Sign up to receive email notices of recent acquisitions.
Map of the Siege of Vicksburg, Miss. by the U. S. Forces Under the Command of Maj. Genl. U. S. Grant, U. S. Vls. Maj. F. E. Prime. Chief Engr.
[Vicksburg, Miss., Head Qrs. of the Dept. of the Tenn., 1863] Lithograph, 29.125” x 27.125” plus margins. Location of Union and Confederate forces printed in red and blue. CONDITION: Good, rebacked with Japanese tissue, overall toning with some darker toning in lower half, repaired short tears in lower right margin, light soiling in margins. An impressive map showing the disposition of the Union and Confederate forces during the Siege of Vicksburg, published shortly after the Union victory there—a major turning point of the Civil War. This map shows the city of Vicksburg, situated near a sharp bend in the Mississippi River, various buildings both in town and in outlying areas, city streets and roads through the broader region, the “railroad to Jackson,” and the varied and rugged topography to the north, south and east of the city. The Union forces, shown here in blue opposite the Confederate forces in red, consist of the divisions of Major General Herron and General Lauman in the south, the 13th and 17th Army Corps under Major Generals Ord and McPherson holding the east, and the 15th Army corps under General Sherman in the north. Major General Grant’s headquarters during the siege is shown northeast of the city, behind the line formed by Sherman’s 15th Corps, while his post-siege headquarters is located at the southern edge of Vicksburg. To the right of the map are cross sections of three Rebel and three Federal batteries, and at the upper left an additional cross-section presents the Rebel Rifle Pit. In the upper left corner and on the right side of the map are topographic profiles of the battleground, showing the terrain between the Federal and the Rebel trenches, identified here as “Federal Works” and “Rebel Works,” as well as several roads. Lines on the map marked AB, CD, EF, GH, and IK identify the strips of land represented by the profiles. The map was surveyed and compiled by a team of engineers working under the direction of Captain Cyrus B. Comstock and Lieutenant Colonel James H. Wilson, and included Major Otto H. Matz, Charles Spangenberg as draftsman, and others. Cyrus Comstock (1831–1910) was an officer and engineer who achieved lasting acclaim after his service at Vicksburg. Prior to his military career, Comstock was educated at West Point, and soon after became a professor of natural and experimental philosophy there. By the start of the Civil War, he was transferred to Washington D.C., where he supervised the construction of fortifications around the capital. After serving in the Peninsular Campaign, Comstock was appointed Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac, and aided in the construction of bridges over the Rappahannock River in the unsuccessful Battle of Fredericksburg. While Chief Engineer, Comstock also took command of the Union’s Balloon Corps, much to the chagrin of chief aeronaut Thaddeus Lowe. Their ensuing bickering swiftly led to the disbandment of the Corps. Afterwards, Comstock was appointed Chief Engineer at the Siege of Vicksburg, and in this position he “helped bring about the surrender of that all-important final Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi. It was there that his efforts caught the attention of Gen. Ulysses Grant,” (Browne) leading to his appointment as Grant’s senior aide-de-camp. James Wilson (1837–1925) was a young officer renowned for his tremendous zeal and adaptability during his service in the Civil War. After graduating from West Point in 1860, he briefly found work as a topographical engineer before becoming General George McClellan’s aide-de-camp at Antietam. Shortly thereafter, he worked as chief engineer and inspector general under Ulysses S. Grant throughout the Vicksburg campaign. In that capacity, he became the brigadier general of the volunteers at the battle, and after Vicksburg, served at the battles of Chattanooga and Knoxville. After leaving the military in 1870, he entered the railroad construction business, and also wrote a number of books, the most significant of which was The Life of General U. S. Grant (New York, 1868). Lithographer Joseph Schedler (1813–1887) was a German émigré who established a map and globe firm in the 1850s. He was a partner in the lithographic firm of Schedler & Liebler of New York, which produced advertising material from 1852–1854. Schedler himself manufactured a wide variety of table, floor, and novelty globes primarily for school use, but also some designed specifically for use in the home. He was among the first American globe-makers to include details of shipping lines, telegraph lines, ocean currents, depth figures, and lines of magnetic variation. Schedler’s globe business was taken over by his son Herman, who ran the firm from the late 1880s into the twentieth century. The finest map of one of the signal moments in the Civil War, compiled by engineers serving under General Grant and published in the immediate wake of the Union victory. REFERENCES: Stephenson 285.1 (illustrated); A Guide to Civil War Maps in the National Archives (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1986), p. 91 (2.126); Browne, Patrick. “General Cyrus Comstock and the Lincoln Assassination Trials” at Historical Digression online; “James Wilson” at American Battlefield Trust online; Last, Jay. The Color Explosion, p. 225.
Item #8328
Price: $1,250.00
Add to Wish List