The Treaty of Ghent that concluded the War of 1812, signed in 1815, restored ALL boundaries between the two countries to their pre-war or antebellum positions. Because the original transect of the 45th line of parallel was deemed unreliable a new survey was proposed by the diplomats. This time the surveyors/astronomers were to commence at the St. Lawrence River and work eastward. Again fixes were determined near St.Regis and this time a greater degree of agreement was obtained. In 1768 Samuel Holland had determined a fix for the 45th at St. Regis. After numerous other measurements in late 1817 it was decided to formally fix the 45th at a point only about 75 feet south of Holland’s original marker (a very minor adjustment given the relative precision of the instruments in 1817 vs 1768).
Two German-speaking astronomers were assigned to run the new line. Johann Ludwig Tiarks was Swiss-German and worked for the British. Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler was born and raised in Germany but had become a naturalized American. Both men were highly competent. They started their survey in early July and ended the first stage on the western shore of Lake Champlain in October. This is where the fun began!
