Carte du Theatre de la Guerre actuel entre les Anglais et les Trieze Colonies Unies de l'Amerique Septentrionale dresse par J.B. Eliot

A fine example of J. B. Eliot's map of the United States, in its first state of which is generally regarded as the earliest map to include the title "United States'' (in French) on a printed map. The seat of war of Saratoga is shown on the map "Sahara to ga Camp des Anglais le 17 octobre 1777".

Eliot's map, which was drawn from American sources not previously utilized on any printed map, is generally regarded as the first printed map to bear the name of the United States (''Etats Unis'').
The title translates from the French as "Map of the Actual Seat of War between the English and the Thirteen Colonies' of North America, as described by J.B. Eliot, an 'Engineer of the United States".

In an excellent essay on the map by Margaret Pritchard and Henry Taliaferro (Degrees of Latitude, Map 58), the importance of the map and Eliot, its mysterious maker are discussed at greater length. ‘The map of the theatre of war between Great Britain and America by J.B. Eliot is important because of its title, "les Treize Colonies Unies de l'Amerique Septentrionale", may include the first reference on a map to the United States. The cartographer was identified as Ingenieurs des Etats Unis. On November 15, 1777, the Continental Congress selected ‘The United States of America,’ as the name of the thirteen colonies that formed a government under the Articles of Confederation.
One month later, French authorities learned of the victory at Saratoga and decided to recognize American independence. By January 8, French foreign minister, Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, informed American envoys that France was ready to engage in an alliance. It is not surprising that the name United States was first mentioned on a map published in Paris in 1778.

A fine and rare separately published early map of the American War of Independence, THE FIRST MAP TO BEAR THE NAME OF THE UNITED STATES, Eliot describing himself as an Engineer of the United States.
Although the second state of the map referred to Eliot as an aide-de-campe to General Washington, no references to him have been located in the Washington papers. While Ristow speculated that J.B. Eliot may have been a liaison between General Washington and France, there is no record of any military officer of this name serving in such capacity in the Department des Cartes et Plans in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France (RareMaps.com).

A very rare map, only a handful examples are recorded.

Reference: Schwartz and Ehrenberg Mapping of America plate 122; Phillips Maps of America in the Library of Congress 859.