This great mapping activity allows students to map the major events and locations of the Civil War. Just download the following 1860 America map. Please download the 1860 map PDF at
The main website also has other great historical maps.
I suggest using an 11x17 piece of paper for the map but an 8x11 piece of paper will work.
Depending on the age level of your students the Civil War mapping activity will take at least 1 to 2 class periods. Students just follow simple instruction to complete the map. The mapping activity can be easily modified by the teacher to work with any American atlas or age level. My students enjoy this activity and it helps them visualize the locations of major battles and events.
The following Civil War information is covered in the mapping activity:
Union States
Confederate States
Border States
Union and Confederate Territories
Union and Confederate National Capitals
Major Union and Confederate Cities
Major Rivers
Major Eastern Theater Battlefields
Major Western Theater Battlefields
Union Naval Blockade
Major Prison Camps
Thanks,
The History Wizard
Civil War Mapping
Map 1:
States, Territories, Cities
Use color pencils only!
Be sure to create a key for the colors!
Color the NorthernStates or Union States blue
Northern States
Maine
New Hampshire
Vermont
Rhode Island
Connecticut
Massachusetts
New York
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Michigan
Indiana
Illinois
Iowa
Minnesota
Oregon
California
Wisconsin
Kansas (Draw in the modern state line) Kansas became a State in 1861
Color the Southern States or ConfederateStates gray
Southern States
South Carolina
Mississippi
Florida
Alabama
Georgia
Louisiana
Texas
Virginia (Don’t color the modern state of West Virginia yet!)
Arkansas
North Carolina
Tennessee(Had many Union supporters)
Color Border States Yellow
Border States
Border States were allied with the Union, but in some areas had large Confederate support
Delaware
Maryland
Kentucky
Missouri
West Virginia (Draw in the modern state line)Northwesternportion of Virginia seceded from Virginia, joining the Union as the new state ofWest Virginia in 1863.
Color the following territories blue to represent Union control
UnionTerritories
The UnorganizedTerritory that isnext to Minnesota only!
NebraskaTerritory
WashingtonTerritory
UtahTerritory
Uncolored KansasTerritory
Divide the New MexicoTerritory in ½, the Northern half was pro Union, color it blue
Color the following territories gray to represent Confederate influence
Pro-Confederate Territories
Unorganized Territory (Oklahoma) (Many Native American tribes in Oklahoma allied themselves with the Confederacy)
Southern Part of theNew MexicoTerritory color gray
Map RichmondVirginia
National Capitals
WashingtonD.C. (Union)
Richmond, Virginia (Confederacy)
Map the following Northern Cities
Northern Cities
Kansas City(Missouri)
St. Paul(Minnesota)
Cleveland(Ohio)
Springfield(Illinois)
Map the following Southern Cities
Southern Cities
Austin(Texas)
Houston(Texas)
Vicksburg(Mississippi)
Mobile(Alabama)
Atlanta(Georgia)
Savannah(Georgia)
Charleston (South Carolina)
Nashville(Tennessee)
Memphis(Tennessee)
Chattanooga(Tennessee)
Map the following Western Cities
Western Cities
Sacramento(California)
Portland(Oregon)
Yuma(Arizona)
Tucson(Arizona)
Santa Fe(New Mexico)
Salt Lake City(Utah)
Dodge City(Kansas)
Map 2
Major Battlefields
Map the following rivers completely!
Make rivers a dark blue or purple
Physical Features Major Rivers
Mississippi River
Missouri River
Ohio River
Red River
Potomac River
Savannah River
Flip to next page!
Map the following battlefields, follow directions carefully!
Make dots red or orange and label the battles!
Make sure to label the battlefields!
Important Eastern Battlefields
Antietam(Where the border of Virginia and the panhandle of Maryland cometogether put a dot and label it Antietam)
Gettysburg (Go do north of Washington D.C. and put dot just inside the Pennsylvania side of Maryland/Pennsylvania border put a dot and label it Gettysburg)
Richmond (Put a star for capital of Confederacy)
Petersburg (Little bit south of Richmond put a dot and label it Petersburg)
Important Western Theater Battlefields
Nashville(Put a dot where Nashville is)
Chattanooga(Put a dot where Chattanooga is)
Vicksburg(Put a dot where Vicksburg is)
Chickamauga(Between Chattanooga, TN and RomeGA put a dot)
Shiloh (Northeastern corner of the state of Mississippi where Tennessee and Alabama come together put a dot)
Pea Ridge (Northwestern Corner of Arkansas put a dot)
Sherman March to the Sea, label the cities (Draw a red line from Atlanta to Savannah Georgia, then continue the line to Colombia, South Carolina and stop the line at Raleigh, North Carolina)
Glorieta Pass (Put a dot where Santa Fe and label it the Battle of Glorieta Pass) This battle ended all Confederate hopes of controlling New Mexico Territory and stopping gold shipments coming from Arizona and California.
Naval Blockade
Draw a dotted black line off the coast of Virginia all the way to the coast of Texas and label it Union Blockade Line
New Orleans(Put a dot next to New Orleans to show a naval battle)
MobileBay (Put a dot at Mobile to show a naval battle)
Ft.Sumter (Put a dot where Charleston, South Carolina is and label it Ft.Sumter)
Prison Camps
Andersonville (Put a square just below Macon, Georgia and label it Andersonville)
CampDouglas(Put a square just below Chicago and label it CampDouglas)
Using your other map as key
Color Union States and Territories a light blue
Color Confederate States and Territories a light gray
Color Border States a light yellow