1861 - CIVIL WAR map of EASTERN VIRGINIA, soon after the start of the War!

Description

“Map of Eastern Virginia.”
1861 Civil War map
This is a single full-page wood engraved sheet
published over 150 years ago, less than half a year after the start of the Civil War
. It appeared in the Nov. 1861 issue of the
American Agriculturist.
The sheet measures 9 x 12 inches in size, and is in excellent and attractive condition, with only a slight hint of age browning.
The
American Agriculturist
was a monthly journal devoted almost entirely to articles on farming. Early in the Civil War, however, the paper printed a series of maps showing the locations where the War's fighting was occurring, and this map is a fine example of that.
The map is drawn to a scale of 20 miles to the inch. It covers a wide area of Eastern Virginia, going from Hampton/Newport News/Norfolk/Suffolk at the southern and eastern borders of the map; Harrisonburg, New Market, and Charlottesville (“Charlottes V.”) on the western edge, and Harper’s Ferry and Baltimore on the northern edge.
The image measures 7.5 x 9 inches on the overall sheet. Below, it carries the title and caption:
MAP OF EASTERN VIRGINIA.
In response to frequent requests from our country readers, we present the above map, and also two others on pages 348 and 349. These maps are valuable now, as they embrace the main points of interest in the present war. The above map of Virginia was originally prepared for the N. Y. Tribune. We have inserted some new localities, made famous by recent events. The other two large maps have been engraved expressly for the
American Agriculturist.
* * * * * * * * * *
Accompanying the map page will be a photocopy of a brief item related to the piece, which appeared elsewhere in the issue. It says, in part:
“
Our Maps of the Seat of War
. — On pages 345, 348, and 349, we print three new maps, which show all the leading points of interest during the present war, so far as developed up to this date (Oct. 18.) As the contest goes on, other obscure localities may become famous—as much so, perhaps, as the previously unheard of rivulet, called ‘Bull Run.’ The scale of miles on each map will generally enable the reader to locate any new points by measuring with rule or divider its distance from some leading town already on the map. . . . Our younger readers will find it profitable to study Geography daily in these times, as localities studied out in connection with the occurrences now transpiring, will never be forgotten. A large Naval Expedition has just gone to sea, and probably one of the ‘seats of war’ will be at some point on the Southern Coast. Not knowing
where
it will be, we can not furnish a map in advance.”
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_gsrx_vers_856 (GS 7.0.20 (856))