Seat of War in the Environs of Philadelphia, from the London Magazine

December 1777

Not on view

London periodicals regularly reported on the American Revolutionary War (1775-81) and this map describes the area around the Delaware River and Philadelphia, between Trenton to Lancaster, where the British campaigned in 1777 to take the seat of American government. When the British general William Howe failed to draw American forces under George Washington into battle in northern New Jersey, British troops sailed down the Chesapeake and advanced on Philadelphia from the south. Washington's attempts at defence ended in an American defeat at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777 after which Howe occupied Philadelphia and Washington retreated west of the city to Valley Forge for the winter.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Seat of War in the Environs of Philadelphia, from the London Magazine
Engraver: Thomas Kitchin (British, Southwark 1719–1784 St. Albans)
Printer: Robert Baldwin, London
Date: December 1777
Medium: Etching and engraving
Dimensions: Image: 7 3/8 × 9 13/16 in. (18.7 × 24.9 cm)
Sheet (clipped impression): 7 7/8 × 10 1/2 in. (20 × 26.7 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Charles Allen Munn, 1924
Object Number: 24.90.1293
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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