This large extremely
rare original antique map of St Helena Island is
special. Special not just because of its rarity but also
because the survey of the Island to construct this map,
were undertaken by George Thomas onboard HMS
Northumberland in 1815.
The Northumberland, under the command of Rear Admiral
Sir George Cockburn, was responsible for transporting
Napoleon to the Island after his defeat at the battle of
Waterloo. And so the surveys would have been carried out
by Thomas, after delivering Napoleon to the Island and
would have been used by the Royal Navy as intelligence
in case of a rescue or kidnap attempt on Napoleon.
I have been able to locate only one other copy of the
map in the
Bibliothèque nationale de France.
The map has extensive depth soundings as well as coastal
navigation points with text on both the Barn & Sperry
Ledge and remarks on sunken rocks off Mundens Point and
James Town.
The map was published by John Horsburgh Hydrographer to
the East India Company on January 1st 1817.
Admiral
of the Fleet
Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet
(22
April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a
Royal Navy
officer. As
a
captain
he was present at the
battle of Cape St Vincent
in February 1797 during the
French Revolutionary Wars
and commanded the naval support at the
reduction of Martinique
in February 1809 during the
Napoleonic Wars.
He also directed the capture and
burning of Washington
on 24 August 1814 as an advisor to Major General
Robert Ross
during the
War of 1812.
He went on to be
First Naval Lord
and in that capacity sought to improve the
standards of gunnery in the fleet, forming a
gunnery school
at
Portsmouth;
later he ensured that the Navy had latest steam and
screw technology and put emphasis of the ability to
manage seamen without the need to resort to physical
punishment.
In August 1815 Cockburn was given the job of conveying
Napoleon Bonaparte
in the third-rate
HMS
Northumberland
to
Saint Helena:
Cockburn remained there for some months as
governor
of the island and Commander-in-Chief of the
Cape of Good Hope Station.
He was advanced to
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the
Bath
on 20 February 1818,
and having been promoted to
vice-admiral
on 12 August 1819,
he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
on 21 December 1820
HMS
Northumberland
was a 74-gun
third rate
ship of the line
of the
Royal Navy, built at the yards of Barnard,
Deptford
and launched on 2 February 1798.
Northumberland
participated in the
Battle of San Domingo, where she was damaged, and
suffered 21 killed and 74 wounded, the highest
casualties of any British ship in the battle.
On November 22, 1810,
Northumberland, while in the company of
HMS
Armada, a 74-gun
third rate, captured the 14-gun French
privateerketch
La Glaneuse.
She received a measure of fame when she transported
Napoleon I
into captivity on the Island of
Saint Helena. Napoleon had surrendered to
Captain Frederick Maitland
of HMS
Bellerophon, on 15 July 1815 and was then
transported to Plymouth.
Napoleon was transferred from the
Bellerophon
to the
Northumberland
for his final voyage to St. Helena because
concerns were expressed about the suitability of the
ageing ship. HMS
Northumberland
was therefore selected instead.
(Ref: M&B;
Tooley)
General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy & stable
Paper color: - White
Age of map color: -
Colors used: -
General color appearance: -
Paper size: - 27in x 26in
(685mm x 660mm)
Plate size: - 25 1/2in
x 25in (650mm x 635mm)
Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - None
Verso: - None
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