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About the Book
The Maps of First Bull Run breaks down the entire operation (and related actions) into numerous map sets or “action-sections” enriched with more than fifty full-color original full-page maps. These cartographic originals bore down to the regimental and battery level and include the march to and from the battlefield and virtually every significant event in between. At least two—and as many as seventeen—maps accompany each “action-section.” Keyed to each piece of cartography is a full facing page of detailed text describing the units, personalities, movements, and combat (including quotes from eyewitnesses) depicted on the accompanying map, all of which make the story of First Bull Run come alive.
This original presentation makes it easy for readers to quickly locate a map and text on virtually any portion of the campaign. Readers will maneuver with Confederate and Union armies in the Shenandoah Valley, march with General McDowell’s Federals to the plains of Manassas, and fight blow-by-blow through the battle up to its stunning climax on Henry House Hill and the final retreat from the battlefield all the way to Washington. The smaller but important Battle of Ball’s Bluff is also covered in the same fashion, as is the skirmish at Lewinsville. Serious students will appreciate the extensive and authoritative endnotes, bibliography, and complete orders of battle. They will also want to bring the book along on their trips to the battlefields.
Perfect for the easy chair or for walking hallowed ground, The Maps of First Bull Run is a seminal work that, like his earlier Gettysburg study, belongs on the bookshelf of every serious and casual student of the Civil War.
Reviews
"Brad Gottfried’s The Maps of First Bull Run is a solid follow-up to his The Maps of Gettysburg. The maps are very user-friendly, easily readable, and highly detailed without being the least bit confusing, and there are enough of them to give a complete picture of the course of the action. Combine each full-page map with the facing text, and this book provides readers with a good understanding of much of the action in the Eastern Theater during the first year of the war." (James A. Morgan, III, author of A Little Short of Boats: The Fights at Ball’s Bluff and Edward’s Ferry, October 21-22, 1861)
"Brad Gottfried’s The Maps of First Bull Run is filled with full-page maps and accompanying facing text that will help make sense of the confusing series of events for Bull Run/Manassas neophytes and old hands alike. I highly recommend it." (Harry Smeltzer, host of the Civil War blog Bull Runnings)
Bradley M. Gottfried served as a college educator for over 40 years before he retired in 2017. After receiving his doctorate, he was a full-time faculty member for eleven years and then entered the administrator ranks, rising to the position of president, serving for 17 years in this position at two colleges. His interest in the Civil War began when he was a youngster in the Philadelphia area. He has written 14 books on the Civil War, including a number on Gettysburg and map studies of various campaigns. A resident of the Chambersburg/Gettysburg, Pennsylvania area, Brad is an Antietam Licensed Battlefield Guide and a Gettysburg Licensed Town Guide.
