Founding Memories

Maps helped define, plan, and memorialize the American Revolution while it happened.

The Colonies Reduced
Political cartoons were an increasingly common way to lodge protests and grievances in the era leading up to the Revolution. This pair of political cartoons is attributed to Benjamin Franklin, and were published in 1768 while he was acting as Pennsylvania’s colonial agent in London.
A Map of the most Inhabited part of New England…
Maps of the surrounding areas of American Rebellion were vital to British planning efforts.
The British Colonies in North America
The British public was only ever interested in maps of the colonies when there was a war going on. With the start of the American Revolution, London publishers quickly reprinted maps issued during the Seven Years’ War.
The First Draft of History
1. Journals of Reverend Thomas Smith and Private James Melvin
  Primary sources are where historians first look when investigating the past. Journals can provide firsthand accounts and remembrances from people who witnessed the events that they are studying. These two journals shed light on how we remember two events in Maine’s experience of the American Revolution.
2. Pamphlets published during the War
  Pamphlets were published that purported to tell the history of the war, even as it was raging throughout the country.

Contemporary Mapping