Recently I lost a map of the state of Ohio that I purchased several years ago. It was expensive, printed on fine paper, and beautiful. It was one of my favorites because like others I own, it connected me to places that brought back fond memories. I have a drawer full of maps that I picked up over the years – mostly as a child at gas stations where they were always free. Some show streets, counties, towns, rivers, the Great Lakes, and most of all - places I could only imagine visiting.
Today, maps, like the one I bought in Ohio are scarce
and few are free. Why? Because nearly everyone uses GPS. We no longer need a
map to find our way. The lady tells us just how to get there, but she doesn’t
help us visualize where we are in relation to our surroundings.
At no time in our history was this more important than
in the Civil War. It was the Union forces who were in desperate need of
accurate maps as they plunged blindly into the southern states to fight the
Confederacy (who had the advantage of knowing every stream, road, and
pass).
As armies have done for centuries, both Union and
Confederate, they lived largely off the land. Therefore, it was essential for
the Union to have detailed maps that identified crops, orchards, fording sites,
parallel roads, woods, and landmarks. Without this knowledge, Union armies,
made up of thousands of men and horses, could be stalled in an area without sufficient
water and resources. Within days they would be starving.
I had the good fortune to see some of the Civil War
maps at the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums. One in particular (shown nearby), made in 1863
for General William S. Rosecrans details the area
around Cleveland, Tennessee, some 30 miles from Chattanooga. Using an existing
map, engineer William E. Merrill traveled the area, adding critical details, including
swampy areas, “good farming country” “broken country,” springs. creeks, woods, mills,
bridges and even residents’ names. These maps were printed on cloth and could
be washed, dried and stuffed into saddlebags.
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| Cleveland, Tennessee, 1863, by William E. Merrill Hayes Presidential Library and Museums |
Another map, boring to the eye, was actually vital to
General William T. Sherman. It shows Cobb County Georgia divided into numbered
lots, 6/10th of a mile on each side originally surveyed in 1840. From
this map, Sherman was able to tell his army commander General James McPherson
that his headquarters was located in a house “not far from the northwest corner
of lot #273”.
Cobb County Georgia
Developed from the Land Office Map, 1864
Hayes Presidential Library and Museums
While no longer as important as they once were, maps
still remain interesting documents that connect us to the wider world. They are
also like time capsules that bring back memories of trips taken and roads
traveled.
Much of what I learned of Civil War maps and those who made them came from discussions with Earl McElfresh during his visit to the Hayes Presidential Library and Museums when he was seeking unique Civil War maps in repositories around the country. It was he who explained to me the significance of these maps to Union commanders.
McElfresh published many of these maps in a book titled Maps and Mapmakers of the Civil War. Some were exquisitely drawn while others were quick pencil sketches. Many are not only beautiful, but colorful. His work appears on the Internet Archive where Mr. McElfresh provides an explanation of each maps importance. McElfresh Map Company reproduces significant maps of the Civil War. You can also view maps of WWII, the Underground Railroad, Little Big Horn Battlefield, and even Antarctica in his online gallery. To learn about the process of creating maps, see Mr. McElfresh's Blog.
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