Highly detailed map centered on New Jersey, depicting one of the main theaters of the American Revolutionary War.
The present map was published in the Universal Magazine in June 1777, in order to inform the British public about events of the ongoing war in America. In September 1776, the British seized New York City, following a massive amphibious landing. Washington's American forces were then driven north to White Plains where it is labelled "American Winter Quarters" on the map. The Americans were subsequently forced to retreat into New Jersey, whereupon Washington, following his famous 'Crossing of the Delaware', scored a stunning victory over the British at Trenton, New Jersey, on Christmas, 1776. When this map was issued in June 1777, an uneasy stalemate ensued between the two armies. This all came to an end when the British mounted their invasion of Philadelphia in the late summer of 1777, such that the depiction of the entire New York-Philadelphia corridor as seen on this map would have been of great interest to the contemporary public.
One will also notice the various proposed boundary lines on the map pursuant to the New Jersey-New York border dispute which was settled on the northern line by a Royal Commission in 1769. The line running through the center of New Jersey refers to the boundary line separating the archaic proprietary colonies of East and West Jersey.