Customer Reviews

The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff, June-October 1861

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In the interest of full disclosure I must say that I did review the manuscript and maps for the Bull Run portion of the book, so I was involved to some small degree in the bookmaking process.

This second in Savas Beatie's series of campaign map studies follows the format of its predecessor "The Maps of Gettysburg", also by Gottfried, with three noticeable differences. First, it's a much slimmer volume, which is understandable due to the relative brevity of the campaign and battle and the fewer troops involved. Second, "The Maps of First Bull Run" also includes maps of the skirmish at Lewinsville, VA on 9/11/1861 and the Battle of Ball's Bluff on 10/21/1861. Third, unlike the Gettysburg maps, these are in full color.

There are 37 maps for the Bull Run portion of the book (another 15 for the remainder - that portion of the manuscript was reveiwed by Jim Morgan, author of the definitive study of Ball's Bluff, "A Little Short of Boats"), from the positions of the armies in June through the Union retreat to Washington ending July 22. The maps are clean and clear, which is good from the standpoint that they help the reader visualize the "bigger picture". Each map is accompanied by one full facing page of text. Notes are at the end of the book, arranged by map. I prefer footnotes at the bottom of the page, but I understand why endnotes were necessary in this case due to the constraints attending the two page layout for each map and text.

Other than some minor quibbles not worth mentioning, I'm pleased with the text. Gottfried considered all the standard primary sources as well as soldier accounts and modern scholarship of folks like Ethan Rafuse and John Hennessy. No two accounts of the fighting on Henry House Hill are ever going to agree in every detail, but Gottfried's interpretation of events is plausible and well supported.

The maps are all oriented vertically north to south. This limited the amount of west to east info that could be accurately depicted, and gives the impression of a more limited area of operations on the day of the battle - the Confederate line extended along that axis from Stone Bridge to Union Mills. For the action on Henry House Hill, I think the orientation of the maps and the need to depict some pretty confusing action resulted in a misrepesentation of the relative proximity of the Union and Confederate artillery. Also, there are no topographical (elevation) lines on the maps. As a map lover, this is a bit of a bummer to me. But the stength of this book is the clear - if general - tactical picture it provides. A visit to the field - the whole field - reveals that it's more than just four hills or ridges (Matthews, Henry House, Dogan and Chinn), but is dotted with cuts and defiles. The depiction of all these changes in elevation would possibly have "busied" the maps to the extent that they would have failed in their purpose.

All-in-all, this study provides the best visual impression of the battle I've seen. Ed Bearss's map study is not written in a narrative format, and the few maps use the same base map and are very crowded and confusing. John Hennessy's book uses clearer, simpler maps, but again they're few in number. The reader will find more detail in those two Howard campaign series books, but in my opinion will come away with a better understanding of the battle with Gottfried's work. If such were not the case, there would have been no point to it.

"The Maps of First Bull Run" should have a place on the shelves of Civil War students of all levels. Hopefully it will create more interest in the battle, not just among newcomers, but with the scores of long time students who may have dismissed the battle as a confused meeting between inexperienced armies of little interest tactically. If it spurs them to dig more deeply into the details, and perhaps even produce micro-studies, all the better. I'll keep my copy close at hand when I'm reading and writing about the battle, and when the paperback edition comes out, I'll have it with me when I visit the battlefield.

What do you get when a publisher long known for its excellent maps actually creates a "Maps of ..." series of books? The answer, one example of which is the The Maps of First Bull Run, is absolute heaven for wargamers and students of the Civil War who are into strategy and tactics. Bradley M. Gottfried, the author of several Gettysburg books, including the "Maps of ..." series premiere with The Maps of Gettysburg, continues that format here in a smaller book which brings full color to the series.

The Maps of First Bull Run contains 51 full color maps rendered in great detail, both in the lay of the land and in the regimental and battery level data in recording troop movements. Union divisions, brigades, and regiments are rendered in blue while Confederate units are shown in red. Roads are typically a beige color with forest and fields drawn in green. Text showing the names of towns, homes, forts, and other features of the terrain are clearly shown in black font. Scale is also detailed on each map, as is the direction of north (which is not always up). Arrows are often used to show the thrust of various attacks and important areas of combat are labeled with circled numbers tied to the text. Speaking of the text, each map includes a full page of text clearly describing the action on the opposite page.

The only area which could use improvement is in modeling the elevation. Topographical lines of elevation would better reflect the respective heights of various hills rather than the "hash mark" method which was used. I suspect this was a decision which was discussed quite a bit, so I look forward to Savas Beatie's response as to why they went in this direction with the elevation model.

The Battle of First Bull Run was an often confusing affair, with wildly varying descriptions of what happened and when. I own quite a few books on the battle, some with many maps. Never before have I felt so sure of what actually happened on this first major battlefield of the war than after reading The Maps of First Bull Run. These maps are not usually overly zoomed in on a key piece of the action, allowing the reader to see what was transpiring behind the front lines. This trend in typical Civil War books is not generally followed in the "Maps of ..." series and is a refreshing change of pace. Bull Run expert Harry Smeltzer (founder of the First Bull Run site Bull Runnings) aided Gottfried with proofreading, fact-checking, and otherwise vetting the information contained in the book.

Readers need to delve deeper than the title to see how much is contained in this book. The subtitle gives a clearer picture of what else is included, in this case the Battle of Ball's Bluff. Ball's Bluff expert Jim Morgan was consulted heavily on this portion of the book, with his interpretation of this confused fight being used. Although not mentioned in the subtitle, the skirmish at Lewinsville on September 11, 1861 is also represented on one map.

Each map and its accompanying text have endnotes associated with them. Areas of disagreement among the sources are discussed to allow readers to recognize portions of the map which are in dispute, and there are more than a few. In any case, Gottfried backs up his maps with plenty of annotation and explanation.

This book, like The Maps of Gettysburg before it and like future volumes in this series, is a wargamer's dream come true. Numerous scenarios tied to the various maps in this book can be created. The large number of maps combined with the orders of battle for First Bull Run and Ball's Bluff give wargamers a wealth of information at their fingertips in one book.

The Maps of First Bull Run is a worthy addition to what is shaping up to be a massive series of map-based books on all of the major battles of the Civil War. Bradley Gottfried is planning to do the entire Eastern Theater on his own! Savas Beatie has also announced the upcoming Maps of Chickamauga by wargame designer, tour guide, and all-around Chickamauga expert Dave Powell, who has recently started the new Chickamauga Blog.

Readers for whom there can never be enough maps will love this book. The Maps of First Bull Run thoroughly covers the surging action on the slopes of Henry Hill and the confused panic at Ball's Bluff in amazing detail. Presenting these battles as a series of full color maps allows them to come alive like never before. Wargamers, battlefield trampers, and those interested in the tactical minutiae of Civil War combat will find this book to be a more than worthy addition to their Civil War libraries, as will anyone remotely interested in the military aspects of the Civil War. I will be looking forward to each and every volume in this series and I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

I used this book to help follow the action while reading four books on the campaign and battle of First Manassas/Bull Run and two books on the raid/battle of Ball's Bluff and it made a big difference in my ability to keep up with the text since none of the books on these military actions have enough maps!(Morgan's book on Ball's Bluff had the best battle maps but "The Maps Of First Bull Run" did a great job showing the situation in Northern Virginia in late 1861 and the Union Army of the Potomac's movements prior to the battle. Plus, the battlefield situation at Ball's Bluff and Edwards Ferry is enlarged and colorized, making the action easier to follow)

First, here are the books I read on the subjects covered by the maps in this volume:
1. The First Battle of Manassas by John Hennessy
2. A Single Grand Victory by Ethan S. Rafuse
3. Battle at Bull Run by William C. Davis
4. Donnybrook by David Detzer
5. A Little Short of Boats by James A. Morgan III
6. Ball's Bluff by Byron Farwell

All of these books were a good source to learn about the campaign and battle of First Manassas/Bull Run and Ball's Bluff but by using "The Maps of First Bull Run" I feel my ability to follow the armies movements leading upto the clash of arms and the complicated maneuvers and fighting on these battlefields was greatly enhanced.

The book uses a format where the map is on the right hand page and the text describing the actions on that map are located on the left hand page so there is no flipping back and forth through the book looking for the appropriate map to follow the course of events.

The maps show all the terrain types (including elevations unlike many military history books) needed to help the reader picture what the armies saw and understand how their decisions were influenced by the lay of the land. Units are shown as brigades, regiments, battalions, companies, batteries, and sections. There are 51 maps total. The first ten maps detail the situation in the Northern Virginia/Shenandoah Valley theater of operations, the movements of both sides to the banks of Bull Run and the movements in the Valley including Confederate General Joe Johnston's evasion of Union General Patterson's forces to reinforce Beauregard at Manassas, the Battle of Blackburn's Ford 18 July, 1861, and McDowell's planning of the battle 19 and 20 July, 1861. The next 27 maps show the Battle of First Manassas/Bull Run from the Union flanking march to the Federal forces rout and retreat to Washington. The last 14 maps cover the time period after the battle and upto the action at Ball's Bluff October 21, 1861 and its aftermath. Appendix 1 gives an Order of Battle for both sides with losses at First Manassas/Bull Run, Appendix 2 gives the same for Ball's Bluff, followed by a nice section of Notes for each map, a decent Bibliography, and Index.

The maps and text are great. If you want to better understand these early battles in Virginia, "The Maps of First Bull Run" is a great help for a Civil War buff, or just a casual reader of history. Highly recommended.

As a long-time Civil War buff and miniature wargaming enthusiast, I am always looking for well-crafted maps that depict the deployment and movement of troops during various stages of Civil War battles. Often, period maps are lacking in detail or intermix movements from throughout the various stages of the engagement, often "muddying the waters" in terms of gaining an understanding of which regiments were in what position at what time in the battle. This new book is an invaluable resource to help demystify the often fluid situation at First Manassas where positions often changed hands, troops were shifted frequently, and official reports and records unclear in recounting the timeline of what transpired that summer day.

The text is well written and easy to comprehend, and the corresponding map offers a useful depiction of the general terrain in terms of the road network, streams / creeks, farms and houses, and major terrain features such as the hills that played a key role in the troop depositions and movements. Unencumbered by contour lines that are often unncessary in other maps for a wargaming scenario or for a general understanding of a battle, Gottfried's full color maps in this book are clear, precise, and uncluttered. In their own understated simplicity, they convey the essential information that a battlefield tramper or tabletop miniaturist will need to understand the battle.

The author's earlier work on the maps of Gettysburg has proved to be a useful reference work on that 1863 conflict; this new book is sure to become an even more valuable resource in that there is far less documentation in the historiography of First Bull Run. Not only does the author thoroughly cover the actual battle itself, but he also includes strategic maps that help set up the movements in the Shenandoah Valley that allowed Joe Johnston's army to outmaneuver an aged Union general and arrive via train just in time to play an important role in the fighting at Manassas. Also included are maps and narrative on the skirmishing along Blackburn Ford that preceded First Bull Run, as well as some of the fighting that ended the summer excursion by McDowell's Union army.

Priced at an affordable level, this book is sure to be a cornerstone of the series of map books that the author will be producing in conjunction with Savas Beatie, a series that will be welcomed by gamers, trampers, Civil War buffs, reenactors, battlefield tourists, and general military enthusiasts alike.

I found the maps of Balls Bluff particularly useful in figuring out what happened at the obscure but complex early Civil War Battle. A job well done and I recommend it.

I recently read Dr. Bradley Gottfried's newest book, "The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff, June-October 1861." This is the second in the series of Gottfried's "map books," having released "The Maps of Gettysburg" in June 2008. Dr. Gottfried holds a Ph.D. in Zoology from Miami University and is president of the College of Southern Maryland. An avid historian Gottfried has published seven books on the American Civil War.

Before I endorse a book like this, I like to take it for a test drive. I was able to do this on a recent trip to Centreville, this past June. The book truly allowed me to understand the minutiae of the troop movements. With the 69th New York being one of my favorite regiments, I was able to trace their movements with Colonel William Sherman's brigade, from the Farm Ford to their actions near the intersection of the Warrenton Turnpike and the Manassas-Sudley Road. This enhanced my visit to the battlefield as I was able to walk in the same paths as the Irish Brigade. The book is set up to take the reader on a long journey through the battlefield or can easily be used to drill down into one part of the engagement. It provides enough detail, especially with the maps, to be a valuable resource for the serious Civil War student and its engaging prose is very easy for the casual enthusiast to conceptualize the flow of the battle.

Recently, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Dr. Gottfried about his book, "The Maps of First Bull Run." You can listen to the interview by going to my blog, ThisMightyScourge [dot] com and clicking on the "interviews" category in the right menu.

Michael Noirot
This Mighty Scourge blog
Saint Louis, Missouri
July 1, 2010

This is another in the series of map studies of CivilWar battles published by Savas Beatie, and like the previous two (Gottfried's previous volume on Gettysburg and Dave Powell's Chickamauga) is simply outstanding. The book starts with the initial position of forces at the beginning of the campaign and shows their subsequent movements on a day to day basis, with detailed descriptions on the pages facing the maps.

When the forces reach the battlefield, the scale of maps increases and the time frames decrease to show the tactical movements of the various units on an hourly or even half hourly basis. This is quite simply an excellent way to follow the narrative of a battle and understand just what happened and why it happened.
The book is crisply written and beautifully mapped, as a bonus we get a detailed exposition of the Union expedition to Ball's Bluff which happened a couple of months after the Bull Run Battle. I can't recommend this book highly enough for providing an excellent overview of the battle.

Too bad I didn't have this book on my first tour of Gettysburg. After reading Stephen Sears book and going to Gettysburg on a tour, my head split with trying to understand this complicated battle or battles. After reading this book, especially about the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble charge it was easier to understand. Each action had a map on the other page making it much easier to understand what was going on.

Highly recommended, particularly for those, like myself, who had a hard time trying to wrap her head about the battle. Each succeeding tour became easier. By the time I was walking across the field of the Charge, I knew what was happening. A must for any Civil War buff.

In this hobby, maps are essential! You need maps as a reader of a battle history or as a walker on the battlefield every bit as much as the participants did. Once lost, it can be almost impossible to orientate yourself on the field. As a reader, this can require rereading several pages and constantly say, "NO, it is over here!" As a battlefield walker, you will have to retrace your steps and lose time better spent learning. In either case, your frustration level increases and you enjoyment level falls.
Maps are expensive! Every author, every publisher will be quick to tell you how expensive maps are. In the next breath, they will tell you about the relationship between price and sales. While I understand this, I have seen more than one good history ruined for a lack of maps. "Sufficient", being defined as the minimum number of maps possible without producing major complaints seems to be the goal. However, it seems to be a dream more often than not. As a reader of history, my position is good maps and footnotes are a requirement. If that increases the price, so be it.
Given this attitude, a book of battle maps is going to be a popular item with me. Based on the author's excellent "The Maps of Gettysburg", I had high expectations and was not disappointed. The format is simple: on the left hand is a page of text, on the right hand is a map. The text is literate, easy to read and well footnoted. The maps have a scale of about 100 to 600 yards per inch depending on the view.
First Bull Run has 37 maps. Six cover the approaches to the battle, laying out initial positions, marches and positions on the field. The July 18 skirmish at Blackburn's Ford has three excellent maps, scaled at 500 yards per inch, covering the action from noon to 3 PM. Three maps cover the finial movements onto the field and preparation for battle. Maps 13 through 36 cover the fighting on Matthews Hill, Henry Hill, Chinn Ridge and the Federal retreat. A small detail but a vital one, scale is consistent within a map set. This means that the battery you want to follow will not be moving because they changed the map's scale.
Maps 40 through 51 cover the Battle of Ball's Bluff. The maps dealing with initial positions, movement to the field and the retreat have a scale of 450 yards per inch. The maps dealing with the fighting have a scale of 105 yards per inch. This gives us both the overview and detail needed for this important action.
The book works on several levels it is an excellent military atlas, the narration is a fine introduction or review of the battles or for walking the battlefields. First Bull Run and Ball's Bluff have an order of battle complete with losses. A full bibliography, index and notes complete the book.
This book solves my libraries' problem with maps for First Bull Run and Ball's Bluff.

In spite of some defects, which I will discuss below, the book is very useful in understanding 1st Manassas/Bull Run. The maps for Ball's Bluff are a bit problematic.

A truly wish I could give Mr. Gottfried's "The Maps of First Bull Run" a better ranking, but I cannot. In reading his book, "The Maps of Gettysburg," I noted several errors. Since the terrain at the Gettysburg Battlefield proper is well know, I did not spend much time worrying over those errors. However, the errors in "The Maps of First Bull Run" with regard to Ball's Bluff are another matter.

I will only concentrate on two map sets from this work: 1) Map 40, which purports to show the area between Washington, DC. And Leesburg, Virginia, and 2) Maps 41 through 44, which purport to show the Balls Bluff Battle Area.

First, Gottfried's maps do not agree with each other. Map 40 shows the road from Edward's Ferry to Leesburg starting south of Goose Creek (unnamed), whereas Maps 41-44 show the road starting north of Goose Creek (which is correct).

Map 40 has numerous errors. Gottfried shows a road running from Edward's Ferry Southeast to Guilford Station. There was no such road as he shows it. The real road crossed the road between Edwards Ferry and Leesburg a good way west of Edwards Ferry, and crossed the Goose Creek Canal (a fact never mentioned, but of great importance) at the Kipheart & Davis Mill and Saw Mill, then joined the Leesburg and Alexandria Turnpike via two branches, one to Belmont P.O. and one to Frankville. Neither of these branches got near Guilford Sta.

Gottfried shows Catoctin Mountain running NE of Leesburg; it does not. Catoctin Mtn runs almost due north from Leesburg to Point of Rocks, MD. Moreover, Map 40 does not show the roads leading NE from Leesburg to Spinks Ferry (sometimes called The Hauling Ford) and Noland's Ferry, nor does it show White's Ford, nor does it show how the road from Conrad's Ferry to Leesburg. Please note, these were the key roads in understanding Stone's command duties at the Corps of Observation at Camps Benton and Stone near Poolesville (the property whereon Camp Benton was located I own). Understanding these roads, fords, and ferries is critical to understanding the Battle of Balls Bluff.

There are other errors on Map 40, including other roads where there were none, major roads missing, water courses unnamed, but there are additional errors in the text. Gottfried describes the "Langley" crossing of the Potomac (a worry to McClellan) as near Poolesville. There are several problems here. First, there were no crossings at Langley (excepting Chain Bridge, well guarded); there was Coon's Ferry above Great Falls, which led to Rockville via Offutt's Cross Roads in Maryland. Second, there was Seneca Ford, which was closer to Poolesville, but is not indicated on Map 40 (JEB Stuart crossed his cavalry there during the Gettysburg campaign). [NOTE: Gottfried inaccurately locates Edwards Ferry at Seneca in "The Maps of Gettysburg."] In short, Gottfried's text accompanying Map 40 is wrong on this point.

Maps 41-44 are on a much smaller scale than Map 41. While the errors here are fewer, they are more misleading on a small scale map. First, Gottfried does not show the road that connected the crossroads of the Kipheart Mill Rd. and Edwards Ferry Rd. with Smart's Mill and the Potomac warehouses north of Conrad's Ferry. This road, although not major, could have been used by the 1st Minnesota and the 7th Michigan to give flank support to Baker's troops at Ball's Bluff. It also could have been used as a line of retreat by the 15th and 20th Mass. and the 42nd NY instead of the disastrous attempt to re-cross the Potomac to Harrison's Island. Also missing is the extension to River Road on the Maryland side Stone had built to connect Edwards Ferry and Conrad's Ferry without exposing troops to fire on the C&O Canal tow path. This road could have been used to move troops and, more importantly, artillery to the battle area from either ferry, but was not so used.

In sum, a book that purports to be about battle maps should be more accurate. Some errors in Civil War era maps are inevitable. But many of the errors committed by Gottfried could have been prevented by simply consulting the Atlas that accompanied the OR. Alas, what this book could and should be in relation to what it is are distant peaks for the Ball's Bluff maps.