The recently identified 1860 wreck of the steamer Robert J. Walker in Jersey waters and its being named a national historic site became a starting point for looking into its history and how it got there. The Walker, a 132-foot-long, two-masted, iron hull ship with a steam engine and two side paddlewheels, became part of the US Coast Survey in 1849 and began work on mapping the Gulf Coast. The work, while scientifically important, wasn’t glamorous, nor was the pay very good.
A ditty of the time went “Oh, what a life is the Coast Survey, Through mud and mire to wend my way, While on your head…
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