Town & Castle Silver 1740

A VIEW OF THE TOWN AND CASTLE OF ST. AUGUSTINE, AND THE ENGLISH CAMP BEFORE IT, JUNE 20, 1740
By Thomas Silver published in the Gentlemen’s Magazine, St. John’s Gate, London. July 1740.

Thomas Silver rendered this map in 1740, depicting Gen. James Oglethorpe’s siege of St. Augustine. The map originally appeared in Gentlemen’s Magazine in July 1740 and was reprinted in November of the same year. Gentlemen’s Magazine was a popular news journal, produced at St. Johns Gate in London starting in 1731. While this map is immensely popular, little is known about the creator of it, Thomas Silver. He was an English Naval Officer under Sir Yelverton Peyton, commander of the HMS Hector, a sloop that participated in the siege. Silver returned to London and published this map. No other maps were ever produced in Silver’s name. The map shows the English ships in both the inlet and harbor arranged in lines of attack. Seven battleships in total are numbered and identified by the map legend below the illustration. Buildings along the shore & the Castle are clearly defined. Silver, however, left out Fort Mose, which was used as an outpost for the British during this siege. Silver provided an excellent rendering of a siege recounted in many historical works, including Oglethorpe himself. On June 13, 1740, Oglethorpe began the siege of St. Augustine by blockading the city including the Matanzas Inlet. Manuel de Montiano was the Spanish Governor of Florida at this time. Anticipating the English siege he sent word to Havana for reinforcements, as St. Augustine’s supplies were low. The English guns were unable to breach the walls of the Fort with their cannon, preventing the British from taking the city. Oglethorpe raised the siege on July 20, 1740, after ships from Cuba resupplied St. Augustine’s garrison.