Jedediah Hotchkiss
Jedediah Hotchkiss (November 30, 1828 – January 17, 1899), known most frequently as Jed,
Early life
Hotchkiss was born in Windsor, New York. He graduated from the Windsor Academy and, by the age of 18, he was teaching school himself in Lykens Valley, Pennsylvania. The following year he relocated to the Shenandoah Valley and opened the Mossy Creek Academy in Augusta County. He supplemented his income as a schoolteacher by working as a mining geologist. As he explored the beautiful area around his new home he began his hobby (and minor business) of mapmaking that would dominate the rest of his life. In 1853 he married a woman from Pennsylvania named Sara Ann Comfort and together they had two daughters. In 1855 Hotchkiss and his brother Nelson founded the Loch Willow Academy school for boys in Churchville, Virginia. His birthplace, known as the Jedediah Hotchkiss House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[2]
Civil War
Near the end of June 1861, Hotchkiss signed on as a Confederate teamster to take supplies to the Churchville Cavalry at
The Shenandoah Valley had never been mapped in detail before. Running 150 miles in length and 25 miles wide, it was a daunting task, but Hotchkiss accepted the assignment and worked on the map for the remainder of the war. In order to accommodate his large scale of 1:80,000, he glued together three portions of tracing linen to form a large single map of 7 feet by 3 feet.[5]
Captain Hotchkiss served under Jackson for the rest of the general's life. Producing large volumes of accurate, detailed and even beautiful maps, he also aided the general by personally directing troop movements across the terrain with which he had become so familiar. Jackson's reputation for lightning movements and surprise attacks, befuddling his enemies, owes much to Hotchkiss's cartography. Together, they served in the
After Jackson's death, Hotchkiss continued to be assigned to the staff of the corps commanders who succeeded him (Generals
After General Lee's surrender at
Postbellum career
As a civilian again, Hotchkiss returned to Staunton, Virginia, reopened his school, and was involved in economic activities designed to promote the recovery of the war-ravaged Shenandoah Valley and in veterans' affairs. After teaching school, he opened an office as a civil and mining consulting engineer and, being so familiar with the geography of the state, was able to steer lucrative foreign and Northern investments to the most appropriate places.
In October 1865, a Federal detective confronted Hotchkiss with a military order to confiscate his map collection. Hotchkiss refused to obey the order, and instead took some maps to Richmond for examination by army engineers. Despite Federal pressure, he was able to retain ownership of all his maps, while preparing maps of Virginia counties for the United States Army.
Hotchkiss collaborated in the writing of the 12-volume Confederate Military History, writing the 1,295-page Virginia volume himself. His journals were edited in 1973 by Archie P. MacDonald and published under the title Make Me a Map of the Valley: The Civil War Journal of Stonewall Jackson's Cartographer. Hotchkiss's sketchbooks, diaries and maps are available at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C..
He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1881.[7]
Hotchkiss died at his home in Staunton at age 71. He is buried there in Thornrose Cemetery. The small town of Hotchkiss, West Virginia, in Raleigh County was named for him. The magnificent Queen Anne- and Eastlake-style mansion that Hotchkiss built in 1888 at 437 East Beverley Street in Staunton still stands. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Virginia Landmark Register as The Oaks. It is in private ownership after a sale in February 2019 by the family that purchased it from the Hotchkiss heirs in 1948.[8]
The Hotchkiss map collection
The Hotchkiss collection contains over 600 maps primarily relating to the Virginias between 1861 and 1865. Some of the maps are from his post-war work, some are of individual estates and some are source maps made by others. The map collection was retained by his family following his death and the refusal of the Federal confiscation order. C. Vernon Eddy, librarian of the Handley Regional Library in Winchester, Virginia, made arrangements for the listing and safe-keeping of the maps in specially made
Notes
- ^ McElfresh, p. 244, states that he used the shortened form of his name "almost exclusively" and his gravestone refers to him as Jed.
- ^ "NEW YORK - Broome County". National Register of Historic Places. American Dreams, Inc. August 5, 2010.
- Civil War Trust online biography), but his biography in McElfresh (p. 243) states he was "plain Mr. Hotchkiss, a hired civilian topographical engineer." Robertson, pp. 336–37, refers to Hotchkiss is a member of Jackson's staff, but does not list any military rank. Hearn and Marino, p. 8, state that while Hotchkiss never became an officer, he received the pay of a lieutenant in 1861, captain in 1862–64, and major in 1865, and that he never wore a military uniform. The NPS Soldiers and Sailors Databaselists Hotchkiss as a topographical engineer, without rank.
- ^ "Stony Creek Line".
- ^ Hearn and Marino, p. 10. McElfresh, p. 27, states that the map was 4.5 × 9 feet, and that the grid lines that run through it clearly indicate that it was used to also prepare smaller tactical, or route, maps.
- ^ Robertson, p. 703.
- ^ "APS Member History". American Philosophical Society. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
- ^ "437 E Beverley St Staunton, VA 24401", Zillow. Retrieveded 23 July 2019.
References
- Hearn, Chester G., and Mike Marino. Civil War Battles: The Maps of Jedediah Hotchkiss. San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-59223-952-8.
- McElfresh, Earl B. Maps and Mapmakers of the Civil War. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1999. ISBN 0-8109-3430-2.
- ISBN 0-02-864685-1.
- Biography by the Civil War Trust
- New York Civil War biography
Further reading
- Cozzens, Peter. Shenandoah 1862: Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8078-3200-4.
- Hotchkiss, Jedediah. Make Me a Map of the Valley: The Civil War Journal of Stonewall Jackson's Topographer. Edited by Archie P. MacDonald. Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-87074-270-1.
External links
- Jedediah Hotchkiss Collection at the U.S. Library of Congress
- "Jedediah Hotchkiss". Find a Grave. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
- "Jedediah Hotchkiss" in Encyclopedia Virginia