My map that I made from the Microsoft Street’s and Trips software is not real detailed but I think it gives some interesting clues as to the movements of the 4th and the 9th Regiments of Minnesota. I have wanted to do a comparison for quite some time.
Key to the Maps:
- Red Flags represented the 9th Regiment which was George Barclay’s regiment.
- Turquoise Flags represented the 4th Regiment which was brother Alexander Barclay regiment.
- Purple Flags represented General Sherman and I confined myself to the Marches to the Sea and through the Carolina’s.
Some of the flags have a tag with a date of that particular event or location. Some locations are on the way to a battle or to accomplish some goal known to the higher command. I was not able to pin down all locations given in the regimental histories and had to make choices because I was running out of room.
Tip: Click on the maps and they will open to a bigger size. You might have to adjust a little with another click. Don’t forget to hit the back arrow to return to the blog.
Here is the map from George’s 9th Regiment and General Sherman:
Comparing the two maps you see that there a lot more flags in turquoise than in red. At times it appears that the 9th and the 4th are right on top of each other but if you compare dates they are in the areas at totally different times.
The map below is the start of the Civil War for the 4th and 9th Regiments. Both brothers headed south at slightly different times.
The map below focuses on the states of Kentucky and Tennessee:
The map below shows a little more detail on Tennessee and movements into Mississippi:
The map below goes deeper into Mississippi and Louisiana for the brothers at different times:
This map shows the 4th Regiments marches through Georgia and the Carolinas which mirror those of General Sherman:
The 4th Regiment marches in the Grand Review in Washington D.C. in 1865:
The 4th Regiments heads home in 1865 and 9th soon follows:
This was a fun exercise and gives me an idea of what my great-grandfather George A. Barclay and his brother Alexander Barclay experienced. It is amazing that both George and Alexander came back alive.
In the next post we will add their father John Barclay’s Civil War service to the mix. Fortunately he only served a short time toward the end of the war in a civil capacity as a carpenter.