An Accurate Map of North and South Carolina With Their Indian Frontiers, Shewing in a distinct manner all the Mountains, Rivers, Swamps, Marshes, Bays, Creek, Harbours, Sandbanks and Soundings on the Coast; With the Roads & Indian Paths; as well as The Boundary or Provincial Lines

The second edition of Henry Mouzon’s landmark Revolutionary War-era map of the Carolinas.

This monumental, four-sheet map represents one of the crowning cartographic achievements of the American South. Originally published in May 1775 by Robert Sayer and John Bennett, this rare second-state example was issued in 1776 following the addition of Fort Sullivan (est. January 1776) to the inset chart of Charleston Harbor, while retaining the original 1775 imprint date. Extending from the Atlantic coastline deep into the Appalachian backcountry, the map provided an unprecedented level of detail at the precise moment the American Revolution erupted. Drawn by South Carolina surveyor and civil engineer Henry Mouzon Jr., a French-educated grandson of a Huguenot immigrant, the map synthesized Mouzon’s personal surveying experience with previous landmarks by John Collet, James Cook, William De Brahm, and manuscript hydrographic charts. Unrivaled for decades, it became the definitive geographic reference for the region throughout the war and into the nineteenth century.

The sheer density of detail across the four sheets justifies the title’s proud declaration that the map was compiled “From Actual Surveys.” Across the settled eastern precincts, Mouzon recorded individual landowners, courthouses, mills, churches, bridges, ferries, and extensive road networks with superior accuracy. For North Carolina, Mouzon inserted Tryon and Pelham (later Sampson) counties for the first time and provided a significantly improved rendering of the Catawba River basin, Kings Mountain, and physical features like the White Oak and Tryon Mountains. Hydrographically, the coastline, Outer Banks, sounds, and shoals are depicted with extraordinary precision, complete with navigational soundings, small engraved ships, and two prominent inset harbor charts of Port Royal and Charleston. The second-state addition of Fort Sullivan, where Colonel William Moultrie’s unfinished palmetto-log fort famously repulsed a British naval attack in June 1776, provides a direct, tangible connection to one of the earliest major American victories of the war.

Moving inland, the map presents a compelling portrait of the Carolina frontier in transition. European settlement thins progressively toward the west, opening into expansive territories identified with the Cherokee and Upper Creek nations. Mouzon added rivers, streams, and Native towns west of the Cherokee Indian boundary line, connecting interior settlements to coastal commercial centers via well-traveled Indian paths. By accurately mapping these mountain passages, rivers, and frontier trails alongside maritime approaches, Mouzon created a comprehensive geographic synthesis of a deeply contested region where colonial expansion, Indian diplomacy, and military maneuvering intersected.

Because of its extraordinary accuracy and up-to-date geography, Mouzon’s map assumed immediate strategic importance as the Revolutionary War shifted into the southern theater. It served as the primary tactical map for armies on both sides of the conflict. Historic examples with illustrious provenance survive today: George Washington’s personal linen-mounted copy is held in the collections of the American Geographical Society; French commander the Comte de Rochambeau’s copy resides in the Library of Congress; and British commander Sir Henry Clinton’s copy is preserved at the University of Michigan’s William L. Clements Library.

This map is co-owned with New World Cartographic.