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Fascinating map of Nebaska Territory, including the modern states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri, drawn from material compiled by Lieutenant Gouverneur Kemble Warren.

GK Warren made 3 expeditions through the Nebraska Territory in the 1850s. His 1855 trip was made as chief topographical officer in Gen. Harney's expedition against the Sioux. Led by General William S. Harney, the mission was a punitive expedition against the Sioux, after they killed a small US Army detachment in Nebraska Territory, an event called the Grattan Massacre.

Warren was born on January 8, 1830. He entered the United States Military Academy at nearby West Point at the age of 16, graduated second in his class in 1850, and was assigned to the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers.

From 1850 to 1853, Warren served on several important survey expeditions, including surveys of the lower Mississippi delta in 1850-1851, and of the upper Mississippi rapids in 1853. From 1853 to 1855, Warren assisted in a government study to determine the best possible transcontinental railroad route, examining reports of all explorations west of the Mississippi, dating back to explorations of Lewis and Clark. As part of this analysis, Warren began work on the first comprehensive map of the trans-Mississippi United States.

In 1855, Warren served as chief topographical officer in General William S. Harney's expedition against the Sioux in southern Nebraska Territory (in present-day Nebraska and South Dakota). His topographical report earned him great recognition and command of future explorations. In 1856 Warren commanded a successful survey mission in northern Nebraska Territory along the Missouri River and 60 miles up the Yellowstone.

Warren spent a year in Washington after his 3 expeditions, compiling his findings into official reports and completing his Map of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean, which accompanied Secretary of War Jefferson Davis' final report to Congress on the results of the transcontinental railroad route investigation.

Follow distinguished service during the Civil War, Warren spent 1866-1867 conducting surveys of the Mississippi River system.