{"id":18593,"date":"2018-03-06T17:38:10","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T22:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mapofthemonth.com\/site\/?p=18593"},"modified":"2018-03-06T17:38:10","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T22:38:10","slug":"first-usa-map-printed-american-rogue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mapofthemonth.com\/site\/first-usa-map-printed-american-rogue\/","title":{"rendered":"First USA map, authored by an American Rogue"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first American-made map has a curious history. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The man who created it was not a cartographer!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The year 1784 was the official end of the American revolution. \u00a0The signing of the Treaty of Paris made the USA a new nation.<\/p>\n

In March of that same year, a Connecticut man made history. \u00a0Abel Buell was an engraver and created the first US made map of the emerging nation. \u00a0It was the first map to feature the American flag. \u00a0 However, the map was not cartographically correct. \u00a0Many of the state borders shown were still up in the air, not official. \u00a0The boundaries reflect some of the current day charters, as well as lines that were recognized in the colonies. \u00a0It was more of a curiosity than a map known for accuracy!<\/p>\n

Today there are only 7 known copies of this copyrighted map in existence! \u00a0In 2010, one of these maps sold at auction. \u00a0The price was a phenomenal $2,098,500!<\/span><\/p>\n

The map title was long and complex!<\/h3>\n

A New and Correct Map of the United States of North America Layd Down from the Latest Observations and Best Authorities Agreeable to the Peace of 1783. \u00a0<\/em>Humbly Inscribed to his Excellency the Governor and Company of the State of Connecticut By their Most Obedient and Very Humble Servant Abel Buell. New Haven: Abel Buell, 1784.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our United Stated Library of Congress owns a copy. \u00a0A copy owned by the British Museum was purchased in 1891. \u00a0This receipt below shows that along with it, some sea charts were bought at the same time\u00a0(image courtesy of the British Museum):<\/em>\u00a0click on the image to see it larger!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Abel Buell, American Rogue<\/h2>\n

Abel Buell apprenticed with a goldsmith as a young man, learning engraving too. \u00a0As a young man, before designing his map, he came up with a counterfeiting scheme to alter currency plates. \u00a0 He altered the plates for five-pound notes to make bills of a higher amount. Then he printed them and they went into circulation. \u00a0Neighbors became suspicious of Buell\u2019s late night activities. \u00a0One \u00a0caught him printing his fake money on a homemade press.<\/p>\n

Counterfeiting was a very serious charge, both in the colonies and the the newly established country. \u00a0Many engraved bills stated that “To Counterfeit is Death”. \u00a0This four shilling note shows the warning, as did other bills of the time.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Punishment was harsh for the young Buell. \u00a0It \u00a0included having his forehead branded with the letter \u201cC,\u201d and having part of his ear chopped off. \u00a0He also served a jail sentence.<\/p>\n

An historian of the period wrote about the punishment:<\/p>\n

‘The tip only of Buell’s ear was cropped off: it was held on his tongue to keep it warm till it was put on the ear again, where it grew on. He was branded on the forehead as high up as possible. This was usually done by a hot iron in the form of a letter designating the crime, which was held on the forehead of the criminal till he could say the words “God save the king.”<\/em>‘<\/p>\n

Buell’s later years<\/h2>\n

Buell was a man of many skills, a jack-of-all trades. \u00a0He continued to work as an engraver. \u00a0And he was known to be an inventor of minting machine that made coins for his native state of Connecticut. \u00a0He was credited with creating one of the earliest cotton mills in the US.<\/p>\n

As his most famous accomplishment, he produced the first American printed map of the USA. \u00a0Unfortunately, despite his many talents, Buell was not a financial success and ended his days in an alms house. \u00a0 A sad end for this American rogue.<\/p>\n

Classroom map of this period in time<\/h2>\n

A map of the original Thirteen Colonies is useful for early American history studies. \u00a0Students see the boundaries of the colonial years. \u00a0They \u00a0can also recognize what was happening around Buell’s time. \u00a0See one HERE<\/a> that might prove useful in your classroom!\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first American-made map has a curious history. \u00a0 \u00a0 The man who created it was not a cartographer! The year 1784 was the official end of the American revolution. \u00a0The signing of the Treaty of Paris made the USA a new nation. In March of that same year, a Connecticut man made history. \u00a0Abel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4988,"featured_media":18595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[203],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-geography-blog","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst USA map, authored by an American Rogue - Maps for the Classroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The first map to be printed of the USA, in 1784, was made by a Connecticut rogue, a convicted counterfeiter!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mapofthemonth.com\/site\/first-usa-map-printed-american-rogue\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First USA map, authored by an American Rogue - 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