An extremely scarce map titled “Panorama of the Mississippi Valley and its Fortifications” which illustrates the theater of war that was the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. Published in New York in 1863 by Charles Magnus. This broadside map shows the cities, towns, stores, plantations, mills, academies, etc. along the Mississippi River from St. Louis southward through Memphis, continuing through Vicksburg, and ending at the Gulf of Mexico. Each panel is embellished with a vignette of the important city of that area. Two insets list distances: “various points on the Mississippi, from St Louis to New Orleans”, and “Distances navigable by steam on Mississippi River and principal its branches”.
The granularity of detail in this map can be seen in this photograph showing the section around Natchez. From north to south along the course of the river are: Vicksburg & Steveport R.R., Vicksburg Southern Miss. R.R., Turners Woodyard, Hard Times Landing, Gen. Zach. Taylors old Farm, Natchez, Dead Man’s Bar, and Fort Adams.
The importance and scarcity of this map is reflected in the fact that it is held by only 12 institutions worldwide, according to OCLC. These include the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum, the Library of Congress, Stanford University, Yale University, Harvard University, six other universities, and one city library.
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