Military Map of the Peninsula of Florida South of Tampa Bay Compiled From The Latest and Most Reliable Authorities . . . by the Order of Hon. Jefferson Davis April 1856 [Reprint with overlay]

[Washington, D.C.] [Hialeah, Fla.]: War Dept. , [R.E. Lamme], 1975. Near Fine/No Dust Jacket As Issued.

A lovely reproduction; a colored folding map with an onion skin overlay of present-day highways and cities. color map 54 x 42 cm folded to 23 x 15 cm.; Scale 1:800,000;

Folded title: 1856 military road map of South Florida as ordered by the Hon. Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War, U.S.A., with overlay of present day roads and cities./ Facsimile./ Includes historical text on the  verso.  Accompanied by transparent overlay of modern roads and cities.

No flaws to the map, the onion-skin has some age-toning; the unused mailing envelope has age-darkening on one end. Appears to have only been unfolded when photographed.. The map, first issued alongside the Memoir accompanying a Military Map of The Peninsula Of Florida in 1856, was compiled by Joseph Christmas Ives (1829-1868) under the orders of then-Secretary of War of the United States, Jefferson Davis. Ives, a significant figure in American frontier mapping, graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1852 and served as a Second Lieutenant with the Topographical Engineers on Whipple's Pacific Railroad survey of the 35th parallel from 1853 to '54.

It meticulously delineates the main areas of activity during the Third Seminole War, focusing on the territory just west of Lake Okeechobee and the northern end of Big Cypress Swamp, depicting local Indian settlements, as well as skirmish and battle locations up to April 1856.

Notably, the map distinguishes six land categories: sawgrass, swamp, marsh, scrub, wet prairie, dry prairie, wet hammock, and dry hammock, and specifies various forest types such as pine, palmetto, oak, cypress, and "koontee" (also known as Florida arrowroot or wild sago).

Covering the entirety of the Everglades and surrounding areas, including present-day metropolitan regions like Miami, Palm Beach, Tampa Bay, and Fort Myers, the map offers a unique glimpse into south Florida's pre-development landscape compared to its modern appearance.

With minimal American town depictions, except for Tampa shown as a village and scattered single dwellings around the bay, the map indicates sparse development, even naming individual house owners in many cases. Notably, it marks two lighthouses: Key West and Cape Florida on Key Biscayne.

Transportation routes, including wagon roads, blazed routes, trails, and proposed canal routes, are meticulously detailed. Indian boundaries are outlined, and over 45 forts or military depots are illustrated, with only nine labeled as occupied.

Moreover, the map's significant contribution to our understanding of South Florida's military history lies in its depiction of the routes of 25 military surveys and expeditions spanning the Second and Third Seminole Wars.