Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map of the United States.

Very good. Full professional restoration including fresh linen backing. Even overall toning. Can be reattached to original rollers upon request. Size 55.75 x 69.75 Inches. This is a rare 1844 edition of S. A. Mitchell and J. H. Young's important large-scale wall map of the United States and the only edition to include both the short-lived Republic of Texas and the even more ephemeral Florida Leigh Read County. A Closer Look Like most maps of the United States predating the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1847), this map covers from the Sabine River to the Atlantic and from the Great Lakes to Florida. There are multiple insets, two of which are of particular note. The largest is a map of the United States with a prominent Republic of Texas exhibiting the pre-1846 borders. To the left, a large inset Florida includes Leigh Read County - an ephemeral county division that never formally materialized (see below). The map also illustrates the 54°40' dispute over U.S. claims in modern-day British Columbia. Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas was a short-lived nation established in March 1836 when it seceded from Mexico. Following the independence of Mexico from Spain, the American Stephen Fuller Austin led a group of 300 Empresarios to settle Texas, near Austin, where they received a grant from the Mexican government. As more Americans moved to Texas, resentment and strife began to build between the American settlers and Mexican authorities. This and other factors ultimately led to the Texan Revolution in 1835 and the declaration of Texan independence in 1836. Texas remained an independent republic until it joined the United States ten years later in 1846. Texas Borders The borders of the Republic of Texas were in dispute from the earliest days of the Texan Revolution. The Republic-claimed borders followed the Treaties of Velasco between the newly created Texas Republic and Mexican leader Antonio López de Santa Anna. The treaties established an eastern boundary following the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty between the United States and Spain, which established the Sabine River as the eastern boundary of Spanish Texas and the western boundary of the Missouri Territory. The Republic's southern and western boundary with Mexico was more nuanced. Texas claimed the Rio Grande del Norte as its western and southernmost border, while Mexico argued for a boundary much further east at the Nueces River. When Texas was annexed into the United States, the agreement followed the Republic-claimed boundary, thus absorbing Mexican-claimed territory as far west as Santa Fe. This escalated already existing tensions between the United States, the former Republic of Texas, and Mexico, ultimately triggering the Mexican-American War (1846 -1848). Leigh Read County, Florida Leigh Read was born in Tennessee, served as a militia general during the Second Seminole War (1835 - 1842), and was a delegate to the Convention of 1837 lobbying for Florida statehood. Read and fellow Florida Democrats passed a constitutional amendment to prohibit the sale of bonds by the territorial government. The bill garnered Read a host of enemies who would have profited from the bond sales, among them former friend Augustus Alston. In retribution, Alston challenged Read to a duel, a method frequently used by Florida Whigs to dominate territorial politics. Read initially refused the challenge but, after being ridiculed as a coward, agreed. As the challenged, Read selected the weapon, Yager Rifles, and a site in Georgia (to avoid Florida's dueling ban). Alston, a confident and experienced dueler, told his wife to have a sumptuous dinner ready on his return. On a chilly morning in December 1839, Alston and Read faced off. The dueling protocol called for each to take four steps, turn, and fire. As Read and Alston separated, Alston stumbled and misfired. Read, on the other hand, calmly took aim at Alston's chest and fired, killing him instantly. Alston's sister, it is said, dug the bloody slug.…