Map of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Rail Road, And its Connections

Critical infrastructure during the American Civil War.

The Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad was first chartered in 1836 to help facilitate the movement of ore and iron between the mills in Pittsburgh and the port on Lake Erie. It would take over a decade of construction to finally connect the two cities, but the route would quickly become one of the most heavily used in the country.

This map, published in 1862, highlights the lines of the company in red, with additional connections made to New Philadelphia and Wheeling (then still in Virginia). Numerous stops are identified along the route and two tables identify distances between major cities. The image extends to include connecting lines as far west as Indianapolis and as far north as Detroit.

At the time, the network of rails provided invaluable infrastructure to the Union Army as it moved necessary troops and supplies to various theaters in the ongoing Civil War, as well as facilitated the transportation of raw materials to factories and arsenals.

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