Battlefields and mobile technology

[Dave Wilma]

I live in the Far West where we don't have very many CW battlefields. I would think that using smart phones and tablets with GPS and downloaded maps and text could be a real boon to exploring battlefields, both those preserved and those which have been obliterated. Its one thing to walk a well-documented site and another to explore a place less well developed. And we all know that battlefield documentation is like the rest of history, subject to an historian's interpretation. How would it be if a student of a battle could walk the ground with accurate contemporary maps and be able to ground-truth it real time?

The interactive maps on the web are marvelous to appreciate how the battles and men moved. It would be great to take it to the field.

Does anyone have experience with this? CW buffs would pay for those apps.

 

[kfranklin]

I live in the Far West where we don't have very many CW battlefields. I would think that using smart phones and tablets with GPS and downloaded maps and text could be a real boon to exploring battlefields, both those preserved and those which have been obliterated. Its one thing to walk a well-documented site and another to explore a place less well developed. And we all know that battlefield documentation is like the rest of history, subject to an historian's interpretation. How would it be if a student of a battle could walk the ground with accurate contemporary maps and be able to ground-truth it real time?

The interactive maps on the web are marvelous to appreciate how the battles and men moved. It would be great to take it to the field.

Does anyone have experience with this? CW buffs would pay for those apps.

Ask and ye shall receive: http://www.civilwar.org/battleapps/

And the even better and soon to be released: http://cwbtours.com/time-machine/

 

[dlofting]

If you're looking for information on some of the less well "preserved" battlefields, Blue and Gray magazine has a "General's Tour" section in each issue, complete with modern day site photos, maps (usually) and GPS coordinates for points of interest.

 

[Dave Wilma]

Ask and ye shall receive.

Someone got there first. Story of my career.

 

[kfranklin]

Someone got there first. Story of my career.

Actually those are ok, what http://cwbtours.com/time-machine/ has planned will be great. They are going through the soldier equipage as well so you get a full tour of what to expect. Also they will feature letters from the troops. It's really a cool project.