THE HARBOUR OF CHARLES TOWN, SOUTH CAROLINA, 1776

Published by J F W Des Barres

This reproduction is taken from an original document, held within the Archives of the UK Hydrographic Office, Taunton, Somerset.

In the 1770's J F W Des Barres, a Swiss serving with the British Army in North America, was supervising a number of surveyors working along the east Atlantic coast. The results of these surveys were published in 'The Atlantic Neptune', a superb series of charts and views, which was destined to serve as the primary source for most North American charts for 50 years after the birth of the United States.

Des Barres published work reflects the high quality of copper engraving then being achieved in England. Many editions of `The Atlantic Neptune' were published after the War of Independence, and it has come to be regarded as a work of art as well as a benchmark for cartographic excellence.

This chart was based on the careful survey of Captain Sir James Wallace RN in 1776. The town of Charleston was considered to be the strategic capital of the South and in 1780 it was besieged by the British for two months before it capitulated. The inset view shows Broughton's Battery at the fortified tip of the Charleston peninsula, seen from the James River.