the men in them. It is telling that Benjamin Sands, who worked many years on the Coast Survey and during his career worked under Hassler, Bache, and even Matthew Fontaine Maury in the early years of the Naval Observatory, spoke warmly and lengthily only of Hassler.
 
 
 
 

A KIND MAN
 

Rear Admiral John Dahlgren remembered Hassler for his kindness to him. In 1837, Dahlgren was made chief of a secondary triangulation party. (Dahlgren was the only Naval officer to have ever been made chief of a Coast Survey triangulation party.) Towards the end of the year he was stricken with a disease that caused the degeneration of his eyesight. Hassler personally intervened with the President to assure that Dahlgren remain on full pay while seeking medical help and that he remain attached to the Survey. He maintained that Dahlgen's illness was a direct result of his work on the Survey. Finally, after a trip to an eye specialist in Europe in May of 1838, Dahlgren was detached from the Survey. In August Hassler wrote a letter to the Department of the Navy giving the history of Dahlgren's services to the Coast Survey and expressing his great regret that he was unable to continue on duty with the Survey. Rear Admiral Dahlgren "never forgot the generous appreciation and active efforts in his behalf of Mr. Hassler, but to the last day of his life often spoke of him with genuine admiration as a man of science, and with true affection as a cherished friend."⁽³⁶⁾ (Dahlgren did not resign from the Navy but went on a leave of absence by reason of physical disability for three years until his eyesight improved.)

John C. Fremont also noted that Hassler looked out for his friends and valued employees. He sent the topographer Carl Preuss to Fremont a few days before Christmas of 1841 with a note requesting that a place for Preuss be found within Fremont's upcoming expedition to the Rocky Mountains. Preuss had worked on the Survey for a few years; but, according to Fremont, Hassler had insufficient money to keep him employed.⁽³⁷⁾ Thus, Preuss came to Fremont and served him faithfully through four expeditions and made the most accurate map of the American West

to be made up to 1850 and the advent of the Pacific Railroad Surveys.^{(38) (39)}
 

Besides looking out for his professional acquaintances, Hassler also was generous with his perquisites of power. As noted above, Benjamin Sands reported that he loaned his great carriage to young junior officers in the field when he had no need of it himself. Fremont related that on New Year's Day of 1842 that Hassler offered his carriage to him and the new Mrs. Fremont (he and 17 year-old Jesse had eloped two months before, much to the consternation of her parents) for the ceremonial visit to the President. Fremont accepted to please him, "But it took some nerve to drive up in the ark among the holiday crowd, who were familiar enough with its Noah, but looked and smiled on the young lady and officer in uniform...."⁽⁴⁰⁾

1. Wilkes, C. 1978. p. 219

2. Fremont, J. C. 1887. Memoirs of My Life. p.56. Belford, Clarke, and Company. Hereafter referred to as: Fremont, J. C. 1887.

3. Fremont, J. C. 1887. p. 57.

4. Maffitt, E. M. 1906. The Life and Services of John Newland Maffitt. p. 57. The Neale Publishing Company, New York.

5. Wilkes, C. 1978. p. 224, 296.

6. Sands, B. F. 1899. p. 90-91.

7. Attachment to letter, dated February 28, 1835: Remarks upon Suspended Items of the Coast Survey Accounts, .... In: Hassler, F. R. 1835. Second Volume.... p. 72.

8. Hassler, F. R. 1843. Letter dated January 10, 1843. Survey of the Coast of the United States. Further rectification of facts alleged in the discussion of Congress in December, 1842. p. 5. This letter was prepared two days prior to the printing of House of Representatives Report No. 43, 1843. It is probable that it was distributed as a broadside. Hassler wrote three similar letters during this period: 1) "Origin and History of the Attack of Mr. Cushing Upon the Coast Survey...." written at Station Pinehill, New Jersey, on December 21, 1842; 2) "Notice of the Impediments and Delays which the Survey of the Coast has encountered previous to 1842", written at Station Pinehill, New Jersey, on December 21, 1842; and 3) "Coast Survey of the United States" written from Philadelphia on December 23, 1842, and printed in the Baltimore Sun on January 11, 1843.

9. Hassler, F.R. 1842. Point 10 of "Coast Survey of the United States" written from Philadelphia on December 23, 1842. p. 3. Printed in the Baltimore Sun, January 11, 1843.

10. Norris, R. 1882. p.337.

11. Wilkes, C. 1978. p.224.

12. See: Erskine, C. 1985. Twenty Years before the Mast. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.; Stanton, W. 1975. The Great United States Exploring Expedition. University of California Press, Berkeley; and Wilkes, C. 1978. The Autobiography of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes, C.... Naval History Division Department of the Navy, Washington. As an example of Wilkes' cruelty, compare the account of the flogging of Charles Erskine (Erskine, p. 10) with Wilkes' account (Wilkes, p. 331-332.) Besides this particular incident, there are many other occasions during his career in which Wilkes behaved in a manner that could only be described as cruel.

13. Wilkes, C. 1978. p. 296.

14. Hassler erred when he recalled the date of this event. Further confusion is caused by the assignment of two Mackay's to the Coast Survey in the 1833 to 1836 time-frame. These were Lieutenant John Mackay who served on the Survey in 1833 and Lieutenant Alexander D. Mackay who served on the Coast Survey during 1833 and then again in 1835 and 1836. Cullum's Biographical Register.... places both Mackay's on topographical duty in 1832 and 1833 without specifying location. Cullum occasionally mixed up Coast Survey duty and topographical duty in his register. He places Alexander Mackay on garrison duty at Fort Washington, Maryland, from early 1834 to 1835 and then on the Coast Survey in 1835-1836. Garrison duty at Fort Washington corresponds with Hassler's account of putting down an insurrection on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. John Mackay went to the Augusta Arsenal at Augusta, Georgia, in early 1834. Further confusing this issue, Lieutenant Colonel Abert sent a listing of Army officers having served on the Survey to the Secretary of War on May 17, 1842, (in: House Executive Document 43, 1843, pp. 68-69) which omitted both Mackay's from the listing. In providing cost data as an addendum to Abert's letter, the Second Auditor of the Treasury in a letter dated May 23, 1842 (in: House Executive Document 43, 1843, p. 69) lists John Mackay as having been on Coast Survey duty in 1833 but omits Alexander Mackay entirely from his listing although Hassler refers to him in an 1836 correspondence. Hassler continued his anecdote by referring to Lieutenant Mackay drowning in Florida subsequent to his requesting the continuation of his services. This was Lieutenant Alexander Mackay who drowned on December 17, 1836, after he had recently been detached from Coast Survey service. Hassler noted this in "Remarks upon the letter of Colonel Abert" dated January 1843. Hassler here refers to Lieutenant Alexander Mackay. This is borne out in: Cullum, G. W. 1891. Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, Vol. I, Third Edition, p. 353. Houghton, Mifflin and Company. Cullum states "...on Coast Survey, April 22, 1835, to Dec. 17, 1836, when, while attempting to swim from the steamer Dolphin, which had burst her boiler off St. John's Bar, Fla., he was DROWNED, DEC. 17, 1836: AGED 32." Cullum also stated that he was on Coast Survey at the time of drowning; that is incorrect as he had just been detached from the Coast Survey. Based on Hassler's reference to Mackay drowning and his being sent to quell an insurrection of workers on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the subject of his anecdote was most assuredly Alexander Mackay. Thus, Hassler's altercation with General McComb occurred in either the winter of 1833-1834 or just prior to Alexander Mackay being sent to Florida in 1836.

15. Hassler, F. R. 1843. Additions to the Answers of F. R. Hassler to the questions of the Select Committee for the Coast Survey, May, 1842. House of Representatives Document 43, 27th Congress, 3d Session. January 12, 1843. p. 51.

16. Wilkes, C. 1978. p. 224.

17. Wilkes, C. 1978. P. 221.

18. Wilkes, C. 1978. p. 223.

19. Hassler, F. R. 1842. Origin and History of the Attack of Mr. Cushing Upon the Coast Survey.... Point no. 22, p.6. Broadside written at Pinehill, New Jersey, Dec. 21, 1842.

20. Norris, R. 1882. Recollections.... In: Cajori. 1929. p.187.

21. Hassler, F. R. 1834. Principal Documents.... p.1.

22. Letter from Hassler to Levi Woodbury dated March 28, 1835. In: Hassler, F. R. 1835. Documents Relating to the Construction of Standards of Weights and Measures for the Custom-Houses. p.7. William Van Noorden, Printer.

23. Wilkes, C. 1978. p. 224.

24. Sands, B. F. 1899. p. 90.

25. Norris, R. 1882. Recollections.... In: Cajori. 1929. p. 187.

26. Unpublished manuscript. The Life of Hassler. In: Cajori. 1929. p. 185.

27. 26. Wolf, R. 1859. Biographien zur Kulturgeschichte der Schweiz. p. 351. Zweiter Cyclus, Zurich. In: Cajori, F. 1929. p. 184.

28. Manning, T. G. 1988. U.S. Coast Survey vs. Naval Hydrographic Office. p. 2. The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

29. Hassler, F. R. 1834. Principal Documents.... p. 111-112.

30. Hassler, F. R. Fifth Report of F.R. Hassler, as Superintendant (sic) of the Coast Survey, and of the Construction of Standards of Weights and Measures. In: Hassler, F. R. Third Volume.... p. 123.

31. Sands, B. F. 1899. p.89.

32. Sands, B. F. 1899. p. 88-89.

33. Norris, R. 1882. Recollections.... In: Cajori. 1929. p. 232.

34. His clothing has been described as ranging from white to light brown; from the descriptions it is difficult to tell if he wore the same sort of clothing in the city as he did while engaged in field work.

35. Sands, B. F. 1899. p. 91-92.

36. Dahlgren, M. V. 1891. Memoir of Admiral John A. Dahlgren. p. 78. Charles L. Webster and Co., New York.

37. Fremont, J. C. 1887. p. 70.

38. Nevins, A. 1983. Fremont Pathmarker of the West. p. 347. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London.

39. Carl Preuss survived many amazing adventures with Fremont in his expeditions to the western United States. After surviving the ill-fated fourth expedition of 1848-1849, his wife demanded that he stay at home. According to Jesse Fremont, Preuss wished to accompany the fifth Fremont expedition in 1853-1854; but his wife would not let him go and "... when he definitely saw that his glad free days in the open were over, he went into the woods near Washington and hanged himself." (As paraphrased in: Nevins, A. 1983. Fremont Pathmarker of the West. p. 411. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London.)

40. Fremont, J. C. 1887. p. 71.

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