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Following Hassler's death, there was a flurry of maneuvering by the
Senior Assistants in the Coast Survey
| You are here: Library Home > NOAA Information > Heritage > THE COAST SURVEY 1807-1867
Following Hassler's death, there was a flurry of maneuvering by the
Senior Assistants in the Coast Survey who wished to see the principle of
seniority followed in appointing a new Superintendent of the Coast Survey.
Assistant James Ferguson was the candidate preferred by Secretary of the
Treasury. Other candidates included Simeon Borden who had conducted a trigonometrical
survey of the State of Massachusetts; Captain Andrew Talcott, a well-known
Army engineer and surveyor; William Strickland, a civilian architect and
engineer who had worked on the Delaware Breakwater since 1829; and Alexander
Dallas Bache, a great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin and a well-known member
of the American science community. However, Bache, for whom Hassler seemed
to have an affin