Map of the Environs of Boston. Drawn at Boston in June 1775. / The Remembrancer, or Impartial Repository of Public Events.

Good. 257 pages plus 3 pages of index. Original binding, worn but intact. Octavo. Map of Boston tipped into book opposite title page. Size 7.5 x 10 Inches. This is the scarce 1775 first volume of John Almon's The Remembrancer , which includes one of the earliest published maps of Boston following the Battle of Bunker Hill. Almon, who was a well-connected and informed reporter on the British Parliament, placed himself in danger of being fined or imprisoned by responding to public interest in events in America and publishing this work. A Closer Look This 'Map of the Environs of Boston' presents the Shawmut Peninsula barely connected with the mainland of Massachusetts across the 'Boston Neck,' a strategic chokepoint. Surrounding towns (Dorchester, Cambridge, Charlestown), islands, forts, fortifications, and other features are noted, with a focus on the camps, positions, ships, and floating batteries of British soldiers and sailors. The 'Provincial' (Colonial) headquarters in Cambridge (soon to be occupied by Gen. George Washington), appears at left. The book itself consists mostly of excerpts from newspapers and periodicals from the preceding months providing background on the increasing tensions between Great Britain and the North American colonists. Almon's preface (advertisement), signed two days before the Battle of Bunker Hill, correctly predicted 'Many events are expected during the Summer,' the reports on which would then be compiled for the next volume of The Remembrancer . Aside from the map, the book is an extraordinary historical reference, tracing the breakdown in relations between Britain and her colonists, leading to tension, violence, and ultimately outright war. Importance of Almon's Map Almon appears to have prepared this map himself, cobbling together information from existing maps, perhaps copies of manuscript maps made by British military surveyors in Boston, and accounts of the recent events in Boston that made it back to Britain. Given his proximity to parliamentarians, Almon would have had access to privileged information available to few others. In a fit of Bostonian pride, 19th-century historians such as Justin Winsor and Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff (also a Mayor of Boston) tended to scorn this map for its geographical inaccuracies, but there can be no doubt that it satisfied intense public interest in Britain about events in the American colonies, and was among the first maps of Boston to be published after the Battle of Bunker Hill (the Gentleman's Magazine published 'A Map of 100 Miles round Boston' in June 1775 refers to the position of troops, but it was, like Almon's, prepared before the battle took place, while Isaac de Costa's 'A Plan of the Town and Harbour of Boston and the Country adjacent' was published on July 29, and Sayer and Bennett's 'The Seat of War, In New England by an American Volunteer' is dated September 2, within a week of Almon's publication). Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, was one of the earliest and most important battles of the American Revolutionary War. Although identified as 'Bunker Hill', the actual battle was on Breed's Hill nearby. British forces quartered in Boston, which was then a peninsula, were easily contained by Colonial forces controlling a few chokepoints and high points in the surrounding hills. Bunker and Breed's Hills were fortified by Colonials when reconnaissance discovered that British forces were about launch an offensive against the surrounding hills - thus securing Boston. The overconfident British sailed across the Charles River in a direct assault on the well-fortified positions. Although more numerous, better trained, and better equipped, the British forces were thrown back twice before ultimately taking the defensive fortifications on Breed's Hill, earning a pyrrhic victory with over 1,000 casualties versus less than half that number for the Colonials. Moreover, many of the British casualties were officers and co.…