Anburey, Thomas "A View of St. John's upon the River Sorell in Canada, ... in America"

Thomas Anburey.  "A View of St. John's upon the River Sorell in Canada, with the Redoubts, Works &c. Taken in the Year of 1776, during the late War in America." From Thomas Anburey's Travels Through the Interior Parts of America.

London: William Lane, 1789. Engraving. 7 3/4 x 15 3/4. Complete margins; close and remargined at left. Very good condition. Cresswell: 349.  

Thomas Anburey was one of Burgoyne's officers who wrote a memoir that was designed to defend his commanding officer and himself from those critical of the British defeat at Saratoga. Historians have criticized Anburey for copying from the writings of Burgoyne, Smyth, Henley and others, but that was the method of the day. What sets Anburey's work apart from others is the fascinating plates showing encampments and scenes from the British viewpoint during the American Revolution. This print shows St. John's, a settlement strategically located on the Richelieu or Sorell River between Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River. It consisted primarily of fortifications. The British built ships there for use on Lake Champlain. Brig. Gen. Richard Montgomery led an attack on the fort, capturing it in November, 1775, but the British retook St. John's the following year.