Rare Civil War Map Given to the Chattanooga History Center

Few tools were as important to military commanders in the Civil War as well-rendered and accurate maps.  Knowing which road to take, where fords and bridges were located, and the type of terrain in which operations would take place was vital.  Maps allowed generals to imagine moving in space and showed them potential strengths and weaknesses to possible march routes, camping places, and potential battlegrounds.  Scientific and mathematical expertise were key to map-making and having men available who were able to conduct surveys and put their observations on paper gave military leaders a distinct advantage. 
 
During the 1863 siege of Chattanooga, Union generals put a special group of men to work mapping the entire area surrounding the city.  Members of the United States Coastal Survey (the institutional and professional ancestor of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency) were brought to Chattanooga to produce maps that would help the Union army break the siege.  Led by W. F. Dorr, they went to work in October scouting, sketching, calculating and drawing.  The knowledge they produced, most importantly of elevations on Missionary Ridge, provided Ulysses S. Grant and his subordinates critical information used to drive Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee off Missionary Ridge.  Within weeks of the battle’s end, Dorr’s engineers completed their maps of the Chattanooga area, including detailed renderings of every trench and rifle pit dug by the opposing armies between September 21, 1863 and November 25, 1863.
 
Dorr’s original map recently came to the attention of a Chattanooga resident who worked to obtain it with the idea in mind that Chattanoogans were the deserving owners of  this significant piece of Civil War history.  By giving it to the Chattanooga History Center, the donor, who prefers to remain anonymous, has given Center patrons and the city a beautiful and unparalleled treasure.