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Description

A Map Serving to Illustrate one of the First Instances of Modern Warfare

Scarce, separately-issued example of this cornerstone antique map of one of the key events of the Civil War - Sherman's March to the Sea, a month-long scorched-earth campaign from Atlanta to Georgia.

Sherman's onwards march to Goldsboro, which cut Confederate forces from the coast is also shown. This campaign is understood as having been one of the breaking points for the Confederate army and has been studied by military historians as one of the first modern examples of scorched earth warfare. This map served to accompany a governmental report on the operations, published in 1865.

The map shows the subparallel routes taken by three army corps and a cavalry division, who fanned out across the countryside in order to better forage for supplies. This operation, which lasted until the waning months of the war, was perhaps Sherman's greatest achievement. He led his troops without supply chains deep into Southern territory, destroying the agricultural and industrial potential of the heartland. The second part of the march, from Savannah to Goldsboro, cut off Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, effectively sealing the fate of the war.

States and Rarity

We note at least three states of the map, of which the present map would appear to be the third:

  1. Area around the title embellished with a group of flags and, to the left of the title block, a note "Prepared by Order fo the Secretary of War..." The map does not show "Surrender of Gen'l. Johnston Apl. 18. 1865." Nor does it show the capture of Jefferson Davis at Irvinsville. Click here for an example at Harvard.
  2. Note above the neatline in the upper-left corner: "39th Cong. 1st. Sess. _ Report of the Chief Engineer U.S.A." and in the upper-right: "No. 3". Note below the neatline in the lower-right corner: "Note Operations of the Army from Chattanooga to Atlanta (from 5th May to 4th Sep. 1864. are indicated thus .... Union Works | ....Rebel Works".
  3. Decorative embellishments have been erased, as have the notes above the neatline. The notes below the neatline remain.

Please note this is a tentative list and has not been compared against all possible cartobibliographies.

Condition Description
Original hand-color, in outline. Minor dampstain in the upper right. Whereas some examples on the market are on thin paper and folded, this example is of the heavier stock, separately-issued printing, which is more desirable by far.