Maps of the Peninsula Campaign

One of the grand Union strategies of the Civil War came to be known as the “Peninsula Campaign”, an attempt to capture Richmond Virginia by landing troops at Fortress Monroe and attacking northwest up the peninsula formed by the James and York Rivers.  Read More

Historical Sketch of the Rebellion Series

The Civil War began on April 1861 with Confederate artillery firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Nine, months later, the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey issued its first map in its “Historical Sketch of the Rebellion” series that tracked the “limits of the loyal states as of March, 1861; May, 1862; July, 1861; May, 1862; July, 1862; and July 1863. In addition to the printed maps, a manuscript draft depicts three lines of advance.  Read More

Seven Days Battle

General George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign began --- with the intent of marching northwest up the peninsula formed by the James and York Rivers and capturing Richmond, Virginia. Confederate forces had retreated to the outskirts of the Confederate capitol. General Robert E. Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia and, over the course of Seven Days (June 25th to July 1st , 1862) drove the Union army back to the James River. The two manuscript maps shown here reflect the state of intelligence during the summer of 1862.  Read More

Maps for the High Command, Richmond

The vast number of troops involved in the peninsula campaign and Confederate defense of Richmond necessitated a great deal of geographic knowledge regarding the topography, transportation network, land cover, grazing and forage opportunities, as well as the location of rivers, streams, fords, and marshes in the region. Naturally, both Union and Confederate generals.  Read More