Having finally made the move the next stage was, as always, to decide its relevance.  It told a fairly well-known story and the world is not short of maps, plans, charts, and other doodles which all do the same and are of a lot more interest… Or are there?

3 Questions:

What is it?

What was it a ‘rough’/draft/survey for?… These guys didn’t waste a thing.

Who did it?

Answers as follows:

1.  A manuscript  ‘rough’ of one of the most important events in American history.  Simples!  Not too hard a task inasmuch as it was clearly New York in 1776.

2.  It ended up as a Joseph Frederick Des Barres Map.  (A good copy of which may well set you back a mere $25,000, by the way).  Specifically it ended-up as ‘A Sketch of the Operations of His Majesty’s Fleet and Army Under the Command of Vice Admiral the Rt. Hble. Lord Viscount Howe and Gen./Sr.Wm. Howe, K.B. in 1776.’  Published in London Jan 17, 1777.

How do I know this?

Well, the References give it away.  This charming little unattributed ‘rough’ offers the following…

… Which are labelled A – I.

When put up against the Des Barres References they correspond as follows:

The Letters in bold type on the Heritage Charts (A212) plan corresponds to the reference letter directly below on the Des Barres ‘Sketch:

A. ‘The place where the Troops landed on the 22nd Aug’t 1776′
F. ‘Landing of the Kings Troops on the 22nd August’

B. ‘Where the Action happened on the 27th of Aug’
G. ‘Field of Action on the 27th’

C. ‘Where the Troops landed on the 15th Sept’
H. ‘Landing of the Troops on the 15th September’

D. ‘Where the Rebels retired to’
I. ‘Where the Enemy retired to’

E. ‘A Rebel Post which the Troops took possession of the 23rd Sept’
K. ‘The Enemy post at Paulus Hook taken on the 23rd September’

F. ‘Where the Rebels endeavouryr’d to stop the passage of the River’s by sinking Vessels and Frames of Timber’
E. ‘Where the Enemy endeavourd to stop the passage of the River by sinking Vessels & Frames of Timber thro which the Phoenix, the Roebuck & the Tartar forced their way

up the River on the 9th Oct’r’

G. ‘The place where the Rebels attack’d the Phoenix & Rose on the 4th August 1776′
C. ‘Where the Enemy attacked His Majesty’s Ships, the Phoenix and the Rose, on the 4 August 1776′

H. ‘The place where the above Ships was attacked by the Fire Ships’
D. ‘Where the Enemys Fire Ships engaged the Phoenix and the Rose on the 16th August’

K. ‘The Encampment of the Kings Troops’
M. ‘Encampment of the Kings Troops’

L. ‘The Line of Encampmant of the Kings Troops after the leaving Dobb’s Ferry untill the reduction of Fort washington marked by the letter D.’
N. ‘The Line of Encampmant of the Kings Troops after the leaving Dobb’s Ferry untill the reduction of Fort washington.’

M. ‘The Rebels Fort call’d Fort Constitution, or Fort Lee’
B. ‘Fort Constitution’

N. ‘Place where the Troops Embarked to attack Fort Constitution three days after the Reduction of Fort Washington & landed at H’
O. ‘Where the Kings Troops embarked on the November for the Attack of Fort Constitution and landed at D’

O. ‘The Detachment of the Troops Occupied the 28th Nov’r’
P. ‘A Detachment of the Kings Troops in possession of this Post on the 28th November’

I. ‘The Place where the Troops landed the 12th Oct’r 1776′
L. ‘Landings of the Troopson the 12th October’

No reference on the ‘rough’ to Des Barres reference ‘A’ – Fort Washington – becuse he sneaked it in later!

The J.F.W. Des Barres A Sketch of the Operations of His Majesty’s Fleet and Army under the Command of Vice Admiral the Rt. Hble. Lord Viscount Howe and Genl. Sr. Wm. Howe, K.B., in 1776 ( London: Des Barres, 1777) may be viewed (amongst other places) at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3801s.ar105700.

So, that just leaves the all-important question of who did it?  Well, my preference is Col. Mustard in the Kitchen with a lead pipe but somehow I think it has more to do with who was in NY at the time, who had the skills, who wrote like this:

More later… but for the mean-time I don’t think it was Ratzer…

who, by the way, did this..

Hmmm?..

Remember, if you spoke with us on-stand we’re looking forward to that email! If you have made any special requests of us we will be back in-contact with you as soon as we have an answer.

In the mean-time, before we see you again, please enjoy the web-site and feel free to email any questions and queries.

Best wishes,

Andrew Adamson

Heritage Charts may be found in tent C, booths 55 & 56.  Please do come and visit us to view our wonderful, historic collection of charts, maps and plans all sourced from British Archives.

We are offering boat show ‘specials’ as follows:

10% off total puchases up to (and including) $450

15% off total puchases $500 & over

20% off total puchases $1,000 & over

25% off total puchases  $1,500 & over

30% off total puchases $2,000 & over

Welcome!

It is about 6 months since we were in Newport and it was, of course, very different from the cold, sleepy and rather white little seaport town that we encountered back then.  Newport is never more beautiful than in September with the still warm days of summer lingering, if as any local will tell you, you can put-up with the ever-present threat of showers and hurricane strength winds!

The show was important for us as we have in our collection some beautiful 18th century charts and maps which we knew had never been seen in this historic town before.  All of our collection focusses on the coast-line of the eastern seaboard and Narragansett was, back in the 1770′s, a hugely important region for the British navy.  The charts are of no less appeal nowadays to those who currently sail the waters and are interested in the hydrography, the history or indeed just the beautiful art-work.

We were delighted with the response and attention we received on-stand from all who saw us.

Most important of all were the fantastic people we met while at the show, amongst whom I’d like to mention:

Lisa DiRaimo of the Rhode Island Maritime Trades Association (RIMTA) who had the stand next to us, was fabulous company and just a wealth of helpfulness and joy.  Thank you Lisa!

Lisa Knowles, Sales Manager for the Newport Exhibition Group who encouraged us to attend the show in the first place – we still have a couple of charts with your name on them Lisa!..

Merrilee Zellner, proprietor of the William Gyles Guest House in Newport, who apart from accommodating us in her fabulous establishment throughout our stay was the font of all knowledge of the people and the town of Newport.  Thank you Merrilee for your walking-tours, sheer ‘positiveness’ and enthusiasm.

click image for link

Thanks also to Heather Jernegan and Steele Sartwell of  ‘Not For Navigation’ who shared their experience of exhibiting and moments of respite between customers. We hope to see you both again at another show..

See you all next year!

]]> http://logbook.heritagecharts.com/2010/10/03/newport-international-boat-show-september-2010/feed/ 1 heritagechartslog OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA http://logbook.heritagecharts.com/2010/09/28/fort-montgomery/ http://logbook.heritagecharts.com/2010/09/28/fort-montgomery/#comments Tue, 28 Sep 2010 10:06:27 +0000 HeritageCharts.com http://logbook.heritagecharts.com/?p=392 ]]> One of the first images we included in the Heritage Charts collection was  ‘A Plan of Fort Montgomery & Fort Clinton’.  The 1779 Samuel Holland plan tells the story of one of the most important and daring engagements of the Revolutionary War which took place in October 1777.  

It was a great thrill, on the way up to the Newport RI International Boat Show, to be able to make a small detour to find the site of Fort Montgomery and witness first-hand the site of such a historic event in the history of American independence.   

The site has been extensively excavated and now includes a very well-organized visitor center as well as an informed tour but nothing quite prepares one for the striking view the fort commands over the Hudson (or ‘North’) river.  

 View from Fort Montgomery looking South down the Hudson with Fort Clinton to the right.  

 On the actual plan the view is marked in red..  

According to Samuel Holland the ‘chain’ (yellow line) and the cable (orange line) which were strung across the river to impede the British advance would have been approximately here..  

It is not my intention here to give a full history of events at the time.  For that, there are plenty of sources.  What is worth noting, apart from the striking beauty of the region (even today with Route 202 and the Bear Mountain bridge which now spans the river), is the sheer ingenuity and determination of the American defenders and engineers to impede the British advance in support of General John Burgoyne.  Although the British land force of Loyalist, Hessian and regular troops under the command of Sir Henry Clinton along with the supporting naval force prevailed on the 6th October 1777, the victory ultimately proved hollow.   The intended reinforcement of Burgoyne’s army further north was fatally delayed and Burgoyne (and the British northern initiative) was forced to surrender ten days later at Saratoga.

Of further interest to the region, as with so many other parts of America are the place names which have emerged from the Revolutionary War period.  In the case of this particular corner of New York is the nearby ‘Hessian Lake’, which given American feelings toward the mercenary Hessian force employed by the British, not just in this engagement  but throughout the war, is perhaps a little surprising.    

 More images from Fort Montgomery..  

The Battery (red dot on plan which follows..)  

 The Powder Magazine (‘d’ on the Plan) 

Plan of the fort  

Click image for more information

 And finally….  

I see no more ships, so it must be time for a beer!..

Click map to link to www.heritagecharts.com and more information on the map

The map was published by J.H.Colton the famous publisher of maps of America in 1836 and this edition of the chart is dated 8 years before any other edition I can find in either American Public Record houses or even in the catalogues of antiquarian map dealers.  It is certainly in a near pristine state.

The surveyor was J. Calvin Smith

One of the most obvious ways to date the original survey is to look at the development of the railways and the LIRR is an obvious starting point.

The question is:  At what date did the LIRR get to this point?

All help gratefully received.

AJWA

  Dedicated “To John Ellis Esq F.R.S. King’s Agent for the Province of West Florida. This Draught is Humbly Inscribed by his Most obliged and obedient humble Serv James Cook” pubd. 1766. 

The James Cook mentioned here is not, by the way, the James Cook.

It is printed with inserts of Pensacola Harbour & Spirito Sancto.  Remarks made by Cook very much in the style of Gauld.  Includes boundary between French and British after 1763. 

For anyone who was born in New Orleans…

and now lives in Mobile…

…Its all here!

James Cook, who surveyed the chart/map worked closely with George Gauld along the Florida Gulf coastline and he adopted Gauld’s ‘style’ whereby he made detailed notes on the charts as he went along.  He even, on this draught, marks his own house and base of operations (sorry haven’t got time to throw-in that thumbnail pic).

The original document is about 55″ w x 21″ h and is just one of many under research at the moment.

Finally, here is a snippet of text spotted on another chart/map, this time by the master himself, George Gauld.  It is taken from a 1777 draught of ‘Part of the Coast to the Westward of the River Mississippi with Part of the Island of New Orleans &c.’,  for The Right Honourable The Board of Admiralty.

 The transcript reads: 

‘The Wreck at the Entrance of Chicouansh was a sloop from Jamaica bound for the Mississippi. Having fallen into the west.d they bewildered themselves on this inhospitable coast and after they were cast away, the Savages plundered them and the vessel of everything they could carry off, even the sails and rigging.  Only three people remained out of the nine, the Master and all of the rest having died on the coast.  These three men in a small boat wandered along the coast for some months in quest of the Mississippi, but after a fruitless search they had returned to the Wreck for some provisions, and were just going away again, when providentially the Surveying sloop Florida appeared and relieved them from their distress July 27th 1777, after they had been eight Months from Jamaica.’

They certainly don’t make ‘em like that anymore!

On this previously unseen chart of 1813, surveyed and drawn during the British blockade of the sound throughout the 1812-15 war the Lighthouses each have a story to tell.  In the first two instances the Lightouses in question were apparently more valuable strategically with their light extinguised than they were lit!

The lighthouse on Little Gull island overlooked naval activities between the Americans and the British in the vicinity of ‘the Race’.  It was constructed in 1806 and was 51ft high.  The light on the tower was forceably removed by British marines on the instructions of Sir Charles Hardy, commander of the British squadron patrolling the sound in 1813, after the lighthouse keeper, Giles Holt, refused to extinguish it.

The New London harbour lighthouse depicted at the mouth of the Connecticut River, south of New London, was constructed in 1801 and stood 89ft.  The octagonal brownstone tower still stands and is the oldest existing lighthouse in Connecticut.  This light was extinguished during the War of 1812, this time at the request of the American Commander, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., who spent most of the war confined, along with his fleet, by the British in the Connecticut River. 

The East-end lighthouses depicted on the Heritage Charts chart A211 also include the construction on Watch Hill Pt. and Montauc Pt. both of which share the history of the region.

The light at Watch Hill (‘Watchill’) Point was reputedly first established to warn local residents of attack from the sea, not as an aid to navigation.  The lighthouse depicted here, an 81ft wooden tower, came into operation in 1808.  It was Rhode Island’s second lighthouse.  During his 27 year incumbency, lighthouse keeper Jonathan Nash, recorded 47 wrecks.

Finally, the lightouse on Montauk (‘Montuc’) Point was completed and came into operation in 1796 and was the first public works project of the United States of America.  It is alleged that the infamouse pirate Captain Kidd buried treasure at the ‘money ponds’ near where the lighthouse was built nearly a hundred years later.  Maybe!…

For the complete chart please visit our main website at: http://www.heritagecharts.com/

For more detailed information on the lighthouses of the east end of Long Island Sound I strongly suggest that you follow this link: http://www.eastendlighthouses.org/index.htm

AJWA

Hope you guys all got home safely. 

Best wishes,

AJWA

The chart comes complete with original handwritten inscriptions and comments as well as containing excellent detail of what the town of Hyannis looked like 160 years ago.  Individual houses and land divisions are included as well as..well, church spires.

Actually, it’s not really that much different from today.. (more inspired holiday snaps!)

Hyannis. Nice place – worth a visit. Gateway to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard..

This chart will be published in full on the Heritage Charts web-site: www.heritagecharts.com shortly.