With Important Maps of the American Revolution
A very nice example of the French edition of this very uncommon Revolutionary War book by David Ramsay, complete with all five folding maps. During the war, the British made one last major effort in 1780-81, invading South Carolina (and remote Georgia) in the hopes of rallying enough Loyalists to break off the southern states. Realizing they had failed, the British moved their army to Yorktown, Virginia where, after succumbing to Washington and his army along with the French army, the opposing sides met to draft the Articles of Capitulation surrendering York and Gloucester to the victorious Continental Army.
Ramsay conceived the idea of writing the book while a British prisoner in Saint Augustine, Florida, in 1780 and 1781. David Ramsay was one of the first major historians of the American Revolution, where he participated as a field commander and surgeon. He was twice elected to the Continental Congress from South Carolina.
The work includes:
- (Battle of Yorktown) Plan du Siege d'York et de Gloucester par les Armees Alliees en Septembre et Octobre 1781 (7.8 x 8.4"). This map shows fine details of what was the last major battle. It depicts the positions of the forces involved, including a key to the precise positioning of British warships. Headquarters of the principals are located, including those of Washington, La Fayette, Rochambeau, and Clinton.
- (Theater of War in South Carolina) Caroline Meridionale, avec les Parties Adjacentes, pour Servir a l'Intelligence des Mouvemens des Armees Americaines et Britanniques (16.3 x 14.3"). It shows the major rivers and streams but little other topographical information. The map instead focuses on the military action of the war with various battles, advances, routes, and retreats noted by means of dotted lines. In the west is a boundary marked Anciennes Limites des Cherokees, and further west another boundary isolates a couple of Villes basses des Cherokees.
- (Battle of Sullivan's Island) Plan de la Situation et des Stations des Vaisseaux Britanniques... (6.3 x 11.5")
- (Siege of Charleston) Equisse des Operations du Siege de Charleston...(11 x 13.8")
- (Charleston Harbor Showing British Fleet under the Command of Vice Adm. Mariot Arbuthinot) Plan du Havre de Charleston, Montrant la Disposition de la Flotte Britannique, Commandée par le Vice-Amiral Marie Arbuthnot, a l'attaque du Fort Moultrie dans l'Isle Sullivan, en 1780 (11.3 x 6.3").