1861
The Cotton Kingdom and its Dependencies
Olmsted issued this map in the midst of the secession crisis to convince the British to withhold support for the Confederacy; it is the first attempt to measure cotton production on a map.
1861-1870
1861
Map of Virginia and its Slave Population (June 1861)
The Coast Survey executed this map just as Virginians were debating secession in order to highlight the different interests around slavery in the state.
1861
Map of Virginia and its Slave Population (August 1861)
The Coast Survey’s second map of Virginia was modified to reflect to growing division in that state during the secession crisis. Note the identification of “Kanawha.”
1861
Map of Virginia and its Slave Population (September 1861)
The final edition of the Virginia slave map used Census data to pointedly illustrate the relative absence of slaves from the western half of the state.
1861
Map Showing the Distribution of the Slave Population of the Southern States
One of the first American attempts to translate the census into cartographic form, and a favorite of President Lincoln during the Civil War.
1861
The Washington Map of the United States, by M.F. Maury (1861)
The “Washington Map” was continually updated through the 1860s to reflect the availability of new information, as with the Eighth Census of 1860.
1861
Map of Temperature and Rainfall
Blodget published several maps of seasonal and annual rainfall, the result of decades of observations collected by the Smithsonian, the Army, and other federal agencies.
1862
A View of the Relation of Slaves to Agricultural Wealth in Missouri
Leigh designed several maps to demonstrate the relative inefficiency of slave labor in Missouri, yet this includes so much information as to be difficult to understand.
1862
Sketch of the Rebellion for 1862
This is the Coast Survey’s prototype for a map that captured the state of the rebellion in spring 1862. Note the detailed legend in the lower left marking battle sites and troop routes.
1862
Map of the Cotton Regions of North America
Mallet designed this complex map to guide the British as they developed cotton in India, drawing on existing geological and environmental maps from the era.
1863
Map of Slavery and the American South (1863)
The Coast Survey’s map of slavery inspired several variations, including this map illustrating a military strategy to defeat the Confederacy.
1863
The Cotton Kingdom
Atkinson designed this map to convince northerners to embrace the Emancipation Proclamation as a path to a more efficient system of free labor.
1863
Historical Sketch of the Rebellion (1863)
Each of these “sketches” attempted to tell the story not just of the latest state of affairs, but the progress over the war over time.
1864
Historical Sketch of the Rebellion (1864)
The Coast Survey published several of these maps during the war, each of which detailed the progress of Union control as well as the relative population of the loyal and insurgent states.
1864
First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln
In this iconic portrait, Carpenter carefully reproduced the Coast Survey’s map of slavery in the lower right corner after noticing Lincoln’s attention to it.
1864
Chronographical Plan of Willard’s History of the United States
Willard used a tree to depict American history as a unified whole even as the nation was descending into Civil War. Though designated a history of the “U. States,” it begins with Columbus.
1867
Climatological Map of North America
Disturnell was one of many to adopt Humboldt’s isotherm lines, here used alongside other measures to study “civilization” in North America.
1867
Agricultural Map of the United States and Canada
By the 1860s mapping agriculture had become commonplace, and spread quickly in the twentieth century.
1868
National Map of the Territory of the United States
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs requested this map to represent the state of western development, highlighting land, mineral riches, and railroads.