History of the Revolution of South Carolina

Date1785

Primary Author David Ramsay (1749 - 1815)

Engraver Thomas Abernethie (fl. 1785 - 1795)

Printer Isaac Collins (1746 - 1817)

OriginAmerica, New Jersey, Trenton

MediumTwo volumes. Marbled board with leather corners and spine.

DimensionsA: OH: 8 3/4" x OW: 5 7/8" x OD: 1 1/2" B: OH: 8 3/4" x OW: 5 3/4" x OD: 1 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2017-140,1&2

DescriptionThe title page of volume I reads: "THE/ HISTORY/ OF THE/ THE REVOLUTION/ OF/ SOUTH-CAROLINA,/ FROM A BRITISH PROVICE/ TO AN INDEPENDENT STATE./ BY DAVID RAMSAY, M.D./ MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN CONGRESS./ IN TWO VOLUMES./ VOL. I/ TRENTON:/ PRINTED BY ISAAC COLLINS./ M.DCC.LXXXV."
Label TextDavid Ramsay was one of the first major historians of the American Revolution, as well as a participant in the Revolution himself. Trained as a physician, he served as a military surgeon, later becoming a South Carolina statesman. Published in 1785, Ramsay's "History" is a comprehensive contemporary American account of the Revolution in the South. Due to Ramsay's critical treatment of several esteemed British officers, the book was effectively banned in England. In 1790, it became the first book protected by federal copyright after the passage of the first Copyright Act.

Contains the following:

VOL 1:
"David Ramsay, M.D." (Print of author)

"W.H. Drayton, Member of the Congress." 1783, after Pierre Eugene Du Simitière (Print) (Extra-illustration)

"SOUTH-CAROLINA/ and/ PARTS ADJACENT;/ Shewing/ The MOVEMENTS of the/ American/ and/ British/ Armies." (Map)

"A SKETCH/ of the Situations & Stations/ of the British Vessels under/ the Command of/ Sir Peter Parker/ on the Attack upon/ FORT MOULTRIE/ on Sulivan Island/ June 28th 1776." (Map)

VOL 2:
"David Ramsay, M.D." (Print of author)

"William Moultrie Esq. Late Governor of S. Carolina and Major Genl. in the American Revolutionary War." (Print)

"A SKETCH of CHARLESTON HARBOUR shewing th disposition of the BRITISH FLEET under the Command of/ Vice Adml. MARIOT ARBUTHNOT upon the Attack on FORT MOULTRIE on SULIVAN ISLAND in 1780." (Map)

"A Sketch/ of the OPERATIONS before/ CHARLESTON/ the Capital of/ SOUTH CAROLINA/ 1780" (Map)

"PLAN/ of/ the Investment of/ YORK & GLOUCESTER,/ by the Allied Armies:/ in Septr. & Octr. 1781." (Map) This map illustrated in William C. Wooldridge, "Mapping Virginia: From the Age of Exploration to the Civil War" (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2012), #159, pp. 176-181.