United States Survey of the Coast transferred to the Department of the Navy

Background. The Survey of the Coast had been suspended from 1818 to 1832 due to legislative restrictions on civilian scientific work. A 1832 law restored the agency to the Department of the Treasury, allowing it to hire civilians and resume field work in April 1833. This restoration set the stage for the 1834 administrative transfer to the Navy, which sought to integrate surveying with military navigation capabilities.

Transfer to the Navy. On March 11, 1834, President Jackson moved the Survey from the Treasury to the Navy. This decision followed the agency's recent resumption of operations. The transfer was intended to utilize naval officers for surveying, reflecting earlier legislative preferences for military-led mapping. However, the results under Navy authority were deemed unsatisfactory, leading to a return to Treasury control in 1836.

Operational Context. In 1834, the Survey of the Coast acquired its first ship, the schooner Jersey, which the U.S. Navy obtained for the agency. Under Gedney's command, the Jersey began the Survey's first depth sounding operations in October 1834. The vessel's work soon produced commercially and militarily significant results, including the 1835 discovery of the Gedney Channel at the entrance to New York Harbor.

Aftermath. The Navy administration was short-lived. By March 26, 1836, Jackson ordered the Survey back to the Department of the Treasury. The agency was renamed the United States Coast Survey in 1836. This reversal highlighted the tension between military and civilian control of scientific agencies, a debate that persisted throughout the agency's history.