James Hervey Simpson (1813–1883) was an officer in the U.S. Army and a member of the United States

Corps of Topographical Engineers The U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers was a branch of the United States Army authorized on 4 July 1838. It consisted only of officers who were handpicked from West Point and was used for mapping and the design and construction of federal ...

Early years

He was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey on March 9, 1813, the son of John Simpson and Mary Brunson. He graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1832 and was initially assigned to the 3rd U.S. Artillery. He served in the Second Seminole War and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1837.

Topographical Engineers

In 1838, a separate department known as the U.S. Army's Topographical Engineers was created (not to be confused with the Corps of Engineers with whom they were merged during the Civil War). Simpson was one of the officers transferred to the newly created bureau and assigned as an assistant to Cpt. W. G. Williams who was in charge of harbor construction on

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...

. The following year, he worked on road construction in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and then lake surveys in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. From 1845 to 1847, he was in charge of the harbor of Erie.

New Mexico Expedition, 1849

In 1849, Lieutenant Simpson made his first journey into the American west, during an expedition commanded by Colonel

John James Abert John James Abert (17 September 1788 – 27 January 1863) was a United States soldier. He headed the Corps of Topographical Engineers for 32 years, during which time he organized the mapping of the American West. Abert was born in Shepherdstown ...

. Simpson surveyed a road from

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

to Santa Fe, New Mexico. This was followed by a punitive raid against the Navajo, under the command of John M. Washington. Simpson included sketches and artwork from the brothers

Edward Kern Edward Meyer Kern (October 26, 1822 or 1823 – November 25, 1863) was an American artist, topographer, and explorer of California, the Southwestern United States, and East Asia. He is the namesake of the Kern River and Kern County, California. ...

and Richard Kern. Simpson then assumed responsibility as the Chief Topographical Engineer for the Ninth Military Department, based in Santa Fe.

Other Duties

In the spring of 1851, Simpson the

Territory of Minnesota The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and weste ...

surveying and improving roads. In 1853, he was promoted to captain. In May 1853 he was transferred to Florida, where he supervised survey work associated with the US Coast Survey.

Utah Expedition, 1858–59

During the winter of 1857-1858, Simpson was ordered to support the military forces assembled for the

Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US go ...

. Simpson's duties included preparing maps for the upcoming campaign, while based at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...

and Fort Kearney. On 3 July 1858, Simpson departed for

Camp Floyd Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

, arriving on 19 August. Simpson was ordered to survey a

wagon road ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. I ...

between Camp Floyd and

Fort Bridger Fort Bridger was originally a 19th-century fur trading outpost established in 1842, on Blacks Fork of the Green River, in what is now Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. It became a vital resupply point for wagon trains on the Oregon Trail, C ...

. Once completed, Simpson was order to make a preliminary reconnaissance into the

Great Salt Lake Desert The Great Salt Lake Desert (colloquially referred to as the West Desert) is a large dry lake in northern Utah, United States, between the Great Salt Lake and the Nevada border. It is a subregion of the larger Great Basin Desert, and noted for wh ...

, which he commenced on 19 October. On 2 May 1859, Simpson led a more extensive expedition consisting of 64 men. His photographer, Samuel C. Mills, produced the earliest surviving photographs of features along the trail. Simpson's Central Route played a vital role in the transportation of mail, freight, and passengers between the established eastern states and California, especially when hostilities of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

closed the

Butterfield Overland Mail Butterfield Overland Mail (officially the Overland Mail Company)Waterman L. Ormsby, edited by Lyle H. Wright and Josephine M. Bynum, "The Butterfield Overland Mail", The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, 1991. was a stagecoach service i ...

stagecoach route that ran along the southern border states.

George Chorpenning George W. Chorpenning Jr. (sometimes spelled 'Chorpening')(1 June 1820 - 3 April 1894) was a pioneer in the transportation of mail, freight, and passengers through the arid and undeveloped western regions of nineteenth-century United States. His eff ...

immediately switched to Simpson's route to run his existing mail and stage line, and the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pi ...

used it as well. In 1861 the Transcontinental Telegraph was laid along the route, making the Pony Express obsolete. Afterwards, Wells Fargo & Co. hauled mail, freight, and passengers along Simpson's route until 1869, when transportation and telegraphy were switched to the newly completed

Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

Civil War

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, Simpson served as

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

of the 4th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry and was captured at the

Battle of Gaines's Mill A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. He was paroled and returned, but resigned his commission of volunteers on August 24, 1862 to return to his rank of major in the Corps of Topographical Engineers. He was attached to the

Department of the Ohio The Department of the Ohio was an administrative military district created by the United States War Department early in the American Civil War to administer the troops in the Northern states near the Ohio River. 1st Department 1861–1862 Gener ...

and was in charge of the expansion and improvements of the defenses for

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, Ohio. For his services during the war, Simpson was

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

to the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Later career

Simpson was named chief engineer of the Interior Department. He oversaw the construction of the

, the completion of which made his

Central Nevada Route The Central Overland Route (also known as the "Central Overland Trail", "Central Route", "Simpson's Route", or the "Egan Trail") was a transportation route from Salt Lake City, Utah south of the Great Salt Lake through the mountains of central N ...

obsolete. In 1880 he retired to St. Paul, Minnesota, and died there on March 2, 1883. The Simpson Park Mountains in central Nevada, a small range in west-central Utah ( Simpson Mountains), and

Simpson Springs Simpson Springs is a spring, former Pony Express station, former Civilian Conservation Corps camp, and campground in southeast Tooele County, Utah, United States. Description The springs are located about south of Dugway and about west of the ...

Pony Express Station are all named after him.Van Cott, J. W., 1990, Utah Place Names,

Bibliography

''Navajo Expedition: Journal of a Military Reconnaissance from Santa Fe, New Mexico to the Navajo Country, Made in 1849''
(1852)
''The Shortest Route to California: Illustrated by a History of Explorations of the Great Basin of Utah with its Topographical and Geological Character and Some Account of the Indian Tribes''
(1869)
''Essay on Coronado's March in Search of the Seven Cities of Cibola''
(1871)
''Report of Explorations across the Great Basin in 1859''
(1876)

References

* "Dictionary of American Biography", vol. IX, p. 179.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, James Hervey 1813 births 1883 deaths American explorers American surveyors United States Army officers United States Military Academy alumni Union Army colonels