The Cartographic Branch holds many maps relating to Civil War battlefields. Today we’re highlighting some maps relating to the battles of Antietam and South Mountain. The battle of South Mountain took place just east of Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 14, 1862, only days before the larger and better known battle of Antietam. At South Mountain, Northern troops pushed their way through three mountain gaps blocked by Confederates, resulting in a Union victory. However, the fight at South Mountain allowed valuable time for the Confederate Army, which was split into two sections, to reunite and strengthen its position along and near Antietam Creek.
The battle of Antietam is remembered as bloodiest single day in American history. By the end of September 17, 1862, after twelve hours of intense fighting, over 23,000 soldiers were dead, wounded, captured, or missing. Both armies remained in position after the fighting subsided. Although most historians view the battle as a draw, Confederate forces retreated from the battlefield on the night of September 18, allowing the Union Army to claim victory. President Abraham Lincoln used this Union victory as an opportunity to issue a preliminary version of his Emancipation Proclamation, a document which altered the purpose of the war from just preserving to Union to also include ending slavery.
Many of the Cartographic Branch’s Civil War maps, including those focusing on Antietam and South Mountain, can be found within various series of Record Group (RG) 77, Records of the Office of the Chief of Engineers. Battle maps can be found with the Civil Works Map File (CWMF) series. The maps within the CWMF series are filed according to the agency’s filing scheme. Maryland maps are mainly filed under the letter “F.” This includes several maps of the Antietam battlefield that were annotated from information obtained from commanding officers to show battle lines, locations of regiments and artillery, and headquarters.
Civil War battlefield maps can also be found within the War Department Map Collection (WDMC) of RG 77. Some of these maps were prepared after the Civil War, often for the preservation and development of Civil War battlefield parks. The map below was created for the Antietam Battlefield Board in the 1890s. It shows important battlefield landmarks like “Bloody Lane” and also shows wartime residents, tree cover, and land use at the time of the battle.
Another map is from a post-Civil War publication and was colored to show Union and Confederate positions and the location of artillery pieces during the battle.
Many Civil War maps can also be found in the Colonel W.H. Paine Collection of Civil War Maps. Paine, who served with the Union Army of the Potomac during the C, drafted and annotated many maps, especially for battles in Virginia. He also worked on or collected several maps relating to the battles of Antietam, South Mountain, and Gettysburg. We highlight one map below of the South Mountain Battlefield.
To view additional maps related to the battles of Antietam, South Mountain, and many others, try searching our catalog to view digitized items or plan a visit in person to the Cartographic Research Room in College Park, Maryland.
For additional information about Civil War Maps at the National Archives, see A Guide to Civil War Maps in the National Archives (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1986).