Pat,
The USMA laws page includes the Metric Act of 1866. It has been amended to
remove invalid conversion tables, but the history section at the bottom has
scans of the actual bill and tables.
We were using meter, liter and deka- at the time. However, the metric ton
(1000 kg) is described with two terms, tonneau and millier, I assume
"everyone" later simplified tonneau to tonne, and the other died out.
However, both sets of spelling have been used. The Mendenhall Order of 1893
(found on same page) uses metre, litre, and even gramme.
Also on the same page, U. S. Grant's report to Congress on the Treaty of the
Meter uses "meter" but it is only a US report, not the original.
Finally, the Upton report of 1878 seems to indicate that the original spellings
of "are" and "stere" (cubic meter) omitted the final "e", although the Metric
Act of 1866 shows a final "e" in both cases.
These are just data points. I've never seen anything that would represent a
scholarly tracking of the situation.
