Can anyone please make sense of the map reference on a US Burial Card?

[rolt968]

The US Burial Cards are extremely useful. This extrcat from Alexander Ferrier's burial card contains two pieces of information which I did not know before.

 

Can anyone please make sense of the map reference of his original burial?

(Since it's not in a Brtish sector. There isn't a trench map on the NLS site.)

I gather that he was killed during the attack on Blanc Mont Ridge.

 

RM

 

 

 

[jay dubaya]

They’re eastlings and northlings, easy to read when you’ve got a map with them marked on, I’ll have a look later, I vaguely remember a site that hosts many contemporary American maps of this period.

[jay dubaya]

Although the map is not marked 35 SW I think it's the right map and can be found here as part of the University Of Texas library collection. This is the Lambert Conic Projection reference system, note the Eastlings marked top and bottom and Northlings marked right and left (on the full map). If you're familiar with British trench map references these are read in a similar way by dividing the square but without the 4 sub squares. The following extract with the reference marked in red was taken from 2nd Division - Meuse-Argonne (Champagne) Offensive, September 29-October 14, 1918  from the above link.

 

J

 

 

 

[Sturmmann1918]

Search for “ AEF resource map” on google and you will be able to see where the original cemetery was with over lay  from original maps and current google maps. 

[jay dubaya]

Thanks for that heads up Sturmmann, a handy future reference.

[rolt968]

Thank you both, very much. That's excellent.

RM

[Sturmmann1918]

It will also show you the original GRS maps created in 1919 of the cemeteries, with who was buried where. It also includes trenches, hills, woods, division lines etc... a great overall resource.