INDEX

TOOLS & TIPS FOR LOCATING & IDENTIFYING SITES

MAPPING S/W 3-D ZOOMWARE COUNTY HWY MAPS OLD TOPOS COORD. CONV.
DECLINATION MAPSERVERS GAZETTEERS COLLECTIONS MISCELLANEOUS

    MAPPING SOFTWARE
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    3-D "ZOOMWARE"

    • Google Earth. Suggested by David K. Wilson. Free version plus 2 levels of $ versions. Can help pintpoint some locations, if you know what you are looking for. David suggests:
      "On my Google Earth there is a toolbar at the top of the screen. One of the tools is something called "Add Placemark" which has an icon which looks like a thumbtack. That is the tool which allows you to simply click on the screen to add a location. It allows you to change the icon from the thumbtack to another. (I changed mine to a square target instead of the thumbtack.)

      "In addition, after you add the placemark, you can then just move it around at will, which makes it easy to reposition and get new coordinates. The placemark has an "info" screen that has the coordinates that you can copy and paste from."

      Using GPS Visualizer, below, it has been possible to load the entire database into Google Earth.

    • World Wind from NASA. Free. With some fiddling, can help pinpoint some locations if you know what you are looking for. USGS Digital Ortho provides some high res gray-scale imagery. You can copy the coordinates (for pasting elsewhere) using control-c (or using Edit, Copy). The entire database can be imported into World Wind that can be imported into Google Earth

    • Fuzzy Gazetteer. Handles spelling variations. Integrated with DMA Explorer, which in turn is integrated with WorldWind and/or Google Explorer. Powerful is an understatement! It takes a bit of fiddling to learn how to drive all this, but it is worth it. Start with DMA Explorer, take it where you want to be, get to the altitude (zoom level) you want before switching to WW or GE. Tip: in WW, control-c copies the coordinates for pasting elsewhere.

    • GPS Visualizer GPS Visualizer. A powerful set of utilities for converting gps data into a number of useful formats which can be imported by Google Earth, Google Maps, and other map servers.

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    COUNTY HIGHWAY MAPS

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    OLD TOPO MAPS

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    COORDINATE CONVERSION

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    MAGNETIC DECLINATION

    • GEOMAG is a free program that may be used to determine magnetic declination for any latitude/longitude/elevation and for any year back to 1600. You have no idea how hard it was to find the declination in the late 1700s before this program came along.

    • Geomagnetism. Calculators.

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    MAP SERVERS

    • ACME Mapper. Provides an array of map types (Google, satellite, hybrid, topo, etc. It is the current server of choice for determining coordinates for a new site or revision. Clicking on the rotating globe will remove the pop-ups from the screen. With pop-ups visible, you may "click and drag" the map to a new location, placing it under the small cross-hairs in the center of the displayed map. By "selecting and copying" the coordinates appearing immediately beneath "ACME Mapper" in the l.r.h. corner, you can obtain the coordinates for the location at the cross-hairs. You may click on "Options", and for "Coords", select "d.ddd d.ddd" to display the coordinates (e.g., 34.310690,-78.11979) in the format most readily used by mapservers. The url map for a topo map may be given in this format:
      http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=34.2895397,-77.800712&z=12&t=T"
      Scripts must be activated for ACME Mapper to function.

    • Google. Enter lat,long from gazetteer. To revise location, tweak numbers in url line in browser (not in Google "Search Maps" box), then reload. Works worldwide, less roadmaps in many places. Google map will also work with .kmz files as produced by GPS Visualizer

    • USGS National Map. It works with topo as well as several other map types. See instructions for using National Map as presented by a location webpage. This url may be used to produce a base map from NM:
      http://nmviewogc.cr.usgs.gov/viewer.htm?CenterPoint=37.1682021,-76.6080096&Scale=LOCAL&Classes=OTHER%20IMAGERY|ROADS|COUNTY|NAMES
      Due to the time and labor involved, as well as to the expected number of users, NM will not be added to all location webpages. Mapnotes, provided on each location webpage includes an offer to provide NM link if requested and for those providing revised or additional locations.

    • MapView. This is a faster Java version of National Map with some differences. Tips for making a shaded elevation map showing roads and streams.. MapView may not be used to determine coordinates of a location.
      In MapView: File, Open Map URL, copy & paste following line
      http://gaz.jrshelby.com/ftgalphin.xml
      for map made in these tips.
      Saved map image, showing cross-hairs and shaded elevation.

    • Yahoo Map. In addition to ACME Mapper and National Map, Yahoo Map may be used to determine the coordinates of a location, but it is limited to street maps and aerial views (or a combination of the two). To obtain a map based on coordinates, enter latitude, longitude in the A box (eg. 33.19714, -79.94195). Select map type (map, hybrid, satellite). Note cross-hairs in the center of the map. To find coordinates of a nearby location, click-hold-and-drag the map so that the cross-hairs are over the new location. The new lat-long may be seen in the url box at the top of the page. E.g.,
      http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=h&lat=33.194698&lon=-79.952378&zoom=16&q1=33.19714%2C%20-79.94195
      Select and copy the url-box contents and paste them into an email to report a new location. You may place coordinates for one location in the A box, and those for another location in the B box, and get driving directions from one to the other.

    • DMA Explorer, (European Commission Joint Research Centre Digital Atlas). Can switch to Google Earth or WorldWind. Worldwide. Scripts must be allowed. Integrated from FuzzyGazetteer. Example:
      http://dmaweb2.jrc.it/services/dmaexplorer/?x=-73.443791&y=39.434118&labeltext=&addon=label&box=" TARGET="_blank"
      Helpful comments: "Scripts must not be disabled. Close window to return. Zoom out one or more times."

    • Mapquest outside US & Canada

    • Multimap lat-long url. Url=
      http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=51.696855&lon=-1.893753&scale=10000&icon=x
      Lat-long at bottom.

    • Multimap post code. Lat-long at bottom.

    • Streetmap.Co.uk. Click on the precise location (arrow moves). Near bottom of page appears "Click here to convert ...". Click on here. Coordinates appear in multiple forms including decimal degrees.

    • GNIS (Geographic Names Information Server). Anything that has ever been shown on a US topo map has a good chance of being found here. Outputs to several map servers (Google, USGS National Map, etc.)

    • Global Gazetteer Version 2.1. Fallingrain.com. Has integrated simple terrain maps.

    • Canadian Geographical Name Search Service. Maps integrated. Feature name or D-M-S entry required. Displays only identified features. To see map, select a name and then go to click here to view additional details and options.. DD.DDD results also provided.

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    GAZETTEERS

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    MAP COLLECTIONS

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    MISCELLANEOUS

    • GPS Visualizer GPS Visualizer. A powerful set of utilities for converting gps data into a number of useful formats which can be imported by Google Earth, Google Maps, and other map servers.

    • Gadwin PrintScreen, a free but very useful program, allows you to capture any part of anything you see on your computer screen with choices of clipboard, save to file, or open in graphics program (or any combination). Great for snagging images and pasting into an email.

    • RevWar75 listing of battle/skirmish sites. The biggest and best of the online listings of RevWar actions. Like all such sources, it is not infallible, but it is very useful. I find it helpful to look a site up here before trying to find anything in O'Kelley's 4-vol. set, so I know which book to look in.

    • GISDataDepot.com. Where I have obtained almost all of my scanned topo maps that I have used with OziExplorer. I have some 1:250k maps that are not shown on some public servers. I have all of them on which I have found a RevWar action sites, and I have found sites in all modern US states east of the Mississippi except Wisconsin, plus 2 states west of the Mississippi. I have not found 1:100k topo maps very useful, except that they often show dashed lines for what turn out to be abandoned roads from very early times. I only get the 1:24k (7.5 minute) maps if I am studying an area in detail, and I do much of that now using USGS National Map.

    • SC Archives online search. Useful, in particular, for SC ferries.

    • Francis Marion timeline. First column is sort order, usually actual date. Asterisks in column by themselves means no effort has been made (or succeeded) in plotting them. If a date appears in the description column, it is usually a "fuzzy" date and overrides any date shown in the leftmost "sort order" column.

    • 18-page article: "Locating Revolutionary War Significant Sites"

    • Map scale conversion.

    • Advanced Google Search for RevWar75.
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