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Subject: Re: The Mapmakers--I need more!
From: Brian Whatcott (betwys@XXX.XXX)
Date: Thu Dec 12 2002 - 20:43:15 EST
At 08:51 AM 12/12/02, Jared Sherman, you wrote:
>Trevor-
> <I need a better explanation of why Admiralty chose to survey such
>distant waters when they did,>
> An Admiralty historian might very well have access to the letters
> authorizing the surveys and explaining them.
>
>But considering the great amount of military action in the colonies in
>those times, the actions which drove the Dutch out of New York, and the
>obvious need to protect the new colonies from France and the Indian wars
>(not to mention the insurrection of 1776), it would not require a crystal
>ball for the Admiralty to foresee the need for good charts in those areas.
>
>British warships were doing plenty of action in the Colonies, one can only
>imagine that at some point the Admiralty said "Damnit, we're going to have
>those waters charted if we're going to keep sailing there." As you point
>out, in their home waters they would at least have local knowledge
>available, and the chance of rescue rather than shipwreck in a hostile
>foreign land.
When I visited West Point, I was struck by the great beauty and the obvious
defensive virtues of this point on the River, where chains were stretched
to guard against the possibility of a British advance along that route,
which was seen as a serious threat.
If I recall, some defensive works were dredged from that location quite
recently.
Sink Navy!
Brian Whatcott
Altus OK Eureka!
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