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The Battle of Rhode Island was the only battle in New England to occur between the Continental army and the British army.
Fought to dislodge the 7,000 British, Hessian, and provincial troops from their entrenched position in Newport during the month of August, the siege of Rhode Island culminated in the night of August 28, 1778, when the American army retreated from Aquidneck Island--it being the end of the month with militia enlistment expiring and British reinforcement known to be on the way from New York.
The scene depicted in this etching shows the encampments of the American and British troops on Butt's, Quaker, and Turkey Hills at the northern end of the island, in present-day Portsmouth. The British staged an attack on the American position on Butt's Hill but were repulsed by the Americans.
The Gentleman’s Magazine was a British publication that helped to normalize the use of maps in support of articles and features. It was founded in 1731 by the prominent London publisher Edward Cave, a pioneer in periodical journalism. The magazine continued in print for nearly two centuries, shuttering production in 1922.
This was the publication which first used the word “magazine”, from the French for storehouse. Cave wanted to create a storehouse of knowledge and he employed some of London’s best writers to fill his pages: Samuel Johnson gained his first regular employment by writing for the Gentleman’s Magazine. Other famous contributors included Jonathan Swift.
The publication covered a broad range of topics, from literature to politics, and, from 1739, frequently used maps as illustrations. The first map they printed was a woodcut of Crimea; the second was a fold-out map of Ukraine by Emanuel Bowen. Maps were used to show battle lines, to chronicle voyages, and to educate about areas with which Britain traded. Certain geographers, like Thomas Jefferys, contributed several maps to the publication.
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