The full title, given by Des Barres reads; 'A sketch of the operations of his majesty's fleet and army under the command of Vice Admiral the Rt. Hble. Lord Viscount Howe and Genl. Sr. W. Howe K: B: in 1776' and in it's pomp is an excellent example of Des Barres's eye for a profit.
Although he was working for the Lords of the Admiralty in producing his magnificent collection of charts of the eastern seaboard of north America he was, quite uniquely amongst surveyors, officially allowed to make a profit from sales of his work. As such Des Barres, in this example, includes not only hydrographical information befitting a sea chart but he also supplies military information in the form of a full account of the operations and movements by the army in the campaign to drive the Continental army under George Washington out of New York.
Des Barres was clearly well aware, in 1776 and 1777, as to what would sell to the greater public; the armchair strategists, the politicians and the business elite. It is also significant that this is Des Barres response to the likes of Claude Joseph Sauthier, William Faden and a multitude of other surveyors and map publishers who were also, at the time cashing-in on what was to prove to be the single most successful campaign of the entire war for the British.
As with a good deal of Des Barres work there are questions over the accuracy of the information contained within the map which is hardly surprising as he was compiling the data from the work of others and from three and a half thousand miles away. Des Barres was, first and foremost an artist and he was certainly not above interpretation and artistic license in his work. All of that said, this remains a major and significant work, far superior in many ways to that of the Sauthier Plan.
The map includes a panel of References under the title cartouche. The Alphabetical list makes reference to naval events up and down the Hudson river in 1776. These references, along with the hydrography in New York harbor and up the Hudson were, likely the work of Lieutenant John Hunter. Hunter was one of the Admiralty's most trusted surveyors working as part of the Des Barres team from before the outbreak of the war. He is known to have been aboard Lord Richard Howe's flagship HMS Eagle during 1776.
Hunter's survey of the Hudson may be found in the Heritage Charts collection (A212). As with Hunter's survey, the published Des Barres 'Sketch' includes an inset of References, which tells the story of all of the major places and events from the initial invasion up to and including the battle at Fort Washington. A comparison of the two 'References'; that of Hunter's plan and that of Des Barres' confirms, for the first time, the link between the two documents and the historic significance of Hunters survey.
For a full list of the References, and other comparative material please visit the Heritage Charts 'Logbook'
At the time of publication of this 'sketch' Des Barres also produced a full page list of Military references to compliment those predominately Naval references on the map itself. Those references may be viewed in the Heritage Charts Research Locker article 'Des Barres' Great Folly'
This historic 'sketch' was produced by J. F. W. Des Barres in 1777 whilst in London, making use of surveys made by surveyors working for the Lords of The Board of Trade, and of course the British Admiralty. It is especially significant as it is the first publication released by Des Barres to depict a whole military campaign and move himself from topographic mapping into the politics sphere. The map is inextricably linked to two slightly earlier plans of the New York campaign which Des Barres started and then abandoned in 1776 (see Heritage Charts A215 & A216).
