An important large-format map of the Mississippi River

ROSS, John.

Course of the River Mississippi from the Balise to Fort Chartres; Taken on an Expedition to the Illinois, in the latter end of the Year 1765 by Lieu.t Ross of the 34th Regiment; Improved from the Surveys of that River made by the French.
London: Robert Sayer, 1775. Original colour. Two sheets conjoined, total 1130 x 360mm.

The first British map of the Mississippi drawn by John Ross (1744-1809) in 1765, a survey of the route taken by the 34th Regiment of Foot from West Florida to Fort de Chartres in southern Illinois. There the regiment was to replace a French garrison, the last still active after France's loss of Canada in the Seven Years' War.
Ross's map details the eastern bank of the Mississippi well, paying less atention to the far bank, which was Spanish territory. He marks the locations of Indian villages and French fortifications, including those destroyed in wars; the quality of the land; and obstacles to navigation in the river.
First published by Sayer in 1772, this edition was issued just prior to the American War of Independence and so was utilised by both sides in that conflict.
After serving with the King's Royal Regiment of New York during the war, Ross was assigned to help Loyalist resettle in Canada, taking men from the regiment with him. His renovation of the French Fort Frontenac is regarded as vital to the establishment of Kingston, Ontario. He retired from the army in 1789 but returned for the Napoleonic Wars; serving as a lieutenant-colonel in the Coldstream Guards, he was killed at the Battle of Talavera in Spain in 1809. A near mint condition example.


Stock ID : 21903