Torn in Two: Mapping the American Civil War

Boston Remembers

[Panoramic View of the Gettysburg Battlefield]

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library

How do we remember something? What images linger? And how do these visual recollections affect our memory of events? 
How we choose to tell the story of the war that almost dissolved our nation suggests its magnitude, importance and centrality in our collective and individual memories. Visual images comprise an important part of this narrative. As technology improved during the second half of the nineteenth century, the ability to create and disseminate memorable images expanded greatly. What the viewer understood or remembered varied, but the presence of a common visual experience was part of the formation of a collective culture with a shared sensibility.
Yet different memories of the same events persist, leading to conflicting interpretations of the past.  What is consistent is the need to remember, and to find some way to honor and thank those who, as Lincoln proclaimed, sacrificed their lives "to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion."

After the War – Remembering Battles and Heroes

Before the War – Rising Tensions

During the War – Nation in Conflict

During the War – Living Room War

Boston Public Library Rare Books Department

Cornell University

Artstor

Few events have loomed larger in the history of the war or our nation's memory than the three-day battle of Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania in July 1863. But how has that turning point been remembered?  We have Lincoln’s few short words delivered at the dedication of the national cemetery, Matthew Brady’s photographs, and as was common practice, maps drawn after the battle.  
The Gettysburg battle maps were drawn under the auspices of an increasingly powerful Federal government, and subject to a pervasive call for common standards. These and many more maps, along with other artistic presentations, have shaped our collective understanding and recollection of this most important battle that illustrates and symbolizes our nation being almost "torn in two."