Rare map of the Southern United States from the rare first edition of Melish's Military & Topographical Atlas of the United States, engraved by Henry Tanner.
Includes towns, roads, distances, Indian settlements, French encampments in Missouri Territory, Spanish Cantonments, Indian Boundaries in Illinois & Indiana Territories, and other nice details. The is reminiscent of Melish's large US map of 1816.
The map shows Mississippi Territory, prior to the creation of Alabama Territory, along with East Florid and West Florida, which would not become part of the US until the Adams Onis Treaty in 1819.
Another interesting feature of the map are the notes in the Gulf Stream, which include the speed of the current in different places.
Melish produced the first edition of this atlas during the War of 1812. While it was issued again in 1815 with additional maps, this version is the only true war edition.
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.