Scarce map of the Rhode Island and contiguous parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Long Island, Block Island, Martha's Vineyard, etc.
The map illustrates Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot's blockade of Narragansett, Rhode Island, shortly after the arrival of Admiral Charles-Henri-Louis d'Arsac de Ternay, who had been tasked with landing the French army under the command of Comte de Rochambeau in Newport in July 1780. The British managed to blockade the French for a year, with Rochambeau remaining in Newport in support of the French Fleet, before marching to join General Washington on the Hudson River at Mount Kisco in 1780.
Mariot Arbuthnot served as Naval Commissioner in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from 1775 to 1778 and as Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia from 1776 to 1778. He was appointed Vice Admiral of the Blue on March 19, 1779 and later became Commander in Chief of the North American Station.