Map/Chart > New England & Maine

A chart of the harbour of Boston

This is quite simply one of the most important charts of the Revolutionary War. It exemplifies Des Barres attention to detail, showing accurate soundings, lines of pilotage, and the water channels through the sand-banks of the harbour.

Further Information

This is a very rare first state edition of this hugely significant chart of the harbour of Boston, composed from different surveys, but principally from that taken in 1769, by Mr George Callender, late Master of His Majesty's ship Romney, and was originally published in two sections. In all likelihood it is related to the unsigned 'rough' (see Heritage Chart A107) and also to the surveys of Samuel Holland and his team of cartographers working in the area at the time (see Heritage Chart A104). Is unusual that so much detail of land relief and features have been included in a sea chart for published navigational purposes it and even more significant that it includes the disposition of military positions (batteries, 'intrenchments', forts and a 'redout').

In later states of the chart, towns and names such as Dorchester, Cambridge and Roxbury are removed while additional fortifications are drawn-in. It shows buildings, boundaries and roads and it should be noted that soundings are not marked for parts of the harbour which one might expect, such as the entrance to Charles river or north of Charlestown. This is equally true of other entrances and harbours within the bay such as those around Braintree and GermanTown. The chart also depicts the Lighthouse on BrewsterIsland (built 1716 and the first lighthouse in the New World - later destroyed by the Rebels in 1775 and again by the British in March 1776). At the time of drawing Boston was a leading centre of commerce and government for the British throughout the entire North American continent and was at the centre of the political unrest leading up to the revolution. In March 1770 political tension between the Crown and the Colonies had been raised as a result of the ' Boston massacre' in which 5 colonials were shot by British troops. With the imposition of the 'Tea Act' in May 1773 tensions grew further and finally over-spilt with the 'Boston Tea Party' in December of that year. In March 1774 the British Parliament had introduced the 'Coercive Acts' and closed the port, suspending local government in Massachusetts requiring locals to give quarters and supplies to occupying British troops. By the autumn of 1775 Boston was the scene of one of the most gruelling and savage sieges of the War of Independence. With the eventual evacuation by General Howe and his British force in March 1776, it was the scene of the first major victory for the newly formed Continental Army under George Washington. Anyone who looks at a modern day map or chart of BostonHarbour would be hard pressed to recognise it, as land-fill has completely changed the face of the city. Boston 'neck' as depicted in this chart is now one large suburb and Dorchester Neck, now incorporating Castle Island (Castle William), is practically joined to the main city. Noodle Island is now extended to incorporate Logan International airport and to the West the River Charles has shrunk to a bridge width over to Cambridge. What makes a chart such as this relevant to modern day Boston, beyond just the historical interest, is that it clearly and accurately depicts the multitude of waterways upon which the environs of the modern city are built and which, to this day, cause planners and engineers difficulties in maintaining a modern day city.