Jedediah Hotchkiss

Jedediah Hotchkiss (November 30, 1828 – January 17, 1899), known most frequently as Jed,[1] was a teacher and the most famous cartographer and topographer of the American Civil War.

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.

[2] Near the end of June 1861, Hotchkiss signed on as a Confederate teamster to take supplies to the Churchville Cavalry at Rich Mountain, West Virginia.

He took a brief medical leave after being stricken with typhoid fever but returned to duty in March 1862 as chief topographical engineer of the Valley District, reporting to Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson.

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.

After Jackson's death, Hotchkiss continued to be assigned to the staff of the corps commanders who succeeded him (Generals Richard S. Ewell and Jubal A.

Early), but he was frequently called upon to work directly for General Robert E. Lee at the headquarters of the Army of Northern Virginia.

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.

The magnificent Queen Anne- and Eastlake-style mansion that Hotchkiss built in 1888 at 437 East Beverley Street in Staunton still stands.

The Jedediah Hotchkiss Papers are available in the Stewart Bell Jr. Archives Room through the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society at Handley Regional Library in Winchester, Virginia.