ECW Honors Mapmaker Edward Alexander with Stevenson Award for Service

Edward Alexander (photo by Brandon Dewey)

Emerging Civil War has selected cartographer Edward Alexander of Make Me a Map, LLC, as the recipient of this year’s Brig. Gen. Thomas Greely Stevenson Award. The Stevenson Award is presented to an individual or organization in recognition of outstanding service to ECW.

“Maps have been an integral part of our brand identity since Savas Beatie began publishing the Emerging Civil War Series back in 2012,” said Editor-in-Chief Chris Mackowski. “Cartographer Hal Jespersen importantly laid a solid foundation for us in that regard, and we’re grateful for that work.

“As it happens, one of our earliest contributors, Edward Alexander, began teaching himself how to make maps along the way,” Mackowski continued. “As his workmanship improved, we invited him to start doing maps for ECW projects. He of all people knew just how important maps were to us, and he really rose to the occasion. It’s been exciting for us, as an organization, to see Edward grow and flourish the way he has.”

Alexander started making maps to assist with trail upkeep projects when he was a park ranger at Pamplin Historical Park. His first large-scale book project hit the shelves in 2018 with thirty-four maps in volume one of Will Greene’s Petersburg campaign study. The following year he formed his own cartography company, Make Me a Map, LLC, and has since contributed approximately four hundred maps to thirty printed books, spanning from the American Revolution to the Iraq War. Seven Emerging Civil War books currently feature his maps, with even more in various stages of the publication pipeline.

Alexander’s cartographic work also includes overlaying troop movements onto modern backgrounds to support preservation efforts by the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust. A small number of scattered wayside exhibits also feature his maps.

Alexander primarily uses ArcGIS and Adobe Illustrator from his home office in Richmond, Virginia.

Alexander has been a contributing member of Emerging Civil War since 2013. His first book, Dawn of Victory: Breakthrough at Petersburg, was published in 2015 as part of the Emerging Civil War Series. He has worked as a park ranger and historian at Richmond National Battlefield Park and Pamplin Historical Park.

Past recipients of the Stevenson Award include Sarah Keeney of Savas Beatie, LLC; Jack Melton of Civil War News; C-SPAN; historian Gregory A. Mertz; Sylvia Frank Rodrigue of Southern Illinois University Press; and publisher Ted Savas.

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Emerging Civil War is the collaborative effort of more than two-dozen historians committed to sharing the story of the Civil War in an accessible way. Founded in 2011 by Kris White and Chris Mackowski, Emerging Civil War features public and academic historians of diverse backgrounds and interests, while also providing a platform for emerging voices in the field. Initiatives include the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series of books published by Savas Beatie, LLC; the “Engaging the Civil War” Series published by Southern Illinois University Press; an annual symposium; a speakers bureau; and a daily blog: www.emergingcivilwar.com.

Emerging Civil War is recognized by the I.R.S. as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation.

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3 Responses to ECW Honors Mapmaker Edward Alexander with Stevenson Award for Service

  1. Would be nice if there was an “open street map” project for civil war cartography. Or at least some digital resource release with publication.

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