Free Downloads The Maps Of First Bull Run: An Atlas Of The First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, Including The Battle Of Ball's Bluff, June-October 1861 (American Battle Series)
Bradley M. Gottfried’s The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, including the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, June - October 1861 is the eagerly awaited companion volume to his bestselling The Maps of Gettysburg (2007, two editions, four printings), part of the ongoing Savas Beatie Atlas Series.The Maps of First Bull Run breaks down the entire operation (and related actions) into numerous map sets or “action-sections” enriched with more than fifty full-color original full-page maps. These cartographic originals bore down to the regimental and battery level and include the march to and from the battlefield and virtually every significant event in between. At least two―and as many as seventeen―maps accompany each “action-section.” Keyed to each piece of cartography is a full facing page of detailed text describing the units, personalities, movements, and combat (including quotes from eyewitnesses) depicted on the accompanying map, all of which make the story of First Bull Run come alive.This original presentation makes it easy for readers to quickly locate a map and text on virtually any portion of the campaign. Readers will maneuver with Confederate and Union armies in the Shenandoah Valley, march with General McDowell’s Federals to the plains of Manassas, and fight blow-by-blow through the battle up to its stunning climax on Henry House Hill and the final retreat from the battlefield all the way to Washington. The smaller but important Battle of Ball’s Bluff is also covered in the same fashion, as is the skirmish at Lewinsville. Serious students will appreciate the extensive and authoritative endnotes, bibliography, and complete orders of battle. They will also want to bring the book along on their trips to the battlefields.Perfect for the easy chair or for walking hallowed ground, The Maps of First Bull Run is a seminal work that, like his earlier Gettysburg study, belongs on the bookshelf of every serious and casual student of the Civil War.About the Author: Bradley M. Gottfried, Ph.D., is the President of the College of Southern Maryland. An avid Civil War historian, Dr. Gottfried is the author of five books, including Brigades of Gettysburg: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Gettysburg (2002) and The Maps of Gettysburg (2007). He is currently working with co-editor Theodore P. Savas on a Gettysburg Campaign encyclopedia.REVIEWS “Brad Gottfried’s The Maps of First Bull Run is a solid follow-up to his The Maps of Gettysburg. The maps are very user-friendly, easily readable, and highly detailed without being the least bit confusing, and there are enough of them to give a complete picture of the course of the action. Combine each full-page map with the facing text, and this book provides readers with a good understanding of much of the action in the Eastern Theater during the first year of the war." James A. Morgan, III, author of A Little Short of Boats: The Fights at Ball’s Bluff and Edward’s Ferry, October 21-22, 1861“Brad Gottfried’s The Maps of First Bull Run is filled with full-page maps and accompanying facing text that will help make sense of the confusing series of events for Bull Run/Manassas neophytes and old hands alike. I highly recommend it.” Harry Smeltzer, host of the Civil War blog Bull Runnings
Series: American Battle Series
Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Savas Beatie (June 10, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 193271460X
ISBN-13: 978-1932714609
Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 7 x 10.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,103,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #13 in Books > History > Americas > United States > Civil War > Campaigns & Battlefields > Bull Run #379 in Books > History > Historical Study & Educational Resources > Historical Maps #1083 in Books > Reference > Atlases & Maps > United States
In the interest of full disclosure I must say that I did review the manuscript and maps for the Bull Run portion of the book, so I was involved to some small degree in the bookmaking process.This second in Savas Beatie's series of campaign map studies follows the format of its predecessor "The Maps of Gettysburg", also by Gottfried, with three noticeable differences. First, it's a much slimmer volume, which is understandable due to the relative brevity of the campaign and battle and the fewer troops involved. Second, "The Maps of First Bull Run" also includes maps of the skirmish at Lewinsville, VA on 9/11/1861 and the Battle of Ball's Bluff on 10/21/1861. Third, unlike the Gettysburg maps, these are in full color.There are 37 maps for the Bull Run portion of the book (another 15 for the remainder - that portion of the manuscript was reveiwed by Jim Morgan, author of the definitive study of Ball's Bluff, "A Little Short of Boats"), from the positions of the armies in June through the Union retreat to Washington ending July 22. The maps are clean and clear, which is good from the standpoint that they help the reader visualize the "bigger picture". Each map is accompanied by one full facing page of text. Notes are at the end of the book, arranged by map. I prefer footnotes at the bottom of the page, but I understand why endnotes were necessary in this case due to the constraints attending the two page layout for each map and text.Other than some minor quibbles not worth mentioning, I'm pleased with the text. Gottfried considered all the standard primary sources as well as soldier accounts and modern scholarship of folks like Ethan Rafuse and John Hennessy.
I used this book to help follow the action while reading four books on the campaign and battle of First Manassas/Bull Run and two books on the raid/battle of Ball's Bluff and it made a big difference in my ability to keep up with the text since none of the books on these military actions have enough maps!(Morgan's book on Ball's Bluff had the best battle maps but "The Maps Of First Bull Run" did a great job showing the situation in Northern Virginia in late 1861 and the Union Army of the Potomac's movements prior to the battle. Plus, the battlefield situation at Ball's Bluff and Edwards Ferry is enlarged and colorized, making the action easier to follow)First, here are the books I read on the subjects covered by the maps in this volume:1. The First Battle of Manassas by John Hennessy2. A Single Grand Victory by Ethan S. Rafuse3. Battle at Bull Run by William C. Davis4. Donnybrook by David Detzer5. A Little Short of Boats by James A. Morgan III6. Ball's Bluff by Byron FarwellAll of these books were a good source to learn about the campaign and battle of First Manassas/Bull Run and Ball's Bluff but by using "The Maps of First Bull Run" I feel my ability to follow the armies movements leading upto the clash of arms and the complicated maneuvers and fighting on these battlefields was greatly enhanced.The book uses a format where the map is on the right hand page and the text describing the actions on that map are located on the left hand page so there is no flipping back and forth through the book looking for the appropriate map to follow the course of events.
As a long-time Civil War buff and miniature wargaming enthusiast, I am always looking for well-crafted maps that depict the deployment and movement of troops during various stages of Civil War battles. Often, period maps are lacking in detail or intermix movements from throughout the various stages of the engagement, often "muddying the waters" in terms of gaining an understanding of which regiments were in what position at what time in the battle. This new book is an invaluable resource to help demystify the often fluid situation at First Manassas where positions often changed hands, troops were shifted frequently, and official reports and records unclear in recounting the timeline of what transpired that summer day.The text is well written and easy to comprehend, and the corresponding map offers a useful depiction of the general terrain in terms of the road network, streams / creeks, farms and houses, and major terrain features such as the hills that played a key role in the troop depositions and movements. Unencumbered by contour lines that are often unncessary in other maps for a wargaming scenario or for a general understanding of a battle, Gottfried's full color maps in this book are clear, precise, and uncluttered. In their own understated simplicity, they convey the essential information that a battlefield tramper or tabletop miniaturist will need to understand the battle.The author's earlier work on the maps of Gettysburg has proved to be a useful reference work on that 1863 conflict; this new book is sure to become an even more valuable resource in that there is far less documentation in the historiography of First Bull Run.
The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff, June-October 1861 (American Battle Series) First Manassas 1861: The Battle of Bull Run (Trade Editions) Debacles at Bull Run: The Battles of First Manassas and Second Manassas Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas First Bull Run 1861: The South's first victory (Campaign) The Maps of Antietam: An Atlas of the Antietam (Sharpsburg) Campaign, including the Battle of South Mountain, September 2 - 20, 1862 (Savas Beatie Military Atlas) The Maps of Gettysburg: An Atlas of the Gettysburg Campaign, June 3 - July 13, 1863 The First Battle of Manassas: An End to Innocence, July 18-21, 1861 Donnybrook: The Battle of Bull Run, 1861 Battle at Bull Run: A History of the First Major Campaign of the Civil War Bluff, Bluster, Lies and Spies: The Lincoln Foreign Policy, 1861-1865 Lincoln's 90-Day Volunteers 1861: From Fort Sumter to First Bull Run (Men-at-Arms) The Early Morning of War: Bull Run, 1861 (Campaigns and Commanders Series) Copperhead: Ball's Bluff, 1862 (Starbuck Chronicles, Book 2) (Starbuck Chronicles (Audio)) Second Bull Run Campaign (Great Campaigns) The Second Bull Run Campaign: July-august 1862 (Great Campaigns) Second Manassas 1862: Robert E Lee's greatest victory (Campaign) Rocks and War: Geology and the Civil War Campaign of Second Manassas The Maryland Campaign of September 1862. Volume 3: The Battle of Shepherdstown and the End of the Campaign The Fredericksburg Campaign : October 1862-January 1863 (Great Campaigns Series) (Great Campaigns of the Civil War)
