War of the Austrian Succession (1740-8)
Includes much of the mapping collected by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, as Captain General of the British army
Siege of Cuneo, 1744
CARTE / Topographique en mesure de la Ville, & des / Environs de CONI, avec les Attaques de / cette Ville, & le Plan du Combat de / notre Dame de l'Orme
1744 or laterPencil, pen, ink and watercolour; pricking through; drawn on six pieces of paper, joined | Scale: 1:9,300 approx. | RCIN 729046
This map, possibly made by an engineer on the service of the Sardinian king (the French are described as the ‘Ennemis’), shows the fortress of Cuneo (Coni), the key point for the defence of Piedmont, sited on a bluff of land wedged between the Stura and Gesso Rivers and overlooking their confluence. The camps of the different armies, siege works, and lines of fire are all shown. Prominent buildings in the surrounding countryside, and the roads, are named. Vineyards grow on the western banks of the Stura River.
The battle, fought on 30 September, was won by the French and Spanish, but Sardinian tactics, combined with appalling weather conditions, ensured that the siege was a failure and the fortress survived. (Browning 1995, pp.187-9.)
Additional text: [top right, in rococo cartouche, a key, 1-15, to the order of battle of the Sardinian army, the movements of the army marching by the left, other troop positions, batteries, French camps and field fortifications:] RENVOI.
Condition: two fold lines. Verso: induced discolouration; surface dirt.
Domenique Carel (active 1744) (draughtsman) [bottom left, below title, bottom right of cartouche:] Faite par Domenique Carel Ingenieur / Thopographique de S.M.
Watermark: None
Mark, stamped: 392
Condition: two fold lines. Verso: induced discolouration; surface dirt
Scale: 1:9,300 approx. Scale bar: Echelle des Trabucs de Piemont [194 mm =] 600.
70.4 x 93.1 cm (image and neatline)
72.2 x 59.3 cm (sheet)
Printed title:
CARTE / Topographique en mesure de la Ville, & des / Environs de CONI, avec les Attaques de / cette Ville, & le Plan du Combat de / notre Dame de l'Orme. [bottom left, in rococo cartouche]
Additional text:
RENVOI. [top right, in rococo cartouche, a key, 1-15, to the order of battle of the Sardinian army, the movements of the army marching by the left, other troop positions, batteries, French camps and field fortifications]
Annotations:
George III heading: Battle of Coni 30 Sep.r 1744. Other annotations: (Recto) none. (Verso) [top left, black pencil, indistinct]; [top left, black pencil:] 14; [centre, red pencil:] 5 [crossed out in red pencil and ‘8’ written over the ‘5’ and:] 8/62.
George III catalogue entry:
Coni Carte Topographique dessinée de la Ville et des Environs de Coni, avec les Attaques de cette Ville, et le Plan du Combat de Notre Dame de l'Orme: par Domenique Carel Ing.r 4 feuilles.
Subject(s)
Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy (44°23'50"N 07°32'40"E)
Bibliographic reference(s)
R. Browning, The War of the Austrian Succession, Stroud, 1995
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
