http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/617372853

George Horatio Derby letters to John James Abert [facsimiles]

Set of facsimile letters written from George Horatio Derby to Colonel J.J. Abert, mainly regarding work on the San Diego River levee. Derby writes of his activities at Monterey, his appointment to San Diego, his various expenses, his "long and tedious passage" from New York to San Diego, the results of his levee building survey for the San Diego River, the difficulties of acquiring funding for the project, his troubles trying to carry equipment on horseback, the completion of work on the San Diego River, Abert's unhappiness with modifications made by Derby to original levee plans ("I believe I am the only officer on this coast whose official drafts have ever been dishonored" writes Derby of the incident), his appointment as Aide-de-Camp of General Wool, and his work in the Cascades (Washington state). Derby also writes of being delayed on his travels by the birth of his child aboard a ship and his request to "improve in my profession...by examining the fortifications of Europe" with the hope of achieving the rank of Captain. Also includes a letter to Secretary of War Jefferson Davis in which Derby asks to be sent east to be near his ailing mother, a list of equipment lost in the Punta River, and various plans and estimates relating to the San Diego River.

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