Maps and Mapmakers of the Civil War [Hardcover]

Earl B. McElfresh (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

McElfresh, a cartographer, a map historian, and president of the McElfresh Map Company, has assembled a remarkable corpus of Civil War-period maps and essays about them. Preliminary chapters explore the significance of mapmaking in the struggle between North and South, who actually made the maps, and how they were reproduced in sufficient quantities to be effective in the field. A final section features biographical sketches of 16 Civil War mapmakers--including George Armstrong Custer and Washington Roebling. Of the 180 illustrations contained here, 150 are in full color. This unusual resource is highly recommended for all libraries with emphases on cartography, the Civil War, or American history; libraries needing a Civil War atlas with battle summaries can still obtain American Heritage Battle Maps of the Civil War (Council Oak, 1997. reprint), which includes both period and recently produced maps.
-Edward K. Werner, St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Sys., Ft. Pierce, FL
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

According to historian Stephen Sears in the introduction, this map collection is the most comprehensive one published since the 1890s. If so, it's a vital acquisition for the Civil War collection. That the originals of the 180 maps reproduced are in the hands of institutions and private collections enhances its impression of being a once-in-a-century resource. In addition to captioning the 180 images, McElfresh explains in a textual section the techniques of making military maps in the era and delivers summaries of the cartographic careers of their makers. Of course, there's Jed Hotchkiss, famous as Stonewall Jackson's topographer, but the acid aphorist Ambrose Bierce also appears in a surprise drafter's role. The maps themselves require close examination to appreciate their detail, perhaps enabling the viewer to imagine the commander debating the military value of a ford, a road, a wood, or a hill. Some are roughly drawn field maps; others are sharper prints put together in calmer post-battle circumstances. In either case, immediacy is the effect, a quality cherished by the buffs. Gilbert Taylor

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; 1ST edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810934302
• ISBN-13: 978-0810934306
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,180,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and written history of a deserving subject, October 20, 1999

By 

Don Erickson, USCTE ([e-mail]) (Littleton, Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Maps and Mapmakers of the Civil War (Hardcover)

Easily the most important book on the Topographical Engineers since those by Goetzmann, Ryan, and Traas. Where these earlier books explained the role of the Topographical Engineers in western exploration and the Mexican War and the administrative history of the Corps, McElfresh has taken on the Civil War period of this illustrious group. The result is more than worth the money.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars McElfresh's Maps hold valuable keys to this conflict, October 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Maps and Mapmakers of the Civil War (Hardcover)

E. B. McElfresh has emerged has one of the experts of Civil War mapmaking. In addition to accumulating and presenting a treasure trove of never-before-published maps that so influenced the course of the campaigns, he also provides a wealth of entertaining and astute observations on this war.

This is an important and beautiful book that holds valuable keys to this conflict for both Civil War buffs and bystanders.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful window into Civil War mapping, November 12, 2000

By 

Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Maps and Mapmakers of the Civil War (Hardcover)

The heart and soul of this book are the numerous reproductions of original Civil War maps, most of them hand-drawn by topographical engieers. Some are familiar from their later, engraved versions which appeared in the atlas for the Official Records (although the originals shown here are always more vivid and immediate), while others have not been seen their original wartime use. Many are quite simply works of art, transforming the three-dimensional world into an exquisite two-dimensional rendition.

But superbly reproduced maps are not the only treasures in McElfresh's book. The introductory chapters about the work and importance of topographical engineers to the Civil War is perhaps the best account of them yet published. And one-page biographies are provided for many of them, some famous for other, post-war careers (Ambrose Bierce and George Armstrong Custer, for example).

This is a book which belongs in any collection of Civil War material.