Original Antique
J. Hotchkiss Civil War Map
Engagement at Hanging Rock
Roanoke County VA
Tuesday June 21st, 1864
***
On the morning of June 21, the Union rear guard wagon train moved through Hanging Rock, near Salem, Virginia. There, Brigadier General John McCausland attacked the rear of the Union force. During the commotion, Hunter sent his artillery along another route, but, without a force to guard it, a detachment of McCausland’s under command of Gen. Inboden were able to disable several guns and carry off Union horses. Confederates captured ten guns and various other supplies, and the Union suffered around thirty casualties. Hanging Rock was the last engagement between the two forces under Early and Hunter.
This map shows in detail the positions of Confederate and Federal Infantry & Cavalry and Federal line of retreat along with railroads, schools, churches, mills and homes in the area.
Gen. McCausland 's attack can be located by Hanging Rock at Green Ridge near the Brubaker Farm.
Confederate Gen. Imboden route can be seen starting at Salem Depot with an engagement at Hanging Rock on the New Market Turnpike by the John Garst homeand following the Union retreat .
Drawn to accompany a report of
Jed. Hotchkiss Top. Eng. 2nd Corps
***
By Capt. Jed Hotchkiss of the Second Corps, A.N.V., and of the Army of the
Valley Dist. of the Department of Northern VA.
Jedediah Hotchkiss (1828-1899)
Hotchkiss was one of the Civil War’s most famous topographic engineers. His accurate maps played a central role in the success of numerous Confederate victories, both in the Shenandoah Valley and elsewhere.
Born in Windsor, New York, Hotchkiss moved to Page County, in the Shenandoah Valley, in 1847. Shortly after the Civil War began, Hotchkiss enlisted in the Confederate army, siding with his adopted state.
Although he had no formal cartography training, Hotchkiss had a reputation for mapmaking and topography, something he had taught himself as a hobby. These skills quickly became known and Hotchkiss was soon put to good use by the Confederacy. Hotchkiss’s knowledge of the terrain and his attention to detail gave Confederate commanders a huge advantage over their Union adversaries, who had little knowledge of the area and very poor maps.
Hotchkiss participated in numerous campaigns and battles, including the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign, Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign (including Cedar Creek) and many others. Throughout his service Hotchkiss created hundreds of maps and charts, most of which are now preserved in the Library of Congress.
***
John McCausland
(1836 - 1927)
Brigadier-General John McCausland, one of the most conspicuous figures in the warfare in the valley of the Shenandoah and on the borders of Virginia, held important Confederate commands, and gained a national reputation as a brilliant leader and persistent fighter.
In July 1864, McCausland's regiment took part in Confederate Maj. Gen. Jubal Early's invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania where McCausland extorted a ransom of $25,000 from the citizens of Hagerstown, Maryland. Under orders, his forces later burned the town of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania after its citizens were unable to produce a $600,000 ransom.
The incident followed McCausland through the rest of his long life, forcing him to leave the country for a time after the surrender at Appomattox, and becoming the headline of his many obituaries in 1927. He was the last surviving confederate general of Civil War.
***
(1823-1895)
John D. Imboden is an important but often overlooked figure in Civil War history. With only limited militia training, the Virginia lawyer and politician rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Confederate Army and commanded the Shenandoah Valley District. Imboden led the cavalry accompanying Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early in his operations against Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan in Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
His finest moment occurred during the retreat. Given the important task of commanding the Army of Northern Virginia's wagon train of wounded, Imboden performed admirably, fending off the Federal cavalry and protecting the supplies and the vast number of wounded men.
***
The map is the original, antique map No.8 (not a reproduction)
from the upper left corner section of Plate LXXXIII (83)
from the
"Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies"
Commissioned by Resolution of Congress May 19, 1864,
in accordance to serve as the official historical record of the war.
(It was published between 1891-1895)
Map Size:
7.4" x 9.9" (+1.1" bottom margin)
The atlas from which this map was taken still remains the definitive source of Civil War information available.
The Atlas was never publicly sold but exclusively distributed to federal depositories, universities, museums and various public institutions until they were withdrawn from these institutions and entered the public domain years later.
The map comes from the larger folio plate LXXXIII (83)
(shown in photos for documentation only but not part of sale)
This map is
a great addition to any collection of
Antiques
Maps
Civil War History/Research
or for
Family/Ancestral Research