The plan depicts Winchester and its environs with the Hessian Camp shown to the north east of the city. A great deal of the Hessian army had been shipped to southern England at the beginning of 1756, in order to counter the perceived threat of a French invasion. However, as the threat of invasion subsided they were sent back to Germany in order to counter the French advance upon Hanover.

The plan was prepared by Frederich Wilhelm von Bauer (1731-1783) a military engineer in the Hessian Army. Bauer was also responsible for a detailed plan of the battle of Wilhelmstahl of 1762.

OCLC only records two institutional examples: one in the British Library and the other in the Bavarian State Library.