The Maps of Gettysburg
Posted: Thu Jul 19, 2012 9:53 pm
I got the Maps of Gettysburg in the mail. I have several books on Gettysburg. I have a good understanding of the battle, but it would be nice to have.
The first thing I do is turn to the maps covering day one Rodes attack. It has taken me awhile to fully understand the charge that Iverson made against the First Corp. In Coddington's book Iverson's charge isn't described very well, but after reading Sears book I have a pretty good idea why Iverson's brigade was wrecked in that attack. I am on the page with the map of Iverson's attack and it is nothing like I pictured. Sears describes Iversons line as being oblique with the destruction being heaviest on the left of the formation and the right of the line not receiving the full destructive force from the First Corp.
The map is wrong. In the text next to the map the attack is described properly as being oblique, but the map (in a book devoted to maps) is wrong.
How could they get the map so wrong. What am I to think of the rest of the book?
The first thing I do is turn to the maps covering day one Rodes attack. It has taken me awhile to fully understand the charge that Iverson made against the First Corp. In Coddington's book Iverson's charge isn't described very well, but after reading Sears book I have a pretty good idea why Iverson's brigade was wrecked in that attack. I am on the page with the map of Iverson's attack and it is nothing like I pictured. Sears describes Iversons line as being oblique with the destruction being heaviest on the left of the formation and the right of the line not receiving the full destructive force from the First Corp.
The map is wrong. In the text next to the map the attack is described properly as being oblique, but the map (in a book devoted to maps) is wrong.
How could they get the map so wrong. What am I to think of the rest of the book?