High Resolution image in MrSID format from Library of Congress
BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
Title:
The country twenty-five miles round New
York, drawn by a gentleman from that city
Publication information: London: W. Hawkes, 1776
Contributor:
Barber, J.
Description:
Copperplate engraving, hand colored,
38 x 39 cm.
Subject:
New York Region--Maps--Early works to
1800
NOTES:
1. Scale ca. 1:220,000
2. "J. Barber sculp."
3
. Described
Sellers no. 1096
4. Digital image derived from slide of map held by the
Library Company of Pennsylvania.
Contact Library Company of
Pennsylvania for reproduction rights.
The outbreak of the American Revolution led to the production of a sizable number of maps depicting military campaigns and battles. These ranged from highly detailed maps drawn for military use to more general maps for wider consumption. This map is typical of the latter type. Similar maps also appeared in widely read publications like Gentleman's Magazine. In an age without television or other mass media such maps played an important part in informing the public about military events.
This map was drawn after the series of battles in 1776 that drove the Americans out of Long Island and Manhattan. It shows such things as military encampments, fortifications, and routes of march. It is accompanied by a chronological list of battles and other military events. The British army was better equipped with skilled surveyors than the Americans, and there were few facilities for publishing maps in the rebellious colonies. Consequently most of the maps depicting events in the Revolutionary War were produced by the British, and frequently celebrated British victories. Since the battles for Long Island and New York City were arguably the greatest triumphs for the British during the Revolution, these events are particularly well documented.
Sellers and Van Ee, Maps and Charts of North America , no. 1096
Revised 7/24/04