Map of Atlanta by Robert Knox Sneden in 1865
US40 #9 ATLANTA, GEORGIA (Civil War Defences, 1865, Sneden) |
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| Date: | 1865 |
| Author: | Robert Knox Sneden |
| Dwnld: | Full Size (5mb) |
| Source: | Library of Congress |
| Print Availability: | |
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| See our Prints Page for more details | |
This map is part of a series depicting the 40 largest cities in the United States (as ranked by CBSA). This series will run through the month of July.
A fascinating and beautiful map of the Confederate defences of Atlanta, Georgia [gmap] by Robert Knox Sneden provides a nice compliment to the other Big Map Blog maps of maps of Atlanta.
Sneden's an interesting dude, and quite worthy of his own thorough write-up. I've found 300 or so maps by the guy, and they're all very, I dunno... “lyrical”? Would it be lame if I described a map as “lyrical”?
Anyway, I might optimize and post, say, 3 more Sneden maps -- but they're all worth looking at. I might just zip the rest of them and put a link somewhere. They're a treasure-trove.
For more map resources and imagery from this period in Atlanta's history, check out the Georgia Historical Society's website.
I love this map! What’s really neat is there are notes on the upper right margins indicating reference to events happening in 1879 and 1881. These notes were clearly added on later by contributors as you can see the handwriting is different in each paragraph. And there is a name in parenthesis I’m assuming was the person who added each note. The purple ink paragraph in particular talks about the death of Union Army Major General James B. McPherson. He was the second highest ranking Union officer killed during the war and the only commander of a Union army to die in the field.
The note reads: “Maj Genl Jas B McPherson was killed July 22th 1864 in the sof (south?) of battles before Atlanta. A monument was erected by Southerners on the site. Another monument was erected in Ohio. July 22nd 1881 where he was buried. McPherson graduated at (?) West Point in ?”
After refusing to surrender to CSA sharpshooters he was shot in the back – on horseback – while trying to make escape. He had mistakenly ridden right into their line of advancement deep in the woods on a wagon cut when he was checking his own defenses.
Here’s his monument in Atlanta on the spot of his death: http://www.examiner.com/article/remembering-gen-james-b-mcpherson
Thanks much, Michael, for the valuable insight and context. Very appreciated.
hell yes, forwards to war!
That’s a real beauty!