Sold – Three Rare Battlefield-Used Maps of the Officer in Charge of Supplying Sherman’s Army of the Cumberland During the Atlanta Campaign

In November 1863, the Union armies captured Chattanooga, the "Gateway to the South."  This was a domino that started a chain reaction.  New General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant was replaced as Commanding General of the Military Division of the Mississippi in March 1864 by Gen. William T. Sherman.  Grant moved very quickly to overwhelm the South and immediately ordered Sherman to move against Atlanta and the Confederate heartland, at the same time as he sent Gen. Nathaniel Banks to attack Mobile, Alabama.  To take Georgia, Sherman assembled a combined force of 112,000 men, poised to enter enemy territory.  But to move and supply such a force required great coordination.

Sherman placed a high value on mapping activities and considered them crucial to success.  The Topographical Department of the Army of the Cumberland was chiefly responsible for plotting the path of his large armies.  So, far from Washington's printing presses, Sherman established a lithographic and printing facility that allowed him to create maps on site (and even on-the-move). He also found men with mapping and printing experience to work for him.

Joseph Corson Read was one of the first wave of men to take up Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers to put down the rebellion in April 1861. He remained continuously in the army, serving first on General Jesse Reno's staff and rising to the rank of Chief Commissary for the Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Gen. George H. Thomas.  Thomas was impressed with Read, and on May 1, 1864, with the spring campaign against Atlanta imminent, Thomas named Read Chief Commissary of the Army of the Cumberland in the Field. This meant that, although Colonel A. P. Porter was the Army's overall chief, Read would serve alongside Thomas in the field and had the responsibility to supply the entire army as it moved South. During the long and arduous Atlanta campaign he was the man on the ground, making the supply side work. Read developed a close relationship with Thomas, one with both personal and professional aspects.

In the Atlanta campaign, Sherman had three armies under his command, of which the Cumberland was one, and they faced off against Confederate generals Joseph E. Johnston and John B. Hood in a series of battles in northern Georgia. Sherman was able to force the surrender of Atlanta in September 1864, boosting Northern morale and helping President Lincoln get reelected. Read was instrumental throughout this process. As the man on the field, he communicated throughout supply chain and worked to see that the men got the supplies they needed.

Three rare maps, issued to Read to be used to supply Sherman's force during the invasion of Atlanta, and Thomas' and Wilsons' fprces thereafter.

1) Sherman's primary Atlanta Campaign map, commissioned by Sherman and owned by used by Read.  In preparation for the invasion of Atlanta, the Cumberland printing office, under the direction of William E. Merrill, took the best known map covering the region and elaborated on it in detail after first speaking with refugees, spies, prisoners, etc. Just two days before the start of the campaign, Merrill and company made the maps easier to use by taking them and dividing them into sections, and backing each on cloth for use in the field.

Lithographed folding map of Northern Georgia, made under the Direction of Capt. W. E. Merrill, Chattanooga, 2 May 1864, about 3 feet by 3 feet, sectioned and linen-backed as issued, with original card covers and printed paper label. The map shows great detail, including rail lines, natural features, and some of Major Read's markings.  Since only men ranking at least major were meant to be issued them, only 200 or so were created and selectively distributed.  Of those few of this masterpiece that survive, many are in institutions.  This map is considered one of the great maps of the Civil War and is featured on the site of the Library of Congress devoted to Civil War map making history.

Sherman's road to victory was a road charted by this map. Just 5 days after this it was made, on May 7, 1864, Sherman's army began the long march South towards Atlanta (marked on this map by four hand-drawn dots), which culminated on September 1 when the Confederates evacuated the city.  All the while, Read was present, and used this very map to obtain and direct supplies, likely also using it to raid the countryside looking for supplies and provisions. Read saw some of the railroads pictured on this map torn up, rail by rail. After Atlanta fell, Read moved next to Chattanooga, TN; and since this map includes that region also, it was ideally suited for his journey there as well.

Civil War Maps of Mississippi and Alabama

In 1863 and 1864, to support impending Union movements in the region, the US Coast Survey worked to prepare detailed maps of Mississippi and Alabama, from the border with Tennessee, through Vicksburg and Montgomery, and to all points south to the Gulf.  Henry Lindenkohl and his brother Adolph were German immigrants responsible for actually drawing these field maps. The decision was made to create two maps of Mississippi and Alabama, divided not by state but by latitude. They are both labeled to note that they contain information derived from "Campaign maps and information furnished by Capt. O.M. Poe, Chief Engineer, Military Division of the Mississippi, and by Capt. W.E. Merrell, Chief Engineer, Department of the Cumberland." This is the same Merrill mentioned above. The circulation of both, like the Georgia map, was limited to those in senior positions so they are uncommon.  

2) Map of Northern Mississippi and Alabama, 1864, in its original board covers.  With ownership signature of J.C. Read.  Approximately 2 feet by 3 feet.

This highly detailed map extends from the border with Tennessee and all points south to Vicksburg and Montgomery, produced to support the operations of the Union Army there in 1864.

3) Southern Mississippi and Alabama showing the approaches to Mobile, 1863, in its original board covers.  With ownership signature of J.C. Read.  Approximately 2 feet by 3 feet.

This highly detailed coastal map includes part of west Florida and shows drainage, place names, roads, and railroads.

These maps are individually rare.  When they do reach the market, it is very seldom possible to identify the original owners.  To find them together, as used, with an identifiable person to whom they were issued and for an important purpose, is particularly uncommon.