Civil War map books....

[nrogers]

As a non-American I am not familiar with the geography of many of the Civil War theatres and rely heavily on good maps to understand the development of the war. I've found that maps in books are of widely varying quality. For example, the maps in Shelby Foote's trilogy - I understand he drew them himself - are quite poor IMHO, and the collected edition of Bruce Catton's trilogy that I'm currently reading has none at all. (In contrast, the Gettysburg battle maps in the novel The Killer Angels are excellent).

Do members know of good reference books of maps of the key theatres, places, battles etc. of the war? There are a few on Amazon but I'd love to get some member recommendations before opening my wallet!

 

[Dave Wilma]

The best collection I have seen is a reprint of the Official Military Atlas of the Civil War. The maps and atlas were compiled in the years after the war and are in full? color. What is particularly useful is contemporary representations of roads and rail lines that were erased and disrupted by modern highways. There are also plans and profiles of important fortifications to scale. I am writing historical novels of the 19th Century and rely on the Atlas to give me an idea of the geography and infrastructure.

 

[Patrick H]

In a very recent thread here (which I can't seem to locate for you right now) we saw examples of battlefield map/illustrations. They were from the AMERICAN HERITAGE volume: THE CIVIL WAR. Although these map / illustrations did not try to show soldiers to scale on the field, they still managed to give a very good impression of geographic features on a battlefield.

Please, someone, help our friend here. Please find and post a link to that recent discussion.

 

[Blessmag]

If I remember correctly, Library of Congress has links to maps of the war as well.

Library of Congress Civil War maps, http://www.loc.gov/collection/civil-war-maps/?dates=1860-1869

 

[AUG]

As for particular battles, I would recommend any of Bradley M. Gottfried's books. He has done Manassas, Antietam, Gettysburg, and Bristoe Station. Add to that David Powell's "The Maps of Chickamauga".

And of course Civil War Trust also has a great selection of battle maps:
http://www.civilwar.org/maps/maps-listings.html?map_type=cwpt

 

[John Winn]

Good recommendations so far. I really like the Civil War Trust maps and they're free ! You can also buy DVDs that show movements.

A nice little book you can get fairly cheaply is: Symonds, Craig L. A Battlefield Atlas Of The Civil War (1994. Nautical & Aviation Publishing, Mount Pleasant, SC)

It only covers the larger and more significant battles but has nice, short synopses and, I think, pretty good maps. The scale is such that they don't show detail down to the unit level (as do the CWT maps) but they do provide a good picture of the basic movement on the battlefields at the corps - and sometimes regimental - level.

 

[dlofting]

You really need to visit the battlefields to truly understand the geography. I know it can be expensive to get there if you live in the UK, but maps can only show you so much. I've studied the Civil War for almost 55 years and didn't really have a good picture of things until we spent 3 weeks touring the southern states (and Pennsylvania of course). So unless you're independently wealthy start saving your pound, dollars and euros.

 

[E_just_E]

There are great maps there, but you really need to look at topographic maps. Hills and valleys were really important and unless you have a topographic map, you will miss a lot.

 

[jackt62]

As has already been noted, I found that the Civil War Trust website has some of the best battle maps around. The nice thing about those is that for an individual battle, they often delineate the battlefield at different times or sectors in the action. (For example, there are numerous maps for Gettysburg showing the various fronts.) Furthermore, you can easily locate any specific battle map by going to "Find a Battlefield."

 

[jackt62]

There are great maps there, but you really need to look at topographic maps. Hills and valleys were really important and unless you have a topographic map, you will miss a lot.

Taking that a step further, I have found that visiting a battle site and seeing its topography is one of the most informative things that can be done to understand the tide of battle.

 

[E_just_E]

Taking that a step further, I have found that visiting a battle site and seeing its topography is one of the most informative things that can be done to understand the tide of battle.

Absolutely
Nothing like visiting a battlefield
On the other hand the OP is from the UK...

 

[jackt62]

Absolutely
Nothing like visiting a battlefield
On the other hand the OP is from the UK...

I wonder if there are travel tours for UK residents that specialize in CW trips. Worth his looking into.

 

[E_just_E]

I wonder if there are travel tours for UK residents that specialize in CW trips. Worth his looking into.

Once one makes it over the pond, he/she can hop into any CW trip that starts this side of the Atlantic.

 

[MajGenl.Meade]

Me too (from the UK) and my first visit to the USA in 1973 consisted of New York City, Niagara Falls, Cleveland (well, that's where my friend's house was) and.... Gettysburg. In the end, I had to move here (1977) to visit battlefields.... September coming up is the Booth Escape Route and October is Gettysburg for the millionth time.

Buying books of maps is expensive. I really do endorse the many wonderful on-line sources for maps and don't dismiss simple "image" searches. There are many, many period maps out there waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. Particularly fascinating are non-battlefield maps that show land divisions and owners' names

And yes, books about battles but have no maps are very discouraging.

 

[jackt62]

Once one makes it over the pond, he/she can hop into any CW trip that starts this side of the Atlantic.

Very, very true.

 

[nrogers]

Thank you all for the excellent recommendations! I very much like the Civil War Trust's maps. Their whole web site is excellent. But I also like having a book to refer to.

Absolutely agree that the best - perhaps only - way to truly understand a battle is to visit the field. We're off to Florida in a couple of weeks and I don't think there's anything Civil War-related in easy distance of where we're staying (Kissimmee). However, I am trying to pursuade my other half that next year we need to make a grand trip down the east coast starting at Gettysburg and taking in as many battlefields as possible! Not sure how successful I'll be...

 

[jackt62]

Olustee battlefield in Florida is about 175 miles north of Kissimmee. I don't necessarily consider that close, but its an option anyway.

 

[E_just_E]

We're off to Florida in a couple of weeks and I don't think there's anything Civil War-related in easy distance of where we're staying (Kissimmee). However, I am trying to pursuade my other half that next year we need to make a grand trip down the east coast starting at Gettysburg and taking in as many battlefields as possible! Not sure how successful I'll be...

Disney World?

The closest battlefield is around Tampa, about 1 hr away from Kissimmee and totally non-preserved. If you get sick of Mickey and have a car, you might want to check out the Orange County History Center, but IIRC not much about the ACW there.

Pretty easy to do Gettysburg, since there are direct flights to PHL from the UK, and Gettysburg is about 2 hr drive from the airport. Only trouble with that is that Gettysburg is the single most overwhelming battlefield in the ACW, even for Civil War lovers. I cannot imagine how it would be for someone who does not care Gettysburg is for sure at least a 2 day trip (and you'd have to walk about 5-6 hrs on the fields every day.)

If I were to plan an East Coast trip with lots of Civil War but lots of other things for others who don't care to do, I'd do the 2 capitals (Washington and Richmond) and stop and smell the roses in between. Lots of battlefields and sites of interest around them, as well as lots of things to do for people who are not interested.

 

[nrogers]

Olustee battlefield in Florida is about 175 miles north of Kissimmee. I don't necessarily consider that close, but its an option anyway.

Would be an interesting one to visit, but I'll be staying with two people who have no interest in the Civil War at all! I'll suggest it though...

 

[jackt62]

Disney World?

The closest battlefield is around Tampa, about 1 hr away from Kissimmee and totally non-preserved. If you get sick of Mickey and have a car, you might want to check out the Orange County History Center, but IIRC not much about the ACW there.

Pretty easy to do Gettysburg, since there are direct flights to PHL from the UK, and Gettysburg is about 2 hr drive from the airport. Only trouble with that is that Gettysburg is the single most overwhelming battlefield in the ACW, even for Civil War lovers. I cannot imagine how it would be for someone who does not care Gettysburg is for sure at least a 2 day trip (and you'd have to walk about 5-6 hrs on the fields every day.)

If I were to plan an East Coast trip with lots of Civil War but lots of other things for others who don't care to do, I'd do the 2 capitals (Washington and Richmond) and stop and smell the roses in between. Lots of battlefields and sites of interest around them, as well as lots of things to do for people who are not interested.

How about starting with Antietam then? I am guessing that there are direct flights from the UK to Baltimore.