No period maps to find concise CW military actions

[Brokenbear]

Been several months owning my Garrett but doing my research first before field work..actually building a practice course with "stuff" to learn my settings n sounds my Garrett produces ..getting a bit concerned that I cannot find even near period maps ..even is sketches ..that will give me a clue as to what a passage in a military description would convert to real time ..

To read: my command camped 3 days on ABC river by the Jones ford ..received word of enemy also camped south at the Jacks ford near Sutters store ..My command engaged and defeated the enemy 1000 yards west of Sutters store

Man that zeros in target areas even a dumbbell like me could cipher ...if I could find a map that had ANY of the key bold print references so indicated on a map ..but the closest map I can find for my part of Missouri is like 1934 and is way past river fords named!

Plus I am not sure what KIND of map would have noted river fords, trails, rivers, place names like a trading post for example ..

I apologize in advance for another map thread but I have been reading everything I can find for months and yet to find a answering solution to period map avilabiity

All Ideas are welcome

Thanks
Bear

 

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[crashbandicoot]

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Been several months owning my Garrett but doing my research first before field work..actually building a practice course with "stuff" to learn my settings n sounds my Garrett produces ..getting a bit concerned that I cannot find even near period maps ..even is sketches ..that will give me a clue as to what a passage in a military description would convert to real time ..

To read: my command camped 3 days on ABC river by the Jones ford ..received word of enemy also camped south at the Jacks ford near Sutters store ..My command engaged and defeated the enemy 1000 yards west of Sutters store

Man that zeros in target areas even a dumbbell like me could cipher ...if I could find a map that had ANY of the key bold print references so indicated on a map ..but the closest map I can find for my part of Missouri is like 1934 and is way past river fords named!

Plus I am not sure what KIND of map would have noted river fords, trails, rivers, place names like a trading post for example ..

I apologize in advance for another map thread but I have been reading everything I can find for months and yet to find a answering solution to period map avilabiity

All Ideas are welcome

Thanks
Bear

If you found this description in a civil war book you might try looking in the bibliography at the end of the book to see which references the writer used and check those references for what you want.Search old civil War Maps Missouri if you haven,t already and see what comes up. Best I can do for now.

 

[crashbandicoot]

I just did a quick yahoo search for Old Civil War maps Missouri-Sutters Store and got a hit on the Library of Congress that has many maps for Missouri for that period.I don,t know if what you seek is there,but give it a try.Hope it helps you out! Let me know,OK?

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

and Historical societies, and CW Re-in actors, they might have a historian in their group.
Depends. If you know the name of battles, that helps, but the camps should be the best for personal soldier's treasures.
A HUGE source of info on the civil war, for sure!
Find an area of interest, start door-knocking, talking around. Get to know people well enough to reveal your interest, and I bet they have a patch of land, or know somebody else you could see.
Don't give up!
Good luck and Happy Hunting!

 

[Digger RJ]

Been several months owning my Garrett but doing my research first before field work..actually building a practice course with "stuff" to learn my settings n sounds my Garrett produces ..getting a bit concerned that I cannot find even near period maps ..even is sketches ..that will give me a clue as to what a passage in a military description would convert to real time ..

To read: my command camped 3 days on ABC river by the Jones ford ..received word of enemy also camped south at the Jacks ford near Sutters store ..My command engaged and defeated the enemy 1000 yards west of Sutters store

Man that zeros in target areas even a dumbbell like me could cipher ...if I could find a map that had ANY of the key bold print references so indicated on a map ..but the closest map I can find for my part of Missouri is like 1934 and is way past river fords named!

Plus I am not sure what KIND of map would have noted river fords, trails, rivers, place names like a trading post for example ..

I apologize in advance for another map thread but I have been reading everything I can find for months and yet to find a answering solution to period map avilabiity

All Ideas are welcome

Thanks
Bear

Gotta Love Research!!

 

[Brokenbear]

Thanks to the folks who have so far contributed ........
The example of river, fords and trading post are fictitious to protect the mission's end game ( see I'm learning!)

I am starting to apply some logic however.. in that I am zeroing in on towns/settlements that were present in 1860 and now ..and making a big assumption that the rural connecting roads of today followed the wagon roads of 1860 ..more specifically where the roads cross rivers and creeks ..camps as I read tended to like level ground and water ..so fields on each side of the river and on each side of the road become candidate targets of exploration ..these points of exploration would at first of course only be ones documented as routes of march or action..and preferably ..more than one time was there military activity in that area ..

But I am reading reports between union commanders as well as confederate commanders as to movements and actions ...so no reference from an author's sources are available

Some reports are detailed enough to have named a property, land feature etc and some just say 3 days march from point A to B with no route, camp or river crossing referenced to.

Still learning so keep the ideas coming

Thanks
Bear

 

[smokeythecat]

One problems with histories, is someone else already read them and looked for the spot. These days you have to literally read between the lines and look for the approach vectors and watering holes. Prayer helps.

FOR INSTANCE...my best CW site was found by accident. I've told this story before, but...the history books told of the Confederates about 1.25 or so air miles away watching a rail line. They were right...but...the nearest watering hole was where I dug and we did very, very well there. There was no "cover" for the rebs at the place noted in the history books and they were watching the railroad.

 

[crashbandicoot]

Thanks to the folks who have so far contributed ........
The example of river, fords and trading post are fictitious to protect the mission's end game ( see I'm learning!)

I am starting to apply some logic however.. in that I am zeroing in on towns/settlements that were present in 1860 and now ..and making a big assumption that the rural connecting roads of today followed the wagon roads of 1860 ..more specifically where the roads cross rivers and creeks ..camps as I read tended to like level ground and water ..so fields on each side of the river and on each side of the road become candidate targets of exploration ..these points of exploration would at first of course only be ones documented as routes of march or action..and preferably ..more than one time was there military activity in that area ..

But I am reading reports between union commanders as well as confederate commanders as to movements and actions ...so no reference from an author's sources are available

Some reports are detailed enough to have named a property, land feature etc and some just say 3 days march from point A to B with no route, camp or river crossing referenced to.

Still learning so keep the ideas coming

Thanks
Bear

Well you could have told us that the names you quoted were not real,would have saved me a lot of time searching and looking for them to help you out.I,m certainly not going to drive 500 miles to steal your sites.We,re trying to help you! That said I still hope the info helps.

 

[Brokenbear]

Well you could have told us that the names you quoted were not real,would have saved me a lot of time searching and looking for them to help you out.I,m certainly not going to drive 500 miles to steal your sites.We,re trying to help you! That said I still hope the info helps.

Sir my apologies ..I was only trying to give an example of the kind of tangible pin points of info gleaned while reading ..I never dreamed it would launch a specific search ..again my sincere apology ..

So far not a single response has been fruitless so please keep them coming

I just cannot believe some where there are accurate detailed maps of Missouri ..I mean by 1860 there were railroads crossing all over the state ..lots of civil engineers would have been "in country" etc.

Bear

 

[crashbandicoot]

Sir my apologies ..I was only trying to give an example of the kind of tangible pin points of info gleaned while reading ..I never dreamed it would launch a specific search ..again my sincere apology ..

So far not a single response has been fruitless so please keep them coming

I just cannot believe some where there are accurate detailed maps of Missouri ..I mean by 1860 there were railroads crossing all over the state ..lots of civil engineers would have been "in country" etc.

Bear

No real biggie,it,s just that I spent about an hour and a half searching for something for you to help you since you asked for help.You,ll find a lot of that on this site. Proper etiquette would have been to say you,re not going to give out any actual place names.Your reasons are your own and most people respect that. Maybe I,m just naive,but all is forgiven.

 

[Brokenbear]

No real biggie,it,s just that I spent about an hour and a half searching for something for you to help you since you asked for help.You,ll find a lot of that on this site. Proper etiquette would have been to say you,re not going to give out any actual place names.Your reasons are your own and most people respect that. Maybe I,m just naive,but all is forgiven.

Roger that

 

[smokeythecat]

The Library of Congress and Bureau of Land Management still have a lot of records. Many are online. I found some by accident recently.

 

[eyemustdigtreasure]

The Library of Congress and Bureau of Land Management still have a lot of records. Many are online. I found some by accident recently.

Very good advice, and might I add that National Park system has many Civil War sites well interpreted, and battles are usually laid out in map form for interpretive purposes. So, you can get an idea of how when and where the clashes too place - even anticipate certain relics to show up....But, all this is likely private lands, and you will need to deal with that....personally...!
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!