C. Coltz. “Plan von Fort Cumberland auf der insel St. Laurenti.” ca. 1760. Watercolor, pen & ink.

This map was acquired by the Clements Library as a cartographic curiosity. Drawn and painted by an unknown author, probably a German, it purports to represent Fort Cumberland situated on an island in the St. Lawrence River. It might have been painted about 1760, at the end of the French and Indian War.

The problem is that there is no Fort Cumberland on any island in the St. Lawrence. A fort of that name stood at the head of the Bay of Fundy. Captured from the French in 1755, the British renamed it for the commander of their army. It bears no resemblance to Coltz’a plan.

Given that the “fort” has the appearance of a fortified town, it is possible that Coltz, lacking any detailed sources, confused Fort Cumberland with Louisbourg, the fortress town on Cape Breton Island near the mouth of the St. Lawrence.

Maps