N.D. | Map
If the presence of the Union army and/or a battle constituted a war zone, then only in Virginia did the Civil War?s destruction touch the majority of counties. Vast sections of the South remained out of the war zone, but over the course of the war destruction tended to follow closely along the pathways of the major lines of communication and transportation. From Paul F. Paskoff, ?Measures of War: A Quantitative Examination of the Civil War?s Destructiveness in the Confederacy,? Civil War History, Vol. 54, No. 1 (March 2008). (Reproduced with permission of Paul F. Paskoff)
1861 | Map
Using a fifteen-mile buffer around the railroad networks for each state in 1861, and an algorithm to distribute a county?s population across the landscape, this estimate of the percentage of county residents who had access to the railroad depots shows the South?s advances in the 1850s. The addition of more railroad miles reached a point of diminishing returns in every state.
March 13, 1862 | Map
This map from the New York Daily Tribune is an example of the methods newspapers used to help Americans visualize the geography of warfare — shaping their perceptions of the war and the landscapes on which it was fought. This map illustrates the position of Union forces along the Potomac just days before many of the troops headed south to begin the Peninsula Campaign.
May 6, 1862 | Map
Also known as the Battle of South Mills, the Battle of Camden depicted here took place April 19 and the seige of Fort Macon lasted from March 23 to April 26; both were part of General Ambrose Burnside's North Carolina Expedition. On May 6, 1862, these New York Daily Tribune maps provided readers with detailed images of fields of battle and transportation resources hundreds of miles of away - bringing images of warfare and the geography of an enemy region into their homes.
May 6, 1862 | Map
This map from the front page of the May 6, 1862, New York Daily Tribune helped Americans unfamiliar with the geography of eastern Virginia sort out the landscape and resources associated with the names of towns and railroad junctions coming from newspaper reports. The constant flow of war information and visual representations like this map kept Americans abreast of far-away developments.
May 9, 1862 | Map
Although small, this map illustrates the interconnection of railroads and battle lines in the South.
May 9, 1862 | Map
In the wake of the Seige of Yorktown (April 5 - May 4, 1862), readers of the New York Daily Tribune are provided with a map and description of the city's defenses, even as they read about the retreat of rebel forces from Yorktown.
May 12, 1862 | Map
This front page image illustrates the importance of maps of space and resources (including railroads) to readers of Civil War-era newspapers. Note the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad running up the center of the larger map; a number of other rail lines criss-cross the map.
May 12, 1862 | Map
In the wake of the Battle of Hampton Roads, the New York Daily Tribune prints a map of the waterways and fortifications near Norfolk, Virginia.
May 12, 1862 | Map
During the Peninsula Campaign, the New York Daily Tribune provides readers with a detailed picture of the eastern Virginia; the Table of Distances at the bottom of the map further informs readers about the space and landscape being described in reports and dispatches. Note the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad running up the center of the image; a number of other rail lines criss-cross the map.
1898 | Map
This map from the 1898 Statistical Atlas of the United States depicts the entire United States railroad system in 1890. The accompanying table charts the increase in railroad mileage from 1830 to 1890.
1925 | Map
These two maps from the 1925 Statistical Atlas of the United States offer regional and national geographical representations of the changing centers of population in the United States from 1790 to 1920.
1932 | Map
This map from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States offers a geographic rendering of the United States' center of population from 1790 to 1930. It references six organizational categories, including total population, urban population, rural population, foreign-born population, and Negro population.
1932 | Map
This map from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States reveals the United States land grants available for the construction of railroads and wagon roads between 1823-1871. As the key indicates, dark lines represent the limits of the land grants, while white and striped areas differentiate between unforfeited and forfeited Federal land grants for railroads.
1932 | Map
This series of maps from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States shows the progressive decrease in travel time by depicting the time required to travel from New York to various western locations in 1800, 1830, 1857, AND 1930.
1932 | Map
These two maps from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States display overland mail routes and railroad lines in the United States during the mid-nineteenth century. The maps show the extent of railroads in 1850 and 1860 and overland mail from 1850 to 1869.
1932 | Map
This map from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States depicts the various railroad lines operating in the United States in 1840.
1932 | Map
This map from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States displays the Harriman Railroad System in 1914, including the Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and Los Angeles, San Pedro, and Salt Lake railroads.
1932 | Map
This map from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States depicts the vast railroad system James J. Hill owned in 1914.
1932 | Map
This map from the 1932 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States depicts the New England railroad system in 1914, including the New York, New Haven, and Hartford, the Boston and Maine, and the Maine Central railroads.