Thomas J. Cram

Thomas Jefferson Cram (March 1, 1804 – December 20, 1883) was an American topographical engineer from New Hampshire who served in the United States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers from 1839 to 1863 and the United States Army Corps of Engineers from 1863 to 1869.

Cram served as general superintendent for harbor works on Lake Michigan and the construction of roads in Wisconsin Territory. He led surveys to determine the border of Michigan and Wisconsin Territory in the Upper Peninsula, to explore Oregon and Washington Territories, and to determine the feasibility of a water route to the Pacific Ocean through Central America. He served under Major General Zachary Taylor in the Army of Occupation during the Mexican-American War and conducted coastal and river surveys in Texas.

Cram participated in the United States Lake Survey and led the survey section between Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois. He conducted multiple river, canal, and harbor improvement assessments including for the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers in Wisconsin, the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky, and the harbor at St. Louis, Missouri, on the Mississippi River. He assisted the United States Coast Survey in New England from 1847 to 1855 and in North Carolina from 1858 to 1861.

During the American Civil War (1861–1865), Cram was promoted to lieutenant colonel and colonel and served as aide-de-camp to Major General John E. Wool.