Military Maps
Virgil P. Corbett, a local, lawyer, entrepreneur, and Unionist, created a map early in the war called "Sketch of the Seat of War." There was a great demand from both the military and journalists alike for updated maps showing the northern Virginia area and the location of troops and defenses. Familiar with the area, Corbett was somehow able to document the early Union camps and some of the Confederate fortifications. It was probably an early draft of his best-known map, Map of the Seat of War, showing the Battles of July 18th, July 21st, and October 21st, 1861. That map lists Corbett as publisher, and A. Hoen and Co. of Baltimore as lithographers. It was sold in Washington for .25 cents at Philip & Solomon’s Metropolitan Bookstore on Pennsylvania Avenue during the fall and winter of 1861-62.