Fighting on Strange Ground

摘要

What were singularly lacking on the Hotchkiss theater map were the physical features that would have an immediate effect on the progress of the army and its ultimate deployment on the field of battle. A small rise or a mild descent along the line of march could cause hours of delay. Horse- and mule-drawn vehicles could only with difficulty manage a 10 degree slope on a small hillock, and it was as difficult for harnessed animals to descend a hill as to climb one. The topography of the Hotchkiss map was limited to mountain ranges. On the Hotchkiss map, the name of a town could obscure a square mile or more of possibly critical ground.