The Treasure And Its Guardian

The maps which the authors of the accompanying article discovered in Alnwick Castle have been there, almost untouched, ever since 1777, when Earl Percy brought them back from his tour of duty in America. It is extraordinary to find in one place such a large number—over fifty—of Revolutionary War maps covering many major battles and drawn soon after the events by the best British military cartographers of the time. The present Duke of Northumberland- seen at right in his library with a few of the maps—has a lively appreciation of family history: he has visited the United States and walked over some of the ground his distinguished ancestor fought upon, and he has had Earl Percy’s maps properly catalogued at last. With his kind permission A MERICAN H ERITAGE reproduces for the first time, on the next six pages, some of the most notable treasures of the collection.