Stephen Harriman Long
| Stephen Harriman Long | |
|---|---|
Representation of 1819 oil painting of Major Long. Portrait painted by Charles Willson Peale
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| Born |
December 30, 1784 Hopkinton, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Died | September 4, 1864 (aged 79) Alton, Illinois, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Dartmouth College |
| Spouse(s) | Martha Hodgkins |
| Parent(s) | Moses and Lucy (Harriman) Long |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Topographical engineer, railroad engineer, explorer, inventor. |
| Institutions | US Army Corps of Engineers (1819-38), USAC of Topographical Engineers (1838-63). |
| Employer(s) | Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Western & Atlantic Railroad. |
| Projects | Led five expeditions (1817-1823) through the Upper Mississippi Valley and the borderlands with Canada. |
Stephen Harriman Long (December 30, 1784 – September 4, 1864) was a U.S. army explorer, topographical engineer, and railway engineer. As an inventor, he is noted for his developments in the design of steam locomotives. He was also one of the most prolific explorers of the early 1800s, although his career as an explorer was relatively short-lived. He covered over 26,000 miles in five expeditions, including a scientific expedition in the Great Plains area, which he famously confirmed as a "Great Desert" (leading to the term "the Great American Desert").
Long was born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, the son of Moses and Lucy (Harriman) Long. He received an A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1809 and an A.M. from Dartmouth in 1812. In 1814, he was commissioned a lieutenant of engineers in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Upon the reorganization of the Army in 1816, he was appointed a Major on 16 April and assigned to the Southern Division under Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson as a topographical engineer.
In 1817, Major Long headed a military excursion up the Mississippi River to the Falls of St. Anthony near the confluence with the Minnesota River. As a result of his recommendations, the Army established Fort Snelling to guard against Indian incursions against settlers in the Upper Mississippi Valley. Long recorded his experiences of the expedition in Voyage in a Six-oared Skiff to the Falls of St. Anthony, in 1860.
In March 1819 he married Martha Hodgkiss of Philadelphia, the sister of Isabella Hodgkiss Norvell, wife of US Senator John Norvell. Soon afterwards he led the scientific contingent of the 1819 Yellowstone Expedition to explore the Missouri River. In 1820 he was appointed to lead an alternative expedition through the American West, exploring areas acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. The specific purpose of the voyage was to find the sources of the Platte, Arkansas, and Red rivers.
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