Catalogue

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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

McElfresh provides a wonderful collection of Civil War maps and explanatory text, which together illustrate several points about this great conflict that are often overlooked or taken for granted. Given the transportation technologies available to Federal and Confederate armies in the 1860s, the organizational and materiel requirements to conduct war were exceptionally complex. How does one maneuver, as General William T. Sherman did in 1864, with 100,000 troops, 60,000 horses and mules, 5,180 wagons, and 860 ambulances, across unfamiliar terrain? Whether armies numbered in the hundreds or tens of thousands they often maneuvered and fought on unmapped land. Mapmakers were frequently topographic engineers whose skills made them among the most valued of all service personnel. Accurate maps were the highest form of military intelligence, allowing thorough planning for movement, resupply, and strategic army emplacement relative to topographic access or superior vantage points. Maps were updated frequently, sometimes daily, and large armies traveled with a mapmaking detachment. This collection of 150 color maps is an important contribution to Civil War geography and history, as well as an authoritative contribution to the history of cartography. All levels. K. B. Raitz; University of Kentucky