Post-Revolutionary War to Civil War
First Edition: "A Panoramic View From Bunker Hill Monument. Engraved by James Smillie, Boston: 1848"
1848-Dated, First Edition Booklet, Entitled "A Panoramic View From Bunker Hill Monument. Engraved by James Smillie from a Drawing by R.P. Mallory.", includes the huge 48" x 9" Pull-out Panoramic View, Published by Redding & Co., Boston, Fine.
This First Edition Booklet titled, "A Panoramic View From Bunker Hill Monument, Engraved by James Smillie, from a Drawing by R.P. Mallory." measures about 7.25" x 9.25", with 16 pages. Binding is somewhat loose, toning, scattered foxing and moderate staining to the original cover boards. Published by Redding & Co., Boston. Includes the 48" x 9" pull-out panoramic view sheet. A very scarce historic booklet with a central image of the Bunker Hill Monument on the cover. Fine mid-19th century antique panoramic view. 160 specific different landmarks are identified within the key across the bottom. In 1823, a group of prominent citizens formed the Bunker Hill Monument Association to construct a more permanent and significant monument to commemorate the famous battle.
Fifty years after the battle, the Marquis De Lafayette set the cornerstone of what would become a lasting monument and tribute to the memory of the Battle of Bunker Hill. The monument was finally completed in 1842. It was dedicated on June 17, 1843 in a major national ceremony. A statue to Dr. Joseph Warren was commissioned in the 1850s to pay particular respects to his sacrifice at the battle. Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers, v. [V159].
On June 17, 1775, New England soldiers faced the British army for the first time in a pitched battle. Popularly known as "The Battle of Bunker Hill," bloody fighting took place throughout a hilly landscape of fenced pastures that were situated across the Charles River from Boston.
Though the British forces claimed the field, the casualties inflicted by the Provincial solders from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire were staggering. Of the some 2,400 British Soldiers and Marines engaged, some 1,000 were wounded or killed.
Fifty years after the battle, the Marquis De Lafayette set the cornerstone of what would become a lasting monument and tribute to the memory of the Battle of Bunker Hill.
The project was ambitious: construct a 221-foot tall obelisk built entirely from quarried granite. It took over seventeen years to complete, but it still stands to this day atop a prominence of the battlefield now known as Breed's Hill.
Marking the site where Provincial forces constructed an earthen fort, or "Redoubt," prior to the battle, this site remains the focal point of the battle's memory.
The first monument on the site was an 18-foot wooden pillar with a gilt urn erected in 1794 by King Solomon's Lodge of Masons to honor fallen Patriot and Freemason, Dr. Joseph Warren. In 1823, a group of prominent citizens formed the Bunker Hill Monument Association to construct a more permanent and significant monument to commemorate the famous battle. The project was a major undertaking. So much so, that the Monument Association ran out of funds and was forced to halt construction twice.
Much of the land surrounding the square where the Monument stands today had to be sold off as housing lots to help fund the monument. Fairs, performing arts events, and fundraising drives were also organized to help complete the monument. Many of these events were organized by women in the Boston area.
The monument was finally completed in 1842. It was dedicated on June 17, 1843 in a major national ceremony. A statue to Dr. Joseph Warren was commissioned in the 1850s to pay particular respects to his sacrifice at the battle. The statue was initially housed in a temporary structure, but by 1901/2 the Monument Association constructed a permanent granite lodge to house the statue of Warren.
KEYWORDS:
Boston History, Charlestown, Revolutionary War, Historic Artwork, Engravings, Militia, Military, American military history, United States War Heritage, American Troops, Military Battles, United States History, Continental Army, George Washington, Joseph Warren, Israel Putnam