Jedediah Hotchkiss

[NW Mailing List]

For a biography of Hotchkiss take a look at "Jedediah Hotchkiss Rebel
Mapmaker and Virginia Businessman" by Peter Roper (1992, White Mane
Publishing Co.).  It is an easy read and most of the book deals with his
post-Civil War life.

Hotchkiss was friends with Frederick Kimball and did some of the initial
exploration for what became the Ohio Extension.


>From 1880 to 1884 he published a journal called "The Virginias" to promote

development of Virginia and West Virginia resources.  Besides scientific
reports on coal, timber, etc there are also stories and news briefs on
railroad development.

Four of five volumes of "The Virginias" are available full text on Google
Books"

1880 http://books.google.com/books?id=eeIQAAAAIAAJ
1881 http://books.google.com/books?id=puIQAAAAIAAJ
(1882 is not full text on Google Books)
1883 http://books.google.com/books?id=-OEQAAAAIAAJ
1884 http://books.google.com/books?id=DeAQAAAAIAAJ

If you're interested in Hotchkiss' Civil War service see "Make Me a Map of
the Valley; the Civil War Journal of Stonewall Jackson's Topographer" edited
by Archie McDonald (1973, Southern Methodist University Press).

David Adams 



> -----Original Message-----

> From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org [mailto:nw-mailing-list-

> bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of NW Mailing List

> Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 4:34 PM

> To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Subject: Jedediah Hotchkiss

> 

> Gordon:

> 

> You are so right when you attribute Jackson's success to Hotchkiss

> during the "Late Unpleasantness" and that is an understatement to say

> the least. Little know or at least long-forgotten was the fact that he

> was involved in a number of railroad projects in his beloved

> Shenandoah Valley after said War and in other areas as well.

> 

> Among the projects he was involved were the WCC&St.L in the early

> 1870's along with some of the Valley RR, I think some of the C&O west

> of Staunton and what became the Fredericksburg & Orange RR. I am going

> from memory on these but they are just a few.

> 

> Bob Cohen

> 

> He lived a long and enriched life and was truly missed when he died I

> think it was in the late 1890's

> 

> Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:14:35 -0400

> From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: N&W in 1909--Princeton

> 

> In my comments on the message below I should have pointed out to those

> who might not be familiar with Jedediah (Jed) Hotchkiss the

> significance of the Jed Hotchkiss 1880 and 1881 maps in the NWHS

> Archives. Jed Hotchkiss was Stonewall Jackson's cartographer in the

> Civil War. Among other things, historians attribute the success of

> Jackson's valley campaign directly to him.

>