The Oxford Atlas of the Civil War [Hardcover]

Steven E. Woodworth (Author), Kenneth J. Winkle (Author), James McPherson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2004

Offering the clearest and most comprehensive examination of the conflict that transformed the United States, the Atlas of the Civil War reveals the full dimensions of this historic confrontation. Surpassing the scope of any previously published single-volume work, this atlas pairs expert scholarship with bold mapping to vividly depict the ebb and flow of destruction and reconstruction.

Divided chronologically into five sections, the Atlas of the Civil War illustrates every significant battle and military campaign while simultaneously considering the important social themes that shaped the country during the same time period. All theaters of war in which armies fought and maneuvered will be covered in detail and, marking a major departure from other atlases, this volume will devote substantial attention to the nonmilitary elements of the struggle between North and South. Maps of population, economic development, elections, transportation networks and patterns of enlistment illuminate the intersections between the home front and the battlefield, demonstrating with specially commissioned cartography that no war is fought in isolation from the rest of society. Approximately forty three-dimensional maps of terrain and troop movements add yet another unique element to this ambitious reference.

Written by two esteemed Civil War historians, Kenneth Winkle and Steven Woodworth, the pithy text is accented with black and white photography and illustrations that bring key characters and settings to life. Pulitzer-prize winning author James McPherson, guides the project, setting the tone of the atlas with a foreword and five shorter essays the open each of the sections.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–This visually stunning atlas presents a plethora of information about the War Between the States and America in the mid-19th century. The book is divided into five chronological sections, one for each year of the war. Each section begins with an overview of the year: "1861: The Coming of War" includes text and maps delineating westward expansion, the spread of slavery, political maneuverings such as the Compromise of 1850, immigration data, population statistics, railroad maps, the election of 1860, secession, and the early battles. For each year, military, political, and social issues are discussed. Topics are presented over two to three pages with an introductory essay and captioned reproductions, archival photographs, and colorful, detailed maps that are easy to read. Battlefield maps use distinctive colors and precise markings, explained in the legend at the beginning of the book. For some of the battles, locations and positions are amplified with additional maps. A detailed chronology and glossary round out the volume. Students will find this a welcome and user-friendly addition.–Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley College, Mt. Carmel, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

This is the latest in a long series of atlases dealing with the American Civil War.

Each of five major chapters is devoted to a single year from 1861 to 1865. In addition to every important battle, there is coverage of nonmilitary topics, such as population, the economy, transportation, elections, and the home front. For example, the chapter "1862: The Struggle for Union" has a section on the Emancipation Proclamation (with a table showing the number of slaves per county in 1862). The chapter "1863: The Turning of the Tide" has a section on Confederate trade. Each chapter covers around 60 pages. The work ends with a list of major battle sites, a chronology, a glossary, a short bibliography, and an index, which provides access to illustrations and maps as well as names.

The most stunning feature of this atlas is the full-color maps that depict not just battles but the value of farmland, the spread of slavery, the construction of railroads, and more. Approximately 40 specially commissioned three-dimensional maps show terrain and troop movements. The western campaigns, such as the invasion of New Mexico by Texas, receive full coverage even though they are not as widely known as the more famous battles in the East. Even smaller battles, such as Pleasant Hill and Mansfield, which are important to Louisiana but not well known outside the state, are included. Illustrations, many of them reproductions of period photographs, add still another dimension to this work.

What sets this atlas apart from others on the Civil War is the inclusion of the social, cultural, economic, and political facets of the war. Its scope and reasonable price recommend it to high-school, public, school, and academic libraries. Abbie Vestal Landry
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1st Printing edition (December 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195221311
• ISBN-13: 978-0195221312
• Product Dimensions: 13.6 x 10.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Education & Reference > Atlases & Maps > Historical

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A slipshod production, August 8, 2005

By 

Polymath (Ithaca NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Atlas of the Civil War (Hardcover)

Yes, this book contains the good things mentioned in the editorial and other reviews: broader coverage than just the campaigns, excellent introductions by James MacPherson, and many maps. However, in just a few hours perusing the book, I have found a multitude of errors and anomalies which suggest to me a lack of care in putting the book together, something I would not expect from a book bearing the Oxford imprint. Some of these are:

--on p94 the battle of Antietam is said to have occurred in 1863. Sure, misprints happens, but shouldn't one of this import be caught?

--similarly, the first sentence on p182 refers to July 1, in a context that appears to indicate that this date refers to the upcoming action, which happens to be the second day of Gettysburg, July 2!

--on p206, the article correctly speaks of an action between the ships Alabama and Kearsarge off Cherbourg, France, whereas the accompanying map shows Atlanta and Kearsarge at that location.

--In a worse example of map error, the overview map of the Vicksburg campaign on p165 shows the Yazoo and the Big Black as essentially the same river: rather than separately flowing into the Mississippi north of Vicksburg, the Yazoo is shown joining up with the Big Black and flowing with it into the Mississippi well south of Vicksburg.

--near the bottom of p302, in an example of poor editing, the phrase "sometimes wading for hours at a time" occurs redundently in two close together sentences.

--in a worse example of poor editing, Grant's actions at the end of 1862 (1st Vicksburg) are placed out of chronological order prior to his actions at the beginning of 1862 (Fort Donelson and Shiloh), so that the 1862 campaign in the west is hard to follow.

--near the bottom of p286, the text refers (in words) to "eighteen thousand percent" Confederate inflation, whereas the figure shown at the bottom of p202 says "1800 percent". I certainly hope that the writers of this book don't think these two numbers are the same.

--in what may just be a Britishism, the glossary states that soldiers found it difficult "bighting" into hardtack.

Some of these errors I noticed by merely glancing at a page; others I discovered with a closer reading. However, given that I have at most perused a few dozen pages of the book, this seems to me to be an inordinate mumber of errors, indicative of sloppy editing and perhaps a rush job to meet a deadline. You may not mind these errors, but I do, and I give you fair warning.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, December 9, 2005

By 

Richard V. Utt (Edmonds, Wa. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Oxford Atlas of the Civil War (Hardcover)

At first I was impressed by the maps and graphics in this book. As I began to study the battles I am particularly interested in I was suprised to find several gross errors. For example,the section on General Steele's Camden Expedition, has the map showing Thayer's Frontier Division meeting up with Steele at Elkin's Ferry via Murfreesboro, AR. The Map did not get even close to the correct route. Thayer came down via Hot Springs and Rockport and then followed Steele's army south until he caught up with Steele near Elkins Ferry. But I am amazed that the the map shows the Battle of Poison Springs on April 18, 1864 at Princeton which is 30+ miles northeast of Camden. Poison Springs is about 10+ miles West of Camden. I have to wonder who the heck researched this information and how could they be so far off????!!! It brings the creditability of this book into serious question!!!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful resource, May 26, 2007

By 

Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Oxford Atlas of the Civil War (Hardcover)

As other reviewers have noted, there are some annoying errors in the text. However, it provides an accessible introduction to Civil War battles and maneuvers, and--as such--has some value. That said, the maps and text do not always elucidate matters so well.

For instance, the battle of Logan's Crossroads (or Mill Springs). This was nasty early battle, in which Confederate generalship was inept and Union General George Thomas began to separate himself from Union mediocrities among general officers. The map on page 98 details the larger theater, but is not illuminating, given the lack of text. The map of the battle of Logan's Crossroads itself is useful, because the text accompanying it provides enough detail to make sense of things.

On occasion, some errors creep in. The discussion of Chancellorsville speaks of Howard's 6th Corps being outflanked and "rolled up." It was, of course, the 11th Corps that was so roughly handled, with Sedgwick's 6th Corps still at Fredericksburg.

At the same time, the volume does provide context. The first section focuses on "The Coming of War," and provides intelligible background, from issues of slavery to economics to demographics. All these trends began to create tensions between north and south. Graphics helpfully portray some of these sectional differences. On pages 56-57, we see how manufacturing differed dramatically by region (in terms of number of employees in manufacturing concerns) over decades.

Each section thereafter looks at a particular year during the conflict, exploring the combat, the campaigning, the state of each government and its people, economic productivity, and so on.

The volume concludes with the aftereffects of war, including presidential elections, Reconstruction, and so on.

The book is pretty well written. Steven Woodworth is a well known and reputable Civil War historian. Kenneth Winkle, the co-author, is also a well known historian. The format is such that only a handful of pages are devoted to a particular campaign or battle, and that means that detailed treatments of major engagements does not occur. Still, as a wide-ranging, graphically rich publication, this has a useful place in the library for those who want to get a broad introduction to the Civil War.