1787 Picquet Map of Charleston illustrating the Siege of Charleston

An excellent 1787 American Revolutionary War map of Charleston, South Carolina. The map illustrates the 1780 Siege of Charleston, a major American Revolutionary War (1775 - 1783) battle, and one of the most devastating American defeats of the war.

A Closer Look

The map covers the peninsular tip of Charleston and predates many of the landfills and expansions that followed as the city developed. The port is evident, as is the early grid structure. The Circular Congregational Church, which still stands and was built in 1695, is recognizable. Swampland is mapped to the west of the city, and farmland appears just north of the city's fortifications. A detailed alphabetic key situated in the lower left corner identifies 20 locations, including forts, artillery emplacements, and battle and siege lines occupied by the British Army. The number of cannons at each fort and emplacement is provided. The British fleet is illustrated in the Cooper River, with each ship identified by name and the number of cannons onboard.

The Siege of Charleston

The Siege of Charleston took place from April 1 to May 12, 1780, and represented a change in British strategy based on the belief of strong Loyalist sympathies in the South. In the North, the British campaign to invade the American colonies from Quebec ended in the surrender of John Burgoyne's army after the Battle of Saratoga (which led to France and Spain entering the war on the American side). The drive to capture Philadelphia (the Revolutionary capital) ended with a British retreat back to New York City. Over some six weeks, the British, under the command of General Sir Henry Clinton, outmaneuvered the Continental defenders led by General Benjamin Lincoln. The resulting Continental defeat and surrender was the Revolutionary War's greatest single troop loss. This was the largest surrender of an American force under arms until the Union surrendered at Harper's Ferry during the American Civil War (1861 - 1865). The surrender of Charleston also left no significant American army in the South.

Publication History and Census

This map was issued to accompany the 1787 first French edition of David Ramsay's (1747 - 1815) History of the Revolution of South-Carolina or, more properly, Histoire de la Revolution d'Amerique par rapport a la Caroline Meridionale. The French edition of Ramsay's history was issued 2 years after the English edition. The map, which was originally engraved by the Charleston engraver Thomas Abernethie, has here been re-engraved in French by Charles Picquet. While cartographically similar, Piquet's engraving is more sophisticated and refined. This is one of the earliest obtainable maps of Charleston and is rare on the market.