How the United States Laid Claim to the Mississippi River, One Mile at a Time

By Boyce Upholt Photographs by Ashleigh Coleman On October 27, 1815, Prospect Robbins arrived by boat at the point in the alluvial swamps where the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers meet. He planted a post in the ground to mark his arrival, and then, along with his team, he began to trek into the muck. On the same day, a second man, Joseph Brown, embarked with a separate team at another confluence: the mouth of the…