Gallery: Rare, Remarkable Maps Trace America's Path to Independence
01Eagle1833
Published in a children’s geography book in 1833, this map uses a majestic eagle as a symbol of the young nation. The text, however, hints at the discord that would lead to the Civil War, likening any future secession of states to tearing the eagle apart. *Image: Library of Congress*
02Mitchell1755
This 1755 map of North America depicts British colonial ambitions for the continent, with claims reaching west to the Mississippi River and beyond. It conveniently ignores French claims in the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. *Image: Library of Congress*
03Franklin1768
As Deputy Postmaster General for the American colonies, Benjamin Franklin wondered why mail ships sailing west from London to New York took longer to arrive than ships sailing in the opposite direction. He published this map, the first to show the Gulf Stream current, around 1768. *Image: Library of Congress*
04franklin-crop
A close up of Franklin’s Gulf Stream map. The Library’s copy is one of three known surviving copies. *Image: Library of Congress*
05Bowles1774
This 1774 map depicts the legitimate colonial boundaries decreed by the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which marked the official end of the French and Indian War. *Image: Library of Congress*
06bunkerhill2-close-1775
The battle of Bunker Hill, just west of Boston, on June 17, 1775 was the first significant engagement between British and Colonial forces. The British won the battle but sustained heavy losses and withdrew their forces from Boston nine months later. *Image: Library of Congress*
07bunkerhill1775
This map, printed in London, depicts colonial militias (the little dark spots along some roads) rushing to defend Boston in June, 1775. *Image: Library of Congress*
08bunkerhill1775-crop
In this close up of the previous map, American and English forces face off at Bunker Hill (top). *Image: Library of Congress*
09Trenton1776
This map, produced by a Hessian military engineer (the Hessians, remember, were in cahoots with the British), depicts Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River and his successful attack on Trenton on December 26, 1776, an early turning point in the war. *Image: Library of Congress*
10princeton1776-crop
This map of Princeton, New Jersey was drawn by a spy for the Continental Army. Washington used this map, which depicts British troop positions and fortifications, in planning his successful attack on January 3, 1777&emdash;just four days after the map was delivered to him. *Image: Library of Congress*
11princeton-close
A close up of the spy map of Princeton. The dark lines in the middle of the large road running top to bottom are cannons; the dots show which direction they fired. *Image: Library of Congress*
12washington1776
This map of the battles at Trenton and Princeton was published in London nearly four months later, in April 1777. It depicts eight days of fighting, and it would have been sold as a newssheet. *Image: Library of Congress*
13Virginia1781
This pictorial map shows the French naval blockade of the Chesapeake Bay and the naval battle off and the coast of Virginia that led to the British surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. *Image: Library of Congress*
14buell-enlarge
The first map of the newly independent United States printed in America by an American. Abel Buell, a Connecticut engraver, produced this map in March 1784, just six months after the official end of the Revolutionary War. *Image: Library of Congress*
15paristreaty1784
A Philadelphia mapmaker, William McMurray, began raising money for this map in 1783, but it was slow going and Abel Buell (previous map) beat him to it. In addition to the 13 states, it shows 10 unnamed states northwest of the Ohio River. *Image: Library of Congress*
16Jefferson1787
The only map ever published by Thomas Jefferson, this map appears as a fold-out illustration in a 1787 edition of his book, *Notes on the State of Virginia*. *Image: Library of Congress*
17Railroad1876
Published in 1875 to commemorate the country’s centennial anniversary, this map incorporates illustrations of George Washington, the U.S. Capitol, and the Declaration of Independence. *Image: Library of Congress*
181876-crop
The cartouche, or title block, of the previous 1876 map depicts the American Republic rolling westward by train, an optimistic vision for the nation just a decade past its bloody Civil War. *Image: Library of Congress*
