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Description

Fine example of John Melish's rare and historically important War of 1812 map of the Thousands Islands region, along the U.S.-Canadian border.

Melish's map is a fascinating historical record of the dramatic action that played out along the Thousand Islands region, a critical theatre during the War of 1812. It embraces the area from the eastern end of Lake Ontario, down the St. Lawrence River to the border of Lower Canada (Quebec). The areas to the north of the river are part of Upper Canada (now Ontario), while the areas to to the south form part of New York State. The various townships on each side of the river are distiguished by thier own colors, while various settlements and forts are labelled.

The War of 1812 (1812-5) remains the focus of much academic contraversy, and is often misunderstood by both professional historians and the public alike. It pitted the United States, a young but ambitious republic, against the forces of Britain Empire, which in this theater included a small detachment of army regulars, Canadian colonial militia and their various Native American allies. While the British Empire was exponentially more powerful than the United States, Britain was then preoccupied by the larger war against Napoleon in Europe, so could spare only limited resourced to defend Canada. While greatly outnumbering the British-Canadians, the American forces generally failed to press their advantage, ensuring that Canada would perservere against the designs of 'Manifest Destiny'.

Early in the war, American strategists realized that the thin line of Loyalist townships along the St. LawrenceRiver, in theory, represented the weakest link in the defenses of British North America. The St. Lawrence corridor represented the only viable military route from Montreal (and access to the sea) to Upper Canada. If this corridor was severed by an American invasion, it would be practically impossible for the British to resupply Upper Canada with troops and ordnance, ensuring that it would only be a matter of time before the province would fall to U.S. forces. At the eastern end of Lake Ontario is Kingston, heavily defended, Britain's main naval base on the lake. Its American counterpart, immeditely to the south, was Sackett's Harbor, a fine nautral port which hosted the U.S. lake fleet.

The British-Canadian forces were the first to take the offensive. In July 1812 and May 1813 they mounted two unsuccessful attempts to seize Sackett's Harbor. However, in February 1813, they managed to cross the frozen-over St. Lawrence to take the American fort of Ogdensburg, New York (directly opposite the British fort of Prescott).

In the autumn of 1813, the Americans mounted an expedition to the region, which on paper, should have annhilated the British presence in the region, and so tipping the balance of the entire war. General James Wilkinson led a force of 8,000 U.S. regulars to a point at French Mills, New York, marked on the map as 'Genl. Wilkinson's Camp', just inland from St. Regis. On November 11, Wilkinson led 4,000 men accross the river to engage a much smaller British-Canadian force of 900 regulars and militiamen at Crysler's Farm (marked on the map, with British and American troop lines). While severely outnumbered, the British-Canadian force was highly motivated and better-disciplined than the invaders. Amazingly, they broke the Americans' lines, forcing Wilkinson into a humilating retreat across the river. Never again would the region see siginficant military action, as a tense stand-off was maintianed for the duration of the war.

This map was included in John Melish's magnificent work, A Military and Topographical Atlas of the United States (1813-5), which is considered to be the finest printed cartographic work on the War of 1812. Engraved by a young Henry Schenk Tanner, the present example, features Melish's signature color scheme, with vivid hues distinguishing terrestrial boundaries, while a brilliant blue full wash runs through the waterways.

John Melish (1771-1822) was, at the time, by far the most esteemed and influential American mapmaker, soon to be famous for his epic Map of the United States of America with the contiguous British and Spanish Possessions (1816), the first map that showed America as extending across the continent from sea to sea.

The map very rarely appears separately on the market, and we are not aware of any listings in dealers' catalogs or in auction records since 1991.

Condition Description
Copper-engraved map, with original hand color, minor repairs and small loss at fold intersection.
Reference
David Rumsey map collection (online), no. 2788.009; Ristow, 'American Maps & Mapmakers', p.180.
John Melish Biography

John Melish (1771-1822) was the most prominent American mapmaker of his generation, even though his cartographic career lasted only a decade. Melish was born in Scotland; he moved to the West Indies in 1798 and then to the United States in 1806. By 1811, he had settled in Philadelphia and published Travels through the United States of America, in the years 1806 & 1807, and 1809, 1810, & 1811, which was richly illustrated with maps.

Melish created several regional maps of the highest quality, as well as the Military & Topographical Atlas of the United States (Philadelphia, 1813, expanded 1815). The latter work is widely considered to be the finest cartographic publication to come out of the War of 1812.

By far his best-known work is his monumental map of the United States of 1816, Map of the United States with the contiguous British and Spanish Possessions. He began working on the map in 1815 and sent it to Thomas Jefferson for comment in 1816. Jefferson enthusiastically reviewed the map and returned it with his edits. Jefferson later hung an example of the map in the Entrance Hall of Monticello and sent it to associates in Europe.

Melish’s finished product was the first map of the United States to extend to the Pacific Ocean. After its publication in 1816, Melish ensured the map was as up-to-date as possible; it was reissued in 25 known states published between 1816 and 1823. The map captured the then rapidly changing geography of the United States, as well as various boundary disputes, treaties, and expansion.