In 1849, the Corps of Topographical Engineers commissioned Lieutenant James H.
Military historian Durwood Ball contributes a new foreword..
Editor Frank Mc Nitt discusses the expedition\'s lasting importance to the development of the West, and his research is enriched by illustrations and maps by artists Richard and Edward Kern.
His careful observations informed subsequent Military expeditions, emigrant trains, the selection of Indian reservations, and the charting of a transcontinental railroad.
A keen observer, Simpson kept a Journal that provided valuable information on the party\'s interactions with Indians and also about the land\'s features, including important pueblo ruins at Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly.
Washington, sent to negotiate peace with the Navajo.
Accompanying Simpson was a Military force commanded by Colonel John M.
Simpson to undertake the first survey of Navajo Country in present-day New Mexico.
In 1849, the Corps of Topographical Engineers commissioned Lieutenant James H
