My name is Tim and I just recently registered with Civil War Talk. A brief history - My interest in the CW was rekindled in the early 80's by the Ken Burns series on PBS. The battle stories, the incredible ironies, the staggering casualties, the personal stories - just about everything I learn provides the impetus to learn more.
The first battlefield I visited was Shiloh. It was such an incredible visit that it nearly moved me to tears as I walked through the battlefield. I knew I had to pay homage in some way, but unfortunately I'm not a writer, a painter, or sculptor. So I decided I needed to draw a map. Fortunately, I am a cartographer.
Since then, I have learned about a few more battles and battlefields, have drawn a few more maps, but feel as though after all these years, I have only scratched the surface as to what I can learn. From what I have read so far in this forum, there are plenty of people with thoughts and ideas to keep my gray matter busy.
Welcome, TimK. I'll bet everyone of our battlefield fans has at least one of your maps.
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Am I fan of Hotchkiss? In a word, yes. I am amazed at what he did. Its almost like todays doctors that look at how the surgeons of the day operated - I look at what he did in awe.
Welcome to the board. I have always been drawn (no pun intended) to maps. As a kid I would sit and look at the world atlas and any National Geographic maps I could find. One pet peeve I have is when reading a book and the having author not providing a good map to accompany the text. Or having the corresponding map not in the same chapter. Cozzen drives me crazy. He has great maps but they are never near the corresponding text.
Welcome! The Civil War itself shows how important the cartographer was (and still is). Lee's invasions north of the Potomac used detailed maps created by Stonewall Jackson's mapmaker. And how many battles were decided because someone knew of a road of which the other side was unaware, or because someone marched off down the wrong road. Perhaps we could get your unique perspective on some of these aspects of the war.
__________________ "There must be more historians of the Civil War than there were generals figthing in it... Of the two groups, the historians are the more belligerent." David Donald, Lincoln Reconsidered (1961)
Wow, you guys make my work sound a whole lot more interesting than it really is. Honestly, the type of work I do is considerably different than the map work that was done in the 1860's. In fact, I believe it was because of the terrible maps during the CW, that afterwards the government decided that accurate maps of the US were needed. Thus, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) was born. It is these public domain maps of various projections and scales that I use on a daily basis to create custom maps for several book and map publishers. I spend zero hours surveying - it has all been done by local, state, and national governments.
In addition to the custom work that occupies my days, I have for the last several years published the CW park maps that I spoke of before.
Anyway - thanks for the welcome, the opportunity to share, but mostly the stimulating conversion that goes on here that helps break up some long hours in front of a computer.
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