Rhode Island and Connecticut
DraftsmanDrawn by
Harding Harris
(American, active 1795 - 1796)
PrintmakerEngraved by
Samuel Hill
(American, active 1789 - 1803)
PublisherPublished by
Thomas & Andrews
(American, active 1793 - 1814)
Date1796?
MediumEngraving; black printer's ink on laid paper
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 7 1/2 x 12 3/4in. (19.1 x 32.4cm)
Platemark (height only): 8in. (20.3cm)
Sheet (height x width): 8 3/8 x 14in. (21.3 x 35.6cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of the late Helen E. Smith
Object number1926.32.1
DescriptionMap of Connecticut and Rhode Island, not showing any part of Massachusetts to the north. The portion of Massachusetts that borders Rhode Island is shown as blank space. The Long Island Sound completes the southern border, with part of New York shown to the west. Connecticut and Rhode Island are divided into counties and towns, which are labeled. Physical features include elevation, depicted with clusters of peaks or hachure marks, rivers, ponds, and swamps.
Label TextWith the passage of the United States Constitution in 1789, the federal government became much more powerful than it had been under the Articles of Confederation. Despite widespead fears of a standing army, the new government soon created both a regular army and a regular navy of professional soldiers and sailors. The state militias still retained great power, however. Somebody used this map from Jedediah Morse's American Universal Geography to show the towns that made up Connecticut's thirty-five militia regiments at the turn of the eighteenth century. Since all free able-bodied white male over eighteen and under forty-five years old were required to serve in the militia, this meant that an extraordinary number of citizen soldiers were trained and ready to come to the defense of the state.
NotesCartographic Note: Scale: About 3/4 inch equals 10 milesStatus
Not on view
