Gregory Downs

“Mapping Occupation: The Union Army and the Meaning of Reconstruction” will simultaneously convey new data about the presence, size, and persistence of Army outposts in the years after Appomattox, and use that data to develop interpretations about the crucial role of force in shaping emancipation, the development of new national rights, the newfound power of the federal government, and the insurgency launched by ex-Confederates against federal power. The project will utilize newly organized data about Army outposts to develop an interactive website that will allow scholars to map federal power and emancipation in the post-war moment.