We are on day 2 of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Smithsonian has a fascinating look into the troop movements via an interactive map for the three days of the battle (July 1-3, 1863).
The above map is from July 3, the day of Pickett’s Charge. Troop movements were carefully digitized, informed on research on battle interpretation. As you zoom in, more details become clear as you see arrows showing how whole divisions of troops moved. A panorama image was developed to show sight lines as they might have looked from various vantage points throughout the battle. What is fascinating about this interactive map is how you can see that the Union recognized early in the battle where the high ground was. This was instrumental in winning or losing the battle, in the case of Pickett’s Charge. The power of GIS allows us to see the battle in a new light.
Sidebar
I don’t discuss this enough except among friends in the know, but I am deeply interested in Civil War history. To be honest, I don’t care as much about the military history of the war, important as that is. Though, clearly, the military movements that have been mapped are deeply interesting to me as a geography major.
I will be writing in an upcoming post more about specific subjects and readings of the Civil War that have really changed my thinking.