The cartographer of this crude plan of the city of Monterrey, Mexico, was apparently Private Charles R. Norman of Company E, First Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This unit served twelve months, from June 1846 to June 1847, and participated in the attack on Monterrey, one of the key objectives in Major General Zachary Taylor's northern campaign. The plan, oriented with south at the top, shows the city heavily fortified as Taylor's troops had approached it from the north on September 20th. By means of interrupted lines, the plan shows the various routes taken by Brigadier General Quitman's Mississippi and Tennessee Volunteers (at far left), the Ohio Regiment (center), and by Brigadier General Worth's Division (veering off to the west, or right, before returning eastward, or from right to left, just south of the river that runs along the top of the map). An extensive "Explanation" or key at right lists multiple sites, most of which served Mexican defensive purposes. For example, near the bottom of the plan is the star-shaped "Big Black Fort" (A) that guarded the northern approaches. Among the three vignette views in the center of the composition is a view of this fort (at right, labeled A), ruins of a church (G, in the center), and an "old nunnery and church" which the U.S. soldiers later used as a theatre (F). At far right is Independence Hill and the Bishop's Palace (D).
Cincinnati was a publishing center at the time of the war, and the lithography firm of Silver & Rowse produced at least three views of Monterrey by Ohio Volunteer Stephen G. Hill of Company K. Together with Norman's plan, they offer vivid graphic impressions of the battle.
Sandweiss, Stewart and Huseman, Eyewitness to War, pp. 115-121. The publisher of Norman's map may be Francis Schwegman, a young immigrant from Oldenburg in northwestern Germany. Schwegman is listed in the1860 Census for Cincinnati. M653, roll 971, p. 458.
Themes: 1. Northern Campaign, Battle of Monterrey; 2. Occupation & Aftermath, Other Mexican Towns & Cities
