Manuscripts Collection
Judson Wade Bishop was born June 24, 1831, in Evansville, New York, the son of the
Reverend John F. and Elena Brown Bishop. He had a brother, John F., and two sisters,
Anna and Lena. Bishop was educated at Fredonia and Belleville academies and later took
civil engineering training at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
From 1853 to 1857 he was a draftsman for the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada. In
1857 he came to Chatfield, Minnesota, where he did surveying for the Winona and St.
Peter Railroad. Following the Panic of 1857, from 1859 to 1861, he published the
During the Civil War Bishop served in the Second Regiment, Minnesota Veteran Volunteer
Infantry. He was mustered into service at Fort Snelling on June 26, 1861, as captain of
Company A. The regiment was sent to Kentucky, where it was organized as part of the Army
of the Ohio, under the command of General Don Carlos Buell. Later the regiment became
part of the Army of the Cumberland, which was commanded by General George H. Thomas. The
Second Minnesota was led by Horatio Phillips Van Cleve, James George, and Bishop. Bishop
was mustered out of military service on July 20, 1865, with the rank of colonel, having
previously been promoted to major and lieutenant colonel. His history of the activities
of the Second Regiment during the war,
After the Civil War Bishop returned to railroad work and lived in LeSueur, Mankato, and St. Paul, to which he moved in 1873. In 1881 he formed the Langdon, Bishop and Company railroad contracting firm and in 1883 the St. Paul Trust Company, which he operated until 1903. Bishop died in St. Paul in 1917.
Bishop married Nellie S. Hustad of Galena, Illinois, on June 11, 1866. They had three sons: Charles Hustad, Edwin Judson, and Robert Haven. Nellie Bishop died September 19, 1878. In 1884 Bishop married Mary Axtell, daughter of the Reverend Charles Axtell, of Xenia, Ohio. She was born January 19, 1859 [?] and died February 9, 1953, in St. Paul.
The bulk of the papers reflect J. W. Bishop's service during the Civil War as an officer with the Minnesota 2nd Infantry Regiment; his publication of the regiment's history; its reunions; and his involvement in the establishment of the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park (1893-1894, 1900). Other topics include family matters; Bishop's work before and after the war as a railroad engineer; and his establishment of the Chatfield Academy (1858-1859).
There are also reminiscences (ca. 1895) and military papers belonging to Judson's brother, John Bishop, that document John's service with the Minnesota 5th Infantry Regiment during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 and the Civil War.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota
Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics should
Saint Paul, Minnesota: Dakota, 1960-1961.
Originals of M409 Reel 1 in the Minnesota Historical Society. Originals of M409 Reel 2 in the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Park, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia.
Accession number: Many
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant
awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Processed by: J. Huebscher, April 2011.
Catalog ID number: 001729456
Manuscript originals (June 15, 1861-July 8, 1865) and typed transcripts (Nov. 4, 1856-Jan. 6, 1865) of letters written by Bishop to his mother, Mrs. John F. Bishop, of Lorraine, New York, and to his sisters, Anna and Lena, of Chatfield, Minnesota. Although family matters are discussed, the letters pertain primarily to Bishop's experiences during the Civil War (1861-1865). Topics include the Minnesota 2nd Infantry Regiment's service at the battles of Mill Springs, Chickamauga, and Missionary Ridge, and its participation in Sherman's March to the Sea.
Brief notations by Bishop on marches and maneuvers during the Civil War, and his railroad survey work after the war; memoranda; and cash accounts.
Newspaper clippings collected by Judson Bishop's son Edwin on the history of the Minnesota Second Infantry Regiment including homecoming celebrations, reunions, and speeches given by Judson Bishop and others.
Correspondence relates to the Civil War, the railroad, survey work, Second Regiment reunion in 1887, and memorials. Includes correspondence with his sisters, William H. Acker, General Van Cleve, and Governor Alexander Ramsey.
Items relating to the Chatfield Academy, Chatfield, Minnesota, where Bishop was
principal in 1859. Included is a transcript of Bishop's farewell address to the
Academy; portion of a script of a literary play; pictures of the Academy; and a
printed item,
Papers relating to the erection of the monument to the Second Minnesota Regiment at the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. Included are copies of minutes of the meetings of the Minnesota commission established to erect the monument (Bishop was chairman of the commission); a list of officers of the Second Minnesota Regiment; a financial statement of the commission; and newspaper clippings.
Contains papers belonging to Judson Wade Bishop's brother, John F. Bishop. The bulk of the papers relate to John's experiences during the Civil War. They include his muster-in roll with the Minnesota Fifth Infantry Regiment (Sept. 2, 1863); his discharge papers to accept a commission as a first lieutenant (Sept. 8, 1863); his discharge papers from the U.S. Army (Sept. 6, 1865); and a memorial leaflet to John Bishop by the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (Oct. 24, 1917). A copy of a paper Bishop wrote that details his enlistment at the outbreak of the Civil War, his experiences during the U.S.-Dakota Conflict War of 1862, and the Civil War campaigns engaged in by the Minnesota Fifth Infantry Regiment is also included.
Miscellaneous newspaper clippings on General Thomas and General George Quincy
White; on the reunions of the Second Regiment; on Chatfield, Minnesota; on
Bishop's letters of 1866; on the publication of Bishop's volume,
Contains mostly correspondence, but also includes greeting cards, loose photographs, clippings, notebooks, and legal documents.
Includes John F. Bishop's appointment as a second lieutenant in the Minnesota Fifth Infantry Regiment and his membership certificate from the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
This microfilm reel is a copy of the first volume of Judson Wade Bishop letters.
This microfilm reel contains copies of materials relating to the controversy over the placement of a monument at the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park to commemorate the Minnesota Infantry, Second Regiment's capture of a sector of the battlefield during the battle of Missionary Ridge, November 25, 1863.