Could you navigate without a GPS device? How do you know if the maps you have are accurate? This was of great importance to Ferdinand Westdahl of the Western Union Telegraph Expedition’s (1865-1867) Scientific Corps. Being so far north, in what is now Alaska, the stars and moons he normally used as guides were in a different part of the night sky or not visible at all. In this brief report, Ferdinand Westdahl describes the lengths to which he went to determine his location and the observations he was able to make along the way. Take a trip up north with your fellow volunteers and help us transcribe these pages of history!
Could you navigate without a GPS device? How do you know if the maps you have are accurate? This was of great importance to Ferdinand Westdahl of the Western Union Telegraph Expedition’s (1865-1867) Scientific Corps. Being so far north, in what is now Alaska, the stars and moons he normally used as guides were in a different part of the night sky or not visible at all. In this brief report, Ferdinand Westdahl describes the lengths to which he went to determine his location and the observations he was able to make along the way. Take a trip up north with your fellow volunteers and help us transcribe these pages of history!
Read more about the Archives' collection of Western Union Telegraph Expedition (SIA Record Unit 007213) papers or browse the other Expedition papers that our volunpeers have already transcribed.