February 12, 2020 - August 12, 2020
View five items from the Richard H. Brown Revolutionary War Map Collection, which comprises some 300 maps, views, atlases, and rare books, including several The Richard H. Brown Revolutionary War Map Collection comprises some 300 maps, views, atlases, and rare books, including several rare manuscript maps. For more information and to view more of the collection online, visit the Special Collections section of the Washington Library.
A New Map of the British Colonies in North America, Shewing the Seat of the Present War
Drawn and engraved by John Andrews
Engraving. London: John Harris, 1781
The Richard H. Brown Revolutionary War Map Collection. Promised Gift.
Originally published in 1777, John Andrews’s map reveals the Revolutionary War’s continental scale. British politicians and military officers faced the difficult task of subduing the thirteen older mainland provinces while defending new colonies like Quebec from rebel attack. In many ways, this was a map of the British colonies in name only, as royal authority collapsed after 1775.
The map is hand-colored, making it easier to distinguish between the individual colonies as well as land held by indigenous peoples such as the Six Nations Iroquois (Haudenosaunee).
Carte du Port et Havre de Boston avec les Côtes Adjacentes [Map of the Boston Port and Harbor with Surrounding Coasts]
Engraved and expanded by P. Croisey after Jean de Beaurain
Engraving. Paris: P. Croisey, 1776
The Richard H. Brown Revolutionary War Map Collection. Promised Gift.
The Siege of Boston, depicted in this map, began in April 1775 after the Battles of Lexington and Concord. New England militia quickly established siege lines around Boston, then connected to the mainland by only a narrow strip of land – thus trapping the British Army in the city. American troops stationed at Cambridge, Charlestown, and Roxbury are represented in red on the map. British forces are in green.
Notice Dorchester Neck at center? left on the map: General Washington realized that the British had made a tactical blunder by failing to reinforce the high ground of Dorchester Heights. While also engaging the British from Cambridge, Washington ordered cannon to be positioned on the Heights in March 1776. This allowed the Continentals to fire directly on British positions in the city of Boston. Following a brief American bombardment, British forces evacuated Boston and sailed for Nova Scotia.
The Importance of New York City
After the British evacuated Boston in March 1776, General Washington concluded that New York City would be the enemy’s next target. The city and the Hudson River Valley offered the British strategic advantages. The region bisected the colonies, allowing the British to isolate the rebellious New England colonies from the southern provinces, which the British believed had greater numbers of Loyalists. The Royal Navy planned to use the harbor as the main base of operations to blockade other American ports and to re-supply the British Navy. Additionally, British forces could move up the Hudson River to strike against Washington and his men. Washington ordered defensive preparations to begin even before the Siege of Boston ended, hoping this work and the arrival of the army would be enough to repel the expected assault.
A Plan of the City of New-York & Its Environs
Engraved by Peter Andrews, after John Montre?sor
Engraving. London: Andrew Dury, 1775
The Richard H. Brown Revolutionary War Map Collection. Promised Gift.
During the Stamp Act crisis of 1765–1766, British military officers trying to restore order in New York realized they had no up-to-date maps of the city. Lt. John Montre?sor produced this detailed map in 1766, and it was reprinted in 1775 when war broke out in the colonies. The reference section highlights notable landmarks and the city’s religious diversity. An inset map of the harbor, complete with soundings, provides mariners with crucial navigational information.
A Plan of New York Island, and Part of Long Island, with the Circumjacent Country
Drawn by Charles Blaskowitz
Ink and watercolor on paper. New York, 1777
The Richard H. Brown Revolutionary War Map Collection. Promised Gift.
The British launched an invasion of New York on August 22, 1776, with an expeditionary force of 32,000 regulars and more than 200 ships. Washington had just 19,000 men. Over the next several weeks, the British defeated Continental forces in a number of battles, including Long Island and White Plains. The redcoats captured the city, beginning an occupation that lasted until 1783. This victory dealt a critical blow to the Patriot war effort.
Charles Blaskowitz’s manuscript map visualizes the British victory in remarkable detail. A veteran cartographer, Blaskowitz created this “Campaign Headquarters Map” for General Sir William Erskine. British officers would have used it to study the campaign’s progress and develop future military strategy.
Reading the Map: Color and Time
Blaskowitz drew on fresh surveys and older maps to produce a base map of the region. Features of the map help the reader understand events as the occurred:
* Color amplifies the topography and reveals areas central to the New York Campaign.
* The “Explanations” legend invites viewers to examine the campaign’s progress from the landing on Long Island in August to the capture of Fort Washington in mid-November.
* The “References to the Plan” makes use of the latest intelligence to identify the location of British, Hessian, and American positions throughout the area, all color coded.
* The inset map highlights the location of Washington’s defeat at the Battle of White Plains in October.
Look closely at Lower Manhattan: the grey coloring indicates the sections of the city that burned in September during the early days of the occupation.
Exhibit Details
The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington’s recent acquisition of the Richard H. Brown Revolutionary War Map Collection positions the Library as one of the world’s leading centers for the study of cartography in the era of the American Revolution.
Featuring over 300 items that date between 1740 and 1799—including manuscript and print maps, bound atlases, watercolor view sheds, and other documents—the collection will offer new opportunities for researching and teaching the history of the American Revolution, Early Republic, and eighteenth-century cartography.
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