The Official Military Atlas of the Civil War

by Calvin D. Cowles (Compililation), George Breckenridge Davis, Leslie J. Perry

This is an invaluable book and is truly a must-have for any Civil War researcher. This is a 2003 re-printing by Barns & Noble Publishing Inc. of the 1983 Arno Press Inc. and Crown Publishers Inc printing. Unlike other versions it has the plates numbered in Arabic and not Roman Numerals which is much easier to search.

Genres: History, Civil War, American Civil War, Reference, Maps, Nonfiction, War

397 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Jimmy]

This works better as a curiosity piece rather than as a reference book. The maps seemed to be assembled in random order rather than by campaign. Practically every Civil War book published nowadays includes maps (which are also better than the ones in this atlas), so owning the Official Records atlas seems superfluous to me.

[John Lomnicki,]

Because this is a very large format book, I gave it 4 stars. I bought it to review the area abound Vicksburg around 1863. It was adequate and confused me only a bit. I picked up 98 days by Grabau, not large format maps, but a lot of clear maps and identification of detail- definitive standard for Vicksburg maps

[Joey]

You'll need a friend to help you carry it.

[Freddy Wilson]

This has spent literally years just sitting around on my shelfs collecting dust. Never really look at it (maybe once or twice in the first week after getting it). Really should put it out for a yardsale one of these days.

[William P.]

Hats off to Barnes And Noble for putting this wonderful atlas within reach of everyone. Prior to this publication you would have to go to the library reference room and you could remove it.

[Bobbie Jo]

Davis, G. B., Perry, L. J., & Kirkley, J. W. (2003). The official military atlas of the Civil War. New York, NY: Barnes & Noble.

Citation By: Bobbie Jo Noblett

Reference Type: Atlas

Call Number: 973.70223/DAV

Content/Scope: Published in conjunction with the U.S. War Department, this compilation of military history is the first of its kind published. It contains maps that refer to campaigns and battles, rivers, creeks, lakes, bays, islands, and many other places important to the war.

Accuracy/Authority/Bias: This book was published under the direction of Hons. Redfield Proctor, Stephen B. Elkins, and Daniel S. Lamont, Secretaries of War.

Arrangement/Presentation: The 397 page book includes an index for its featured illustrations, maps, engravings, and drawings.

Relation to Similar Works: This book was originally published in 1983 under the same title.

Timeliness and Permanence: This second edition has been revised and added to. Because the Civil War was so long ago, many of the artifacts have already been discovered. Therefore, new information is rather rare.

Accessibility/Diversity: This book is available in hardback only.

Cost: $59.95

[Roaldeuller]

As others have noted, this is a gigantic tome, in fact, I couldn't figure out what it was when the box showed up at my door - What had I ordered that was this big?

Five stars for the wonderfully detailed period maps, but my final ranking is four stars for a couple of reasons: 1) The organization of the maps is haphazard, for example I found maps of the Battle of Gettysburg widely scattered across multiple plates. This is true for other battles as well. If you look hard enough and make use of the index you can usually find what you are looking for. 2) There is NO explanatory text whatsoever. This stands to reason since this was originally a maps-only volume issued as part of the massive "Official Records" (OR). This is fine but be aware that you will not be able follow a narrative of the conflict using this volume alone (which is compounded by the random organization of the maps). Something like the National Geographic Civil War Atlas is superior in this respect.

But overall a great and essential resource for the Civil War scholar and buff.

[Mark Saha]

These maps were originally sold in a pouch as a companion item for the Scribners 16 volume history of the war. Eventually they were photoreduced 10% and bound in a book. Barnes and Noble reduced them another 10% for this reissued volume.

Though the maps are not always as helpful as more modern ones you can find on google images, they are utterly fascinating. The book also has photographs and diagrams of various fortifications and weapons systems.

The rail nets of the period are also interesting to study. For example, a single railroad ran from the port of Galveston to Houston; from there, a starburst of lines spread across the state like fingers but were dead ends. This system allowed imports from Galveston to be distributed across the state, and exports (mostly cotton) from across the state to be sent to Galveston.

[Amy]

We've had this book for years in our Adult Reference collection, but recently, we moved it to our circulating collection and so I took the opportunity to study it a little more deeply.

Anyways, even though the book is almost 30 years old, it is really quite fascinating. It not only shows maps of the United States during the Civil War, but there are also photographs of towns and cities, as well as railroad maps and then at the end the uniforms of Confederate and Union officers and soldiers.

One of the maps that I found most interesting was a railroad map of southern Ohio. I got to see the tracks that go from Parkersburg, WV back towards Athens and then on to Moonville and Hamden (in Vinton County -- my home county) before swinging west into Raytown and Chillicothe and beyond.

[Eric Williams]

Yet another in a long, long line of weird and totally useless gifts from my family. I flipped through a few pages when I first got it, then put it on a shelf never to be taken down again. Never found any need or reason to look at it in the fifteen long years that I've had it, not even once. I probably should get rid of it one of these days.

[Fredrick Danysh]

Contains many maps and brief descriptions of battles that took place during the American Civil War. It is a coffee table book but still interesting and can serve as a reference.

[Jefferson Coombs]

This is not a book to read. It is just filled with maps that were drawn during the Civil War. Super fun to look at.