Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 16, 1994 TAG: 9401090137
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by ROBERT HILLDRUP
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
By William J. Miller. Elliott & Clark. $29.95.
This is the second recent work on a little-known but extremely important Confederate, and it is rather the better of the two.
Peter Roper's "Jedediah Hotchkiss: Rebel Mapmaker and Virginia Businessman," while perfectly competent, does not have quite the sparkle in either word or illustration of Miller's book.
A poor New York farm boy with an insatiable desire for learning anything and everything, Hotchkiss migrated to the Valley of Virginia, where he became a popular teacher with a fascination for sketching the topography of the area. And as a strong believer in state's rights, he rallied to the Confederacy on the outbreak of war only to find his mapmaking skills sniffed at by elitist military engineers.
The modern mind, accustomed to paved highways, bright lights and cheap, accurate maps, may find it difficult to grasp the problems Civil War armies had in establishing how best to get from place to place.
One of the advantages of fighting a defensive war, as was the case for the Confederacy most of the time, is that it is fought on ground which at least some of the defenders were familiar with. Using this as a basis, Hotchkiss was able to prepare extensive, accurate maps for Lee, Jackson and others, maps that recorded back roads and pig paths and even labeled rural homes by occupant and location.
Colorful examples of these maps add considerably to this book.
Hotchkiss was a remarkable man, one whose contributions to Confederate successes have been overshadowed by glamorous field commanders. His value, however, was surely equal at times to that of a division of infantry.
Hotchkiss returned to the Valley after the war, and adjusted with reasonable success to the burdens of Reconstruction. He lived until 1899, enjoying a measure of recognition from his fellow veterans that inexplicably seems to have faded somewhat in the 20th century.
William Miller, a Manassas resident and Civil War authority, has done an excellent job with his subject. His book is a necessary supplement to a full understanding of Confederate strategy and tactics.
- Robert Hilldrup is a Richmond writer and former newspaperman.
by CNB