Thomas J. Cram

Thomas Jefferson Cram (March 1, 1804 – December 20, 1883) was an American topographical engineer from New Hampshire who served in the United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers from 1839 to 1869 including during the Mexican American War and the American Civil War. He served as General Superintendent for harbor works on Lake Michigan and the construction of roads in Wisconsin Territory. He led surveys to determine the border of Michigan and Wisconsin in the Upper Peninsula, to explore Oregon and Washington Territories, and to determine the feasibility of a water route to the Pacific through Central America. He participated in the United States Lake Survey and led the survey section between Green Bay, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois.

Thomas Jefferson Cram
Born(1804-03-01)March 1, 1804
Acworth, New Hampshire
DiedDecember 20, 1883(1883-12-20) (aged 79)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Resting placeLaurel Hill Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
OccupationTopographical Engineer
Known for
  • General Superintendent of harbor works on Lake Michigan and roads in Wisconsin Territory
  • Michigan and Wisconsin Territory boundary survey
  • United States Lake Survey
  • Oregon and Washington Territory Survey

Biography

Cram was born in Acworth, New Hampshire.[1] He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1826 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery. In 1835 he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and resigned his commission in 1836.[2] After working for the railroad industry for two years, he returned to Army service as a captain in 1838. In 1839, he was assigned as the General Superintendent for harbor works in Lake Michigan and road construction in Wisconsin Territory. Howard Stansbury and Lorenzo Sitgreaves were assigned to assist Cram.[3] He made improvements to the harbors of Chicago, St. Joseph and Michigan City and built new harbors at Kenosha, Calumet, Milwaukee and Racine.[4] Cram built seven roads in Wisconsin and used timber truss bridges designed by Stephen Long for all spans greater than 20 feet long.[5]

1849 Land Survey Map of Michigan Upper Peninsula

As part of the settlement of the Toledo War, between Michigan and Ohio, most of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan was granted to Michigan. The U.S. Congress created the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and appropriated funds to conduct a survey to determine the boundary between Wisconsin and Michigan.[6] In 1840, Cram and Douglass Houghton led the boundary survey team up the Menominee River to its source at Brule Lake. A previous map incorrectly listed Lac Vieux Desert as the headwater of the Menominee River and the Montreal River.[7] He negotiated a treaty with the Ojibwa Chief Ca-sha-o-sha which allowed the survey to continue. The survey could not be completed in 1840 due to errors in the map used by Congress to determine the boundary. Cram returned to the Upper Peninsula in 1841 to continue the survey. He identified Lac Vieux Desert as the source of the Wisconsin River[8] and recommended a different boundary between Wisconsin and Michigan.[7] Congress used the border recommended by Cram when they passed the Wisconsin Enabling Act of 1846 prior to Wisconsin becoming a state in 1848. Michigan refuted the results of the survey and claimed that Cram's interpretation of the boundary cheated Michigan out of 800 square miles of land. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 1926 and was decided in favor of Wisconsin.[9]

In 1841, Cram participated in the United States Lake Survey. His portion of the survey began at Green Bay and moved south toward Chicago while William G. Williams began his portion at Green Bay and moved north toward Mackinac Island.[10]

In 1843, Cram conducted work in Louisville, Kentucky to improve navigation of the falls on the Ohio River. Cram recommended the expansion of the canal and construction of a second canal to provide two way river traffic, however the recommendations were not approved by Congress and were not implemented.[11]

In 1844, Cram was assigned to improve the harbor works at St. Louis, Missouri. The harbor required improvements since the flow of the Mississippi River had formed sandbars that trapped ships or required long diversions to avoid them. He proposed several works to remedy the situation but they were deemed too experimental and expensive. The construction of a dam was selected and work began on it until the outbreak of the Mexican American War.[12]

In 1845, Cram served as chief topographical engineer in the Army of Occupation under General Zachary Taylor during the Mexican American War. He conducted systematic topographic surveys of the Nueces River, the Laguna de la Madre and Aransas Bay. He fell ill with dysentery and was replaced by George Meade.[13]

From 1855 to 1858 he was the chief topographical engineer for the Department of the Pacific.[14] He led survey teams on expeditions through the Oregon and Washington Territories and worked to determine the feasibility of a water route to the Pacific through Central America.

Military reconnaissance map of Hampton Roads and Norfolk, Virginia made by Captain T.J. Cram during the American Civil War

In 1861, Cram was promoted to major in August[15] and then lieutenant colonel in September.[16] He served as aide to General John E. Wool from 1861 to 1863 and was engaged in the campaign to capture Norfolk, Virginia, in May 1862. Lt. Col. Cram was transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers when the Topographical Engineers were disbanded in 1863, and was promoted to full colonel at the end of the war in 1865. He was later brevetted to Major General to recognize his war service, and served until his retirement in 1869.[2]

Cram died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery.[14]

Bibliography

Citations
  1. Granite State Monthly, Volumes 45-46. Concord, New Hampshire: The Granite Monthly Company. 1913. p. 270. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  2. Balch, Galusha Burchard (1897). Genealogy of the Balch Families in America. Salem, Massachusetts: Eben Putnam. pp. 149–150. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  3. Larson 1979, p. 38.
  4. Larson 1979, p. 42.
  5. Schubert, Frank N. (1988). The Nation Builders - A Sesquicentennial History of the Corps of Topographical Engineers 1838-1863 (PDF). Fort Belvoir, Virginia: Office of History - United States Army Corps of Engineers. pp. 55–56. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  6. "General Map to Accompany the Report of Capt T.J. Cram on the Boundary Between Michigan and Wiskonsin". www.americanhistory.si.edu. National Museum of American History. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  7. Rohde, William C. "Wisconsin-Upper Michigan State Boundary Surveys". www.wsls.org. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  8. "Surveyor's Tree Blaze". www.wisconsinhistory.org. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  9. Larson 1979, p. 49.
  10. Larson 1979, pp. 50-51.
  11. Johnson, Leland R. (1974). The Falls City Engineers: A History of the Louisville District Corps of Engineers United States Army. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. p. 100. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  12. Manders, Damon (2011). Engineers Far From Ordinary - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in St. Louis (PDF). St. Louis: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. pp. 44–45. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  13. Traas 1993, pp. 117-120.
  14. "Thomas Jefferson Cram". www.penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  15. O'Brien 1864, p. 116.
  16. O'Brien 1864, p. 181.

Sources
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