Wilkinson's map, issued in 1804, is a rare and fascinating map of North America. It includes one of the earliest depictions of the Louisiana Territory and a late depiction of the proposed State of Franklin. The map frames the continent from Pacific to Atlantic and from the Great Slave Lake to the tip of Baja California. The pink area covering what is now Canada shows British possessions, while the yellow indicates Spanish colonies. Sandwiched between the two is the huge central swath of land known as Louisiana, which is listed as a US possession.
The table on the map offers insights into US history. For example, Vermont is listed as an "Allied State," indicating that it was the first state to be admitted to the union after the original thirteen colonies. The map is detailed, with settlements, geographic features, and information about indigenous peoples across the continent. Wilkinson used sources such as the French cartographer Guillaume Delisle, George Vancouver's accounts of the Northwest Coast, and David Thompson's surveys of the Upper Missouri River.
Lahontan, or Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce, Baron de Lahontan, is one source mentioned several times by Wilkinson. Lahontan was a member of the aristocracy and an army officer serving in New France. He explored much of the upper Mississippi River Valley and wrote three travel accounts. Wilkinson clearly valued Lahontan's works, but he also reinterpreted them. For example, Wilkinson includes the "R. Morte or R. Longue according to Lahontan," which scholars now believe to be the Missouri River.
Wilkinson's map is the first to show the entire Louisiana Territory as part of the United States. It is listed in the table as, "Province, Ceded by France 30 Apr. 1803} Louisiana." The map also shows Franklinia, or the State of Franklin, which was an autonomous region that never gained recognition from the US government. It occupied land ceded to Congress to pay off North Carolina's Revolutionary War debts, succeeded from North Carolina, and petitioned for statehood. After only four and a half years, the state was absorbed back into North Carolina in 1788.
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