William Faden (1749-1836) was successful publisher, engraver and mapmaker. He is RENOWNED NOT ONLY FOR THE QUALITY OF HIS WORKMANSHIP but his particular contribution towards the mapping of the American War of Independence. He produced several large scale maps of battles and regions involved in the conflict. In August and September 1777 the British took control of the Delaware River and Philadelphia following the capture of the forts along the river. Early in the following year Lieutenant General Sir William Howe started construction of defensive forces around the key city. The British under General John Burgoyne were fighting another campaign in the north which was not going well and in October 1777 they surrendered to the Americans at Saratoga. Howe was castigated for not supporting Burgoyne and replaced as commander of the British Forces in May of 1778 by Sir William Clinton. With the entry of the French into the war in 1778 Clinton feared that the French were going to blockade the Delaware River and abandoned the city on 18 June 1778. He took his forces back to New York. On the 2nd July 1778 the American Congress assembled for the first time at the Meeting House identified with ‘A’ on the map. Provenance: private English collection. Nebenzahl (1975) no. 128; Snyder (1975) no. 88 (fig. 59); Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011) pp. 221-5.