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Map of the Siege of Yorktown

1781, October

This map celebrates the triumph of the allied Continental and French forces over the British Army at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781. German-born Continental artillery officer Sebastian Bauman served at the siege and created this map from his surveys of the battlefield taken three days after the British Army’s surrender. The yellow rectangles plot the positions of the French troops, while the blue rectangles show the positions of the Continental Army during the siege. Bauman included the location of General Washington’s headquarters just above the text describing the map. Engraved and published in Philadelphia in 1782, Bauman distributed copies of this map to fellow army officers to show off his skills and celebrate the victory.

Details

Item/Title: Map of the Siege of Yorktown
Maker: Drawn by Sebastian Bauman; Engraved by Robert Scot
Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date: 1782
Credit: Museum of the American Revolution, Gift of the Landenberger Family Foundation (founded by Bill Landenberger) and The Acorn Foundation Fund for History in Memory of Alexander Orr Vietor (David B. Vietor, Richard R. Vietor, Louise V. Oliver, Pauline V. Sheehan, Alexander W. Vietor, and Martha V. Glass, trustees), 2019.08.01
Type: Manuscripts and Printed Works