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This engraved plan of Fort Edward and its environs on the Hudson River was published in Thomas Mante’s History of the Late War in North America (1772), a detailed account of the French and Indian War (1754–1763). The map was engraved by Thomas Kitchin, one of the most prominent British mapmakers of the period. It provides a strategic depiction of Fort Edward’s location along the Hudson River, illustrating fortifications, roads, defensive structures, and natural features essential to military operations.
Fort Edward was a key British outpost during the war, serving as a staging ground for campaigns against French-held Fort Carillon (later Fort Ticonderoga) and Fort St. Frédéric (Crown Point). Positioned on the Hudson River, it controlled a critical route between Albany and Lake George, making it a strategic defensive point in Britain’s efforts to secure northern New York from French advances.
The map’s legend identifies key military installations, including barracks, blockhouses, a "ponton" bridge, and ovens, essential for supplying and maintaining troops in the field. The river islands and topographical details emphasize the region's natural defensive advantages and logistical constraints. The map’s precision reflects the growing importance of military cartography in British colonial campaigns, as detailed plans like this one were used for both operational planning and historical documentation.
Mante’s History of the Late War in North America was published at a time when Britain was consolidating its victory over France in North America, and maps such as this reinforced the significance of British fortifications and military strategy in securing the frontier. This plan remains an important historical document, capturing the geography and strategic landscape of one of the most contested regions during the French and Indian War.
Rarity
Mante's History is very rare on the antiquarian market. The individual maps are even rarer than the complete work. OldMaps.com shows a single example of this map having been offered, in 1991.
Thomas Kitchin was a British cartographer and engraver. Born in Southwark, England, Kitchin was the eldest of several children. He was apprenticed to the map engraver Emanuel Bowen from 1732 to 1739, and he married Bowen’s daughter, Sarah, in December 1739. By 1741 Kitchin was working independently and in 1746 he began taking on apprentices at his firm. His son Thomas Bowen Kitchin was apprenticed to him starting in 1754. By 1755 Kitchin was established in Holborn Hill, where his firm produced all kinds of engraved materials, including portraits and caricatures. He married his second wife, Jane, in 1762. Beginning in 1773 Kitchin was referred to as Hydrographer to the King, a position his son also later held. He retired to St. Albans and continued making maps until the end of his life.
A prolific engraver known for his technical facility, clean lettering, and impressive etched decorations, Kitchin produced several important works throughout his career. He produced John Elphinstone’s map of Scotland in 1746, and the first pocket atlas of Scotland, Geographia Scotiae, in 1748/1749. He co-published The Small English Atlas in 1749 with another of Bowen’s apprentices, Thomas Jefferys. He produced The Large English Atlas serially with Emanuel Bowen from 1749 to 1760. The latter was the most important county atlas since the Elizabethan era, and the first real attempt to cover the whole country at a large scale. In 1755 Kitchin engraved the important John Mitchell map of North America, which was used at the peace treaties of Paris and Versailles. In 1770 he produced the twelve-sheet road map England and Wales and in 1769–70 he produced Bernhard Ratzer’s plans of New York. In 1783, he published The Traveller’s Guide through England and Wales.
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