This elegantly executed ink-and-watercolor manuscript battle plan is signed "R. Sherman Dix. U.S.M.A. West Point Jany. 1832." It does not document an actual conflict, but rather shows a theoretical diagram of a successful European-style siege of a fortress. The siege depicted here unfolds in a manner very much indebted to Vauban (1630-1707), the great French military engineer who served under Louis XIV, with a system of parallel trenches linked by zig-zagging approaches. A legend at top right uses color-coding to indicate the timing of siege. At the time the drawing was completed, West Point's superintendent was Colonel Sylvanus Thayer, the "Father of the Military Academy," who transformed the academy with his emphasis on honor and discipline, high academic standards, and civil engineering (West Point became the nation's first college of engineering during his tenure). The plan is the painstaking work of Roger Sherman Dix (1810-49), who graduated from West Point the same year this drawing was completed. (It seems he aced the assignment - the plan is signed "Passed" by H.E. Prentiss at bottom left.) He went on to have a successful military career, serving briefly in the Black Hawk War, reporting for duty in multiple frontier forts, and attaching to General Zachary Taylor during the Mexican-American War, fighting in the field during the Battle of Buena Vista. He died of cholera returning from Mexico in January 1849.

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Condition: B

Trimmed to the neatline with light soiling, a few small stains, a tiny hole at top left, and a small chip in the neatline at left that has been replaced in facsimile. There is a 6" tear at left and a number of smaller tears that have been closed on verso with archival materials.