Blockade of the Potomac – 1861

American Civil War Manuscript Sketch of the Potomac River Blockade

This rare hand-drawn military manuscript map documents the strategic naval blockade of the Potomac River during the winter of 1861. Executed with ink and watercolor washes on lined field paper, the tactical sketch illustrates the volatile combat theater separating Virginia and Maryland, highlighting the frontline positioning of artillery fortifications during the early stages of the American Civil War.

Confederate Artillery Positions and Union Army Encampments

The historic wartime illustration details the competitive placement of Confederate batteries at Cockpit Point and Evansport directly opposing the Union defensive works on the shore. Hand-annotated markers delineate the operational camps of General Hooker and the Sickles Brigade, capturing the raw, immediate nature of military reconnaissance drawing used to track active shoreline artillery duels.

Note: The calligraphy on this map appears, at first glance, completely anachronistic and modern, but the document is 100% authentic. The mystery behind this visual style is explained by the author and his working method.

This map was made by Robert Knox Sneden, a soldier, surveyor, and cartographer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Unlike most 19th-century documents, which used highly ornate cursive calligraphy (such as Spencerian script), Sneden used a very clean and geometric sans-serif style. This technique was typical of draftsmen and civil engineers of the time, bearing a striking resemblance to modern architectural lettering or 20th-century comic book fonts.

Although the original sketches were made in the field in 1861-1862, Sneden spent the decades following the war rewriting, coloring with watercolors, and retouching his campaign diaries for publication. This means that some of the ink and final lettering was refined in the late 19th century, which accentuates the crisp and “recent” aspect of the text.

Sneden’s diaries and maps remained stored in a bank and forgotten for decades, only to be discovered in 1993 by the Virginia Historical Society, surprising historians precisely because of their incredible preservation and visual modernity.