Surveyors - Key to our independence
“Across two expansive wars and two transformative peace treaties, the surveyors eye changed the image of America in the British Atlantic world.”
– Max Edelson, professor of history at the University of Virginia: “The Surveyor’s Eyes: Mapping Empire in the Era of the American Revolution,” presentation for The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati, University of Virginia April 13, 2023
Rocque, J., Dury, A. & Rocque. (1761) A general map of North America; in which is express'd the several new roads, forts, engagements, &c. taken from actual surveys and observations made in the army employ'd there, from the year , to 1761. [London, M.A. Rocque, ? Retrieved from the Library of Congress
Sauthier, C. J., Ratzer, B. & Faden, W. (1776) A map of the Province of New-York, reduc'd from the large drawing of that Province, compiled from actual surveys by order of His Excellency William Tryon, Esqr., Captain General & Governor of the same, by Claude Joseph Sauthier; to which is added New-Jersey. London, Wm. Faden. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
In the early days of colonial America, surveyors were key to laying out the land that was claimed by the British crown, a process described in this blog. Over time, British surveying changed and the intensity of British mapping of the colonies increased dramatically.
Britian sent teams of surveyors along with military forces to colonial America and the West Indies in the 1750-1770s. These surveyors and map makers produced a steady stream of highly detailed maps, plans and charts.
Instead of showing mere property lines, the surveys and maps began to feature greater detail, rendering coastlines precisely, adding topographical features to maps and outlines of early settlements – down to the cultivated fields.
British military and imperial surveyors originally compiled maps and surveys done by other parties, such as this general map of North America by Rocque; which depicts several roads, forts, engagements, and so on, taken from actual surveys and observations made by the army from the years 1754 to 1761.
Good maps win wars
During the French-Indian War, (1754-1763), detailed maps were key to supporting the conflicting claims of imperial France and Britain over the territory of New England, Ohio and Nova Scotia. This conflict sparked the Crown to drive the growth of surveying and map-making for military applications. Over time, enterprising business people began to publish these maps, including maps depicting the on-going conflict, with notes and illustrations for popular consumption in England. Each new map or atlas had an eager, paying audience. The business was such a phenomenon that in 1756, Samuel Johnson wrote:
“The war now kindled in America has incited us to survey and delineate the immense wastes of the Western continent by stronger motives than mere science or curiosity could have ever supplied.”
These popular maps would soon illustrate Britian’s loss of the American Colonies.
British surveyors and map-makers
A British map-maker and surveyor, Colonel Joshua Fry, collaborated with Peter Jefferson (Thomas Jefferson’s father), to create an early map of Virginia and Maryland first published in 1753. This map was innovative because it depicts the interior accurately, showing mountain ranges and valleys that seemed to invite settlement. Both the British military who wanted to retain control, and landowners who dreamed of vast fortunes studied this map – and called for more.
Fry clearly understood the value of the land he surveyed, and before his death in 1754, he was the owner of a 800-acre plantation in the Piedmont in the colony of Virginia.
Meanwhile, Peter Jefferson (born 1707) also became a substantial property owner. His early education was spotty, but because he was “of a strong mind, sound judgment and eager after information, he read much and improved himself,” according to Thomas Jefferson. Peter acutely felt the disadvantage of a lack of schooling and made sure that his own children benefitted from a good education. Peter’s “extraordinary vigor and remarkable powers of endurance, untiring energy and indomitable courage,” also served him well.
Fry, J., Jefferson, P. & Jefferys, T. (1755) A map of the most inhabited part of Virginia containing the whole province of Maryland: with part of Pensilvania, New Jersey and North Carolina. [London, Thos. Jefferys] Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
Although he inherited properties in Virginia, Jefferson was eager to expand his holdings and by 1735, he had acquired 1000 acres of land, including 200 acres in Piedmont where he built a house for his growing family. He became justice of the peace, a judge of the court of chancery and a lieutenant colonel of the militia in Albermarle County (whose chief surveyor was Joshua Fry). These new duties were cut short when his friend William Randolph died, causing Jefferson to move to Tuckahoe County in Virginia to raise Randolph’s son.
Jefferson became renowned as a surveyor in Tuckahoe and soon Fry and Jefferson were working together. This arduous work included an expedition to draw the Fairfax Line marking the boundary of Lord Fairfax’s 5 million acres of land in Northern Virginia. This treacherous undertaking involved surveying an expanse of the Blue Ridge mountains. According to Jefferson’s great granddaughter, Sarah Randolf, “On this expedition, Colonel Jefferson and his companions had often to defend themselves against the attacks of wild beasts during the day, and at night found but a broken rest, sleeping — as they were obliged to do for safety — in trees. ... Amid all these hardships and difficulties, Jefferson’s courage did not once flag, but living upon raw flesh, or whatever could be found to sustain life, he pressed on and persevered until his task was accomplished.”
Jefferson continued to survey and to grow his land holdings and at the time of his death, his estate was valued at 2,400 £, the largest estate in colonial Albermarle County. More importantly, his son, Thomas, provided militia soldiers for the Continental Army and later became president, creating the Public Land Survey System.
By the time of the Revolutionary War, the British had military-grade maps that featured topographic features in detail. Lowlands, highlands, dykes, irrigation channels, fields, swamps, buildings, fence lines and so on. Military surveys created maps with a resolution of 1 to 2 inches to the mile so that critical details would be accurately depicted. These maps gave officers in back Britian the confidence to plan military campaigns and ship troops over to the Colonies to suppress the revolt.
Sometimes it takes more than great maps to win
Unfortunately for Great Britain, things didn’t go as expected in the American colonies. As well as they understood the topography, the British didn’t understand that they lacked popular support in the colonies. At the start of the war, they expected to raise armies from the colonists, and this did not happen. They underestimated the amount of support France could and would provide to the revolutionaries. They also had difficulty supplying their army, due to the great distances involved and the American’s effective use of guerilla tactics against supply lines. Most important, they failed to capture or disband Washington’s Army.
Surveyors were key to our independence. Washington, Jefferson, and other signers of the Declaration of Independence (Abraham Clark, Roger Sherman, John Morton, Stephen Hopkins, Robert Erskine and Andrew Ellicott) were surveyors before they were revolutionaries.
Berntsen is proud to support surveyors and celebrates the accomplishments of all surveyors in making our country great.
Note: If you are interested in early colonial maps, be sure to view this fantastic presentation by Professor Max Edelson. It’s fascinating!
References:
https://thehistoryjunkie.com/five-main-reasons-the-british-lost-the-revolutionary-war/