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Lt. Col. Thomas James. "Plan of the Attack on Fort Sulivan (sic), near Charles Town in South Carolina, by a Squadron of His Majesty's Ships, on the 28th of June 1776, with the Disposition of the King's Land Forces, and the Encampments and Entrenchments of the Rebels from the Drawings made on the Spot." London: William Faden, 10 August 1776. Early state. 10 3/4 x 14 1/2 (neat lines) plus full margins. Engraving by W. Faden. A few points of color. Excellent condition. Nebenzahl: 64; Stevens & Tree, 14c with the large bottom margin that proves that a letter press addition was never a part of it.
One of William Faden's rare and important series of Revolutionary War battle maps. During the Revolution, the British public, government and military had a great desire for accurate maps of the events from across the Atlantic. The most important publisher of such maps was William Faden, who had access to many of the original drawings sent by soldiers and surveyors from the Americas. These provided then, and provide now, the most accurate and contemporary look at the battles, events and locations of War. This is the rare first state of Faden's map showing the British attack on Fort Sulivan [sic] at the entrance to Charleston Harbor (later renamed Fort Moultrie).
Clinton's army was landed unopposed on Long Island, to the north of Sullivan's, as Clinton's maps showed an easy ford to the mainland. This was in error, and thus Clinton's troops became stranded spectators to the action that followed. Parker moved his fleet to bombard the fort, which was under the command of Colonel William Moultrie. The back of the fort was incomplete, but the palisade wall along the ocean front, made of palmetto logs, was able to withstand the fire, while the return cannonade caused much destruction in the British fleet. Finally, Parker was forced to withdraw, and Clinton's expedition ended in failure. This map shows the position of the British troops on Long Island, Fort Sullivan and the British fleet during the bombardment. An inset plan of the fort is included in the top left. This early of the map was printed prior to the addition of soundings and a second pontoon bridge from Sullivan's Island to the "Rebels Camp." $6,500
De Sartine. "Carte Réduite Des Côtes Orientales De L'Amérique Septentrionale Contenant Partie du Nouveau Jersey, la Pensylvanie, le Mary-land, la Virginie, la Caroline Septentrionale, la Caroline Méridionale et la Georgie." Paris: Depot de la Marine, 1778. Engraving. 23 x 34 (full sheet). Full margins. Two small repairs in top margin touching into top neatline. Else fine condition.
This map was issued at the time of the American Revolution, into which the French were then entangled. It was prepared for the very rare French atlas Neptune America-Septentrional and was issued both in that atlas and as a separate map for "Prix Trois Livres." The map would have been in use by the French navy and merchant marine and it would have been used with great effect by the combatants. The map extends from the Delaware Bay to the St. John River in Florida, a main area of concern for the French navy, as the British military action late in the war was focused on this area. Detail of the coast is very precise and detailed, with soundings, islands, bays, towns, and so forth all indicated. Somewhat surprising for a sea chart, the map has superb detail inland as far as the Appalachian Range. Roads, plantations, chapels, forts, fords, topography, rivers, and much else is shown with exquisite exactness. This was probably because the charts were intended to be useable not just by the naval forces, but also by French troops who might be landed in the conflict.
Of note is the indication of "York" on the York River, also known as Yorktown, which soon after this map was issued was the scene of the French naval blockade which was the immediate cause of the surrender of Cornwallis and the end of the Revolution. It was not unlikely on another copy of this chart that the French Admiral De Grasse consulted as he planned his operations against the British fleet in North America. To examine and hold such a historical document, one which gives us a privileged, contemporary view of the American Revolution is a thrill indeed. $3,200
Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres. "A Chart of Delaware River from Bombay Hook to Ridley Creek, with soundings &c. taken by Lt. Knight of the Navy . . ." with a second panel entitled "A Plan of Delawar [sic] River from Chester to Philadelphia. Shewing the Situation of His Majesty's Ships &c on the 15th. Novr. 1777 surveyed and sounded by Lieutenant John Hunter of the Navy." Prepared for The Atlantic Neptune. London: Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, 1 June 1779. Etching. 30 1/4 x 21 7/8. Former folds reinforced and fill in on 4 1/2" at bottom, center. Nebenzahl, 136.
After the French & Indian War, the job of surveying and mapping the American coastline fell upon J.F.W. DesBarres, who had commanded the mapping of the coasts of present-day eastern Canada. The resulting atlas, The Atlantic Neptune, was called by A.P. Loring, "the first great marine atlas of the eastern seaboard." Loring quotes Obadiah Rich who called it, "the most splendid collection of charts, plans and views ever published." This is an excellent example of the maps from this important atlas.
It is a chart of the Delaware River to as far as Philadelphia in two panels. As stated on the chart, it was "Composed and Published for the use of Pilotage by J.F.W. DesBarres Esqr," so the focus of detail is on the nature of the river itself. The coastline, mouths of creeks, shoals and sand bars, and soundings are shown with careful precision, and rhumb lines are used to help with navigation of a ship up this relatively narrow river. Inland information is sparse because it is limited to that which was visible sight from navigable waters. An occasional higher elevation is shown and a basic town plans for New Castle, Chester, and Philadelphia are present. Conventional symbols for swamps and waterways are shown for as much as a few miles inland in places. In the inset map showing from Chester to Philadelphia shows the situation of the British ships off Philadelphia in mid-November, 1777. $4,750
Maps prepared for John Marshall's Life of George Washington.
John Marshall's Life of George Washington was published in French, Dutch, and German as well as English in the early nineteenth century. Long the standard biography, a separately issued atlas of ten maps provided the best coverage of the campaigns of the American Revolution then being issued.
This map documents the route of Cornwallis' campaign from Savannah, to Charleston, then up to the interior of the Carolinas, and ending in Yorktown, Virginia. A fine, crisp depiction of that campaign. $400
This map documents the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Princeton and Monmouth, thus showing from Elk Head, Maryland at the lower left corner to Sandy Hook, New Jersey in upper right. Taking, holding, and leaving Philadelphia put great strain on the British armies, and this fine, crisp map depicts those campaigns. The ultimate source for this map was the work of John Hills who accompanied the British army as a cartographer and after hostilities moved to Philadelphia. NA
"Map of Hudson's River, with the adjacent Country." From Gentleman's Magazine. London: David Henry & Francis Newbery, January, 1778. 11 5/8 x 8 3/8. Engraving. With manuscript underlining of names. Otherwise, very good condition.
This map, issued at the beginning of 1778, shows the region of most of the activity in the war during 1777. The area shown extends as far south as Philadelphia, to which Howe had moved in 1777, and as far north as Fort Ticonderoga, where Burgoyne had made a deceptively promising start to his great campaign down the Hudson from Canada. The Mohawk River is shown, down which a British support wing had attempted and failed to link up with Burgoyne. Of particular note is the insertion of a caption stating "Scene of Action on the Surrender," at Saratoga where Burgoyne's campaign came to its disastrous end. The map shows good information of towns, rivers, lakes, and other such features. $250
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