When it became known that Maury was the author of these remarkable papers, his ability and grasp of mind were universally acknowledged. His position as an authority on naval questions was established, and soon afterwards he was placed in charge of the Depôt of Charts and Instruments at Washington, not upon his own application, but on the ecommendation of brother officers. Maury developed this office into the well known "National Observatory and Hydrographical Department of the United States." He received the appointment in the seventeenth year of his service, and the thirty sixth year of his age. "No man could have been found in the country," says Senator Bell[1] of Tennessee, in a speech before the Senate, "better fitted than Maury for this difficult duty; and he worked with the zeal and energy that were expected of him."
About this time, he writes to his cousin and others describing his work at the Observatory, his life there, and other matters.
| To Ann Maury. |
| U. S. Depôt of Charts, &c. |
| Washington, August 4th, 1842 |
. . . . I came from home a month ago. The additional exercise, which I have been obliged to take here, has proved of the utmost service to the leg. On one or two occasions, I have been on my feet from eight or nine in the morning till eleven at night. The leg strengthens under it all the time. I am on my feet standing or walking most of the day; but, unless I go down the city, I never touch my cane. It stands in the corner looking like a cast-off friend. So far the new duties are admirable.
A Bill has passed the Senate for building a depôt, as 'tis called. . . . What part I am to have in it, or what bearing it is to have upon me in my present situation, I am not able even to guess.
- ↑ Senator John H. Bell, who was the Whig candidate for President in 1860, and was defeated by Abraham Lincoln.
