Cleveland S. Rockwell
Encyclopedia
Cleveland Salter Rockwell was an American
topographical engineer, cartographer, military officer, investor
, and landscape painter
. He spent his professional career as a survey engineer in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. Rockwell conducted numerous coastal surveys and mapped harbors and river systems on the Atlantic
and Pacific
coasts of the United States
. He also surveyed areas in South America. During the American Civil War
, Rockwell served as a Captain in the Union Army
. After retiring from the Coastal Survey, he became a successful investor and landscape painter. Today, Cleveland Rockwell’s topographical maps are important historical documents and his art work is well known in the Pacific Northwest
.
, Ohio
. His parents were Edward Rockwell and Matilda du Plessis Salter Rockwell. His father was a successful lawyer and businessman. The Rockwell moved to Cleveland with his family in 1852 when his father became treasurer of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad. In 1854, Rockwell entered Troy Academy in Troy
, New York
, a technical predatory school for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
. He studied cartography and related subjects at Troy before transferring to the University of the City of New York in New York City
, where he studied mechanical engineering
. He then accepted a professional appointment to the United States Coastal Survey (later known as the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey), one of the oldest scientific bureaus in the Federal Government.
Rockwell’s service in the Coastal Survey began in July 1856, as a survey aid. He received a salary of $15 per month plus room and board. His first assignment was a field survey of parts of New York Harbor
and several islands in the East River
including Rikers Island
. During the survey, Rockwell’s supervisor was called away on another job, leaving Rockwell in charge of the survey team and support vessel. When winter ended the field work, Rockwell made careful hand-drawn maps of the harbor using the field data his team had collected. Alexander D. Bache, Superintendent of the Coastal Survey, mentioned Rockwell's work in the bureau's 1857 report to Congress.
In 1858, Rockwell worked on a survey of Charleston Harbor
in South Carolina
. The following year, he helped survey the South Carolina shoreline near the Savannah River
. In December 1859, his supervisor died suddenly. In January 1860, he was officially put in charge of the Port Royal
-Savannah River field survey. His team completed the assigned field work by May, surveying 190 miles of coastline in less than six month. Once again, Rockwell was cited in Superintendent’s annual report for his excellent field work.
The 1861 the coastal survey projects along the South Carolina and Georgia
coasts were canceled because of political tensions between southern states and the Federal Government. Rockwell spent that winter finishing his South Carolina coastal maps. After South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter
on April 12, 1861, his new charts of Charleston and Port Royal harbors and the South Carolina coastline became important to the United States Navy
as they planned their blockade of southern ports. His charts of Port Royal Sound
allowed Captain Samuel Du Pont
to replace the channel markers destroyed by Confederate
forces prior to his naval bombardment of Fort Walker
. This led to the surrender of the fort and the occupation of Port Royal in November 1861.
, Virginia
adjacent to the Potomac River
from Mount Vernon
to Vienna
. The survey was requested by General Winfield Scott
to help the Union Army site defensive positions around Washington
. The survey was completed in July 1861, just prior to the First Battle of Bull Run
.
Rockwell spent most of 1862 finishing his maps of the South Carolina and Georgia coastline. His maps were important to the Union blockade because the new charts allowed the Navy to identify coastal hiding places used by blockade runners. The new coastal charts helped the Union Navy increased its capture rate from one in ten blockade runners in 1861 to one in three by 1864.
Accurate maps were critical to the Union Army as well. In February 1863, Rockwell was assigned to work on a survey of the Neuse River
in North Carolina, serving under Major General John G. Foster
. During this period, Rockwell was also called upon to conduct reconnaissance of inland road networks to support Union war plans. In April, he was reconnoitering inland roads near New Bern, North Carolina
, accompanied by four companies of New York cavalry
, when they encountered a smaller unit of Confederate cavalry. Rockwell joined the Union cavalry in their pursuit of the Confederates. The engagement ended with a skirmish near Pelatier’s Mill. Rockwell participated in a cavalry charge that resulted in the capture of thirteen Confederate troops. This was particularly dangerous, since Rockwell was a civilian and faced the prospect of being tried as a spy if he was captured by Confederate forces.
In June 1863, when Confederate General Robert E. Lee
led the Army of Northern Virginia
into Maryland
and Pennsylvania
, the Coastal Survey's Superintendent, Alexander Bache, offered to provide engineers to help the city of Philadelphia
expand its defenses. Major General Napoleon J. T. Dana, who was responsible for defending the city, gladly accepted the offer. Rockwell was one of thirteen Coastal Survey engineers sent to map approaches to the city and help construct emergency fortifications. After the Battle of Gettysburg
, the danger to Philadelphia passed and Rockwell was sent to map the coastline near Winter Harbor, Maine
. He completed that survey in October 1863. In November, Rockwell was sent to support Major General Benjamin F. Butler, commander of Fortress Monroe
near Norfolk, Virginia
. At Fortress Monroe, he conducted a survey of the Sewall’s Point prisoner compound adjacent to the fortress. Rockwell completed that assignment in less than a month.
Rockwell’s next assignment was in Knoxville
, Tennessee
. He arrived in Knoxville on December 12, 1863. The next day, he was commissioned as a Captain in the Union Army’s Corps of Topographical Engineers
and assigned to the Army of the Ohio
. The commission protected Rockwell from spying charges if he was captured while scouting roads and terrain out in front of the Army. It also allowed him to command the troops he needed for survey projects. Rockwell was assigned to map the area around Knoxville, a task he completed in March 1864. He was then assigned to map specific areas between Knoxville and Jefferson City
. He completed those surveys and delivered the maps in May. For the next four months, there is no record of Rockwell’s whereabouts. This seem to indicate he may have been on a secret mission, since it is unlikely that a valuable topographical engineer would have been left unused for such a long period of time with the war on-going.
In the fall of 1864, Rockwell was assigned to survey work in New York Harbor. Then in early 1865, Rockwell joined Major General William T. Sherman’s army on its March to the Sea
. During that campaign, Rockwell and another officer from the Coastal Survey scouted ahead of the army columns, exploring roads and sending maps back to senior commanders so they could plan the Army's marching routes. Rockwell also participated in General Sherman’s march though the Carolinas
. In April 1865, Rockwell was released from the Army and he returned to the Coastal Survey.
requested the United States send a party of coastal engineers to examine a possible route for connecting Lake Santa Marta with the Magdalena River
. Secretary of State
William H. Seward
agreed and directed the Coastal Survey Superintendent to identify engineers to undertake the task. Rockwell was one of six engineers selected for this unusual mission. He left for Columbia on December 11, 1865. The survey took about six months including a great deal of lost time caused by diplomatic wrangling as various Columbian officials tried to reduce the team’s compensation and divert the engineers into other projects. Rockwell and the other members of the team finished their work and returned to New York in June 1866.
in California
. The survey was needed to help the Army place new coastal defenses around the city of San Francisco. In July 1868, Rockwell and his assistant were sent to Oregon
to survey and map the mouth of the Columbia River
. The Columbia was an important waterway and it had not been charted since 1852. Rockwell’s soundings showed the river had change dramatically since it was first surveyed. He also discovered a new, deeper channel north of Astoria, Oregon
. On the basis of Rockwell’s survey, most of the buoys around the Columbia River Bar and along the main channel were repositioned, making the passage into and out of the river safer.
During the winter of 1868 and the spring of 1869, Rockwell and his assistant surveyed and mapped Point Conception
near Santa Barbara, California
. In July 1869, he returned to Oregon to continue his work on the Columbia River. He mapped Cape Disappointment
and surveyed a number of bays above and below the mouth of the Columbia. However, his work was handicapped by smoke from forest fires, coastal fog, and heavy rains.
In the winter of 1871, Rockwell returned to California to survey San Simeon Bay. Then when the weather in the Pacific Northwest improved, he move north to conduct a survey of Puget Sound
in Washington state. For the next four years, he continued to shift from California to the Pacific Northwest, working the winter and spring months in the south and then moving north in May or June and staying through the fall.
In 1873, Rockwell was married to Cornelia Fleming Russell, who’s uncle was Governor of Tennessee. The Russell family was not happy with the match because of Rockwell's Union Army service during the Civil War, so the couple married secretly on a ferry boat in San Francisco Bay
. After their marriage, Cornelia traveled with Rockwell, staying as close a practical given the outdoor nature of his field work. She may have even joined him in some of his field camps. Rockwell spent the next several years in northern California working on surveys of the Russian River
and Cape Mendocino
. He also fixed the location of numerous mountain peaks in northern California.
In 1879, Rockwell moved his family home from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon
. He spent the next ten years working in the Pacific Northwest, making periodic trip to San Francisco where the Coastal Survey’s west coast office was located. During this time, he surveyed and mapped much of the lower Columbia and the highlands on both sides of the river. Between 1879 and 1884, he charted the channel of the Columbia’s major tributaries including the Willamette River
. His survey of the Willamette River was extremely detailed, including 17,782 hydrographic soundings. He also surveyed and mapped 50 miles of Oregon coastline south of Astoria along with other important coastal features including Nestucca Bay
, Tillamook Bay
, and several coastal rivers. In April and May 1884, Rockwell visited British Columbia
and Alaska
, filling his sketchbooks with scenes from his travels along the coast.
In the spring of 1890, Rockwell was called back to California to participate in a major survey of the Los Angeles
area in southern California. However, shortly after his arrival he was sent back to San Francisco to take charge of a survey party whose leader had died suddenly. After finishing a survey of Point Sur in the Big Sur
area of Monterey County, he returned to Portland in May 1890 to continue his Columbia River work. On June 1, 1892, Rockwell retired from the Coastal Survey after thirty-five years of service.
, and fish
at his leisure.
Long before he retired, Rockwell had begun writing about Oregon, especially the Columbia River. His works were published in a number of magazines including Pacific Monthly
, The West Shore, and Harper's Magazine
. His articles were always carefully written, detailed, and accurate. Rockwell normally included a number of drawings with his articles. This added significant visual appeal to his articles.
Rockwell was an accomplished artist, skilled at landscape drawing
, watercolors, and oil painting
. In 1873, he exhibited two of his painting in the San Francisco Art Association
show and two more in the association’s 1874 show. No records exist for the association's art shows in 1875 or 1876. In 1877, Rockwell exhibited four painting in the San Francisco show. After retirement, Rockwell spent more time painting. In 1883, he began showing his work at the annual Portland Mechanics Fair and other local art exhibitions. He helped establish the Portland Art Club in 1885 and the Portland Art Association in 1892. Beginning in the late 1890s, Rockwell began displaying small watercolors, selling them for $10 and $20 to casual buyers. He also finished a number of large oil paintings during this period that were very popular in Portland society circles. Rockwell died of pneumonia
in Portland on March 22, 1907 at the age of 69.
. The reports cover the Columbia River and other areas in Oregon and Washington. In addition, some of his hand-drawn maps still exist in the archives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
in Washington, D.C.
Today, Rockwell’s artwork is well known in the Pacific Northwest. Many of his landscape watercolors and oil paintings are based on sketches he made during his topographical survey expeditions. His paintings were done in the English romantic
style; however, his works always accurately reflected the details of the real landscapes he painted. It is estimated that Rockwell produced about 500 finished works. Only 134 of his paintings are known today along with his sketchbooks that include several hundred more drawings. Except for three casual sketchbook portraits, all his known works are landscapes. His paintings and drawings are on display in at least seven west coast museums.
Rockwell’s paintings and drawings are also sold at national auctions and by commercial galleries when individual works become available.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
topographical engineer, cartographer, military officer, investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
, and landscape painter
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
. He spent his professional career as a survey engineer in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. Rockwell conducted numerous coastal surveys and mapped harbors and river systems on the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coasts of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He also surveyed areas in South America. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Rockwell served as a Captain in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
. After retiring from the Coastal Survey, he became a successful investor and landscape painter. Today, Cleveland Rockwell’s topographical maps are important historical documents and his art work is well known in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
.
Early life
Rockwell was born on November 24, 1837 in YoungstownYoungstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. His parents were Edward Rockwell and Matilda du Plessis Salter Rockwell. His father was a successful lawyer and businessman. The Rockwell moved to Cleveland with his family in 1852 when his father became treasurer of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad. In 1854, Rockwell entered Troy Academy in Troy
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, a technical predatory school for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
. He studied cartography and related subjects at Troy before transferring to the University of the City of New York in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he studied mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
. He then accepted a professional appointment to the United States Coastal Survey (later known as the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey), one of the oldest scientific bureaus in the Federal Government.
Rockwell’s service in the Coastal Survey began in July 1856, as a survey aid. He received a salary of $15 per month plus room and board. His first assignment was a field survey of parts of New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
and several islands in the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
including Rikers Island
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is New York City's main jail complex, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of...
. During the survey, Rockwell’s supervisor was called away on another job, leaving Rockwell in charge of the survey team and support vessel. When winter ended the field work, Rockwell made careful hand-drawn maps of the harbor using the field data his team had collected. Alexander D. Bache, Superintendent of the Coastal Survey, mentioned Rockwell's work in the bureau's 1857 report to Congress.
In 1858, Rockwell worked on a survey of Charleston Harbor
Charleston Harbor
The Charleston Harbor is an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, South Carolina. The inlet is formed by the junction of Ashley and Cooper rivers at . Morris and Sullivan's Island, shelter the entrance...
in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. The following year, he helped survey the South Carolina shoreline near the Savannah River
Savannah River
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border...
. In December 1859, his supervisor died suddenly. In January 1860, he was officially put in charge of the Port Royal
Port Royal, South Carolina
Port Royal is a town in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Largely because of annexation of surrounding areas , the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase. As defined by the U.S...
-Savannah River field survey. His team completed the assigned field work by May, surveying 190 miles of coastline in less than six month. Once again, Rockwell was cited in Superintendent’s annual report for his excellent field work.
The 1861 the coastal survey projects along the South Carolina and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
coasts were canceled because of political tensions between southern states and the Federal Government. Rockwell spent that winter finishing his South Carolina coastal maps. After South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
on April 12, 1861, his new charts of Charleston and Port Royal harbors and the South Carolina coastline became important to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as they planned their blockade of southern ports. His charts of Port Royal Sound
Port Royal Sound
Port Royal Sound is a coastal sound, or inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the Sea Islands region, in Beaufort County in the U.S. state of South Carolina...
allowed Captain Samuel Du Pont
Samuel Francis du Pont
Samuel Francis Du Pont was an American naval officer who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family; he was the only member of his generation to use a capital D...
to replace the channel markers destroyed by Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
forces prior to his naval bombardment of Fort Walker
Fort Walker
Fort Walker was a Civil War redoubt located on what is now the southeastern corner of Grant Park in Atlanta, Georgia.-History:The redoubt was built by Confederate forces in 1863....
. This led to the surrender of the fort and the occupation of Port Royal in November 1861.
Military service
During the American Civil War, Rockwell was appointed as a Captain in the Union Army. Because of his experience as a topographical engineer and cartographer, he was in great demand within the Army. As a result, he served in many theaters during the war. Shortly after the war began, he led a field survey of northern Fairfax CountyFairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
adjacent to the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
from Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon
The name Mount Vernon is a dedication to the English Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon. It was first applied to Mount Vernon, the Virginia estate of George Washington, the first President of the United States...
to Vienna
Vienna, Virginia
Vienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,687. Significantly more people live in zip codes with the Vienna postal addresses bordered approximately by Interstate 66 on the south, Interstate 495 on the east, Route 7 to...
. The survey was requested by General Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
to help the Union Army site defensive positions around Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. The survey was completed in July 1861, just prior to the First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
.
Rockwell spent most of 1862 finishing his maps of the South Carolina and Georgia coastline. His maps were important to the Union blockade because the new charts allowed the Navy to identify coastal hiding places used by blockade runners. The new coastal charts helped the Union Navy increased its capture rate from one in ten blockade runners in 1861 to one in three by 1864.
Accurate maps were critical to the Union Army as well. In February 1863, Rockwell was assigned to work on a survey of the Neuse River
Neuse River
The Neuse River is a river rising in the Piedmont of North Carolina and emptying into Pamlico Sound below New Bern. Its total length is approximately , making it the longest river entirely contained in North Carolina. The Trent River joins it at New Bern. Its drainage basin, measuring in area,...
in North Carolina, serving under Major General John G. Foster
John G. Foster
John Gray Foster was a career military officer in the United States Army and a Union general during the American Civil War whose most distinguished services were in North and South Carolina. A postbellum expert in underwater demolition, he wrote the definitive treatise on the subject.-Early...
. During this period, Rockwell was also called upon to conduct reconnaissance of inland road networks to support Union war plans. In April, he was reconnoitering inland roads near New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern, North Carolina
New Bern is a city in Craven County, North Carolina with a population of 29,524 as of the 2010 census.. It is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers...
, accompanied by four companies of New York cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, when they encountered a smaller unit of Confederate cavalry. Rockwell joined the Union cavalry in their pursuit of the Confederates. The engagement ended with a skirmish near Pelatier’s Mill. Rockwell participated in a cavalry charge that resulted in the capture of thirteen Confederate troops. This was particularly dangerous, since Rockwell was a civilian and faced the prospect of being tried as a spy if he was captured by Confederate forces.
In June 1863, when Confederate General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
led the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
into Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, the Coastal Survey's Superintendent, Alexander Bache, offered to provide engineers to help the city of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
expand its defenses. Major General Napoleon J. T. Dana, who was responsible for defending the city, gladly accepted the offer. Rockwell was one of thirteen Coastal Survey engineers sent to map approaches to the city and help construct emergency fortifications. After the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, the danger to Philadelphia passed and Rockwell was sent to map the coastline near Winter Harbor, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. He completed that survey in October 1863. In November, Rockwell was sent to support Major General Benjamin F. Butler, commander of Fortress Monroe
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
near Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. At Fortress Monroe, he conducted a survey of the Sewall’s Point prisoner compound adjacent to the fortress. Rockwell completed that assignment in less than a month.
Rockwell’s next assignment was in Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. He arrived in Knoxville on December 12, 1863. The next day, he was commissioned as a Captain in the Union Army’s Corps of Topographical Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
and assigned to the Army of the Ohio
Army of the Ohio
The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.-History:...
. The commission protected Rockwell from spying charges if he was captured while scouting roads and terrain out in front of the Army. It also allowed him to command the troops he needed for survey projects. Rockwell was assigned to map the area around Knoxville, a task he completed in March 1864. He was then assigned to map specific areas between Knoxville and Jefferson City
Jefferson City, Tennessee
Jefferson City is a city in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,760 at the 2000 census. The city was originally named Mossy Creek, but was changed in 1901 to honor Thomas Jefferson...
. He completed those surveys and delivered the maps in May. For the next four months, there is no record of Rockwell’s whereabouts. This seem to indicate he may have been on a secret mission, since it is unlikely that a valuable topographical engineer would have been left unused for such a long period of time with the war on-going.
In the fall of 1864, Rockwell was assigned to survey work in New York Harbor. Then in early 1865, Rockwell joined Major General William T. Sherman’s army on its March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...
. During that campaign, Rockwell and another officer from the Coastal Survey scouted ahead of the army columns, exploring roads and sending maps back to senior commanders so they could plan the Army's marching routes. Rockwell also participated in General Sherman’s march though the Carolinas
Carolinas Campaign
The Carolinas Campaign was the final campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. In January 1865, Union Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman advanced north from Savannah, Georgia, through the Carolinas, with the intention of linking up with Union forces in Virginia. The defeat of ...
. In April 1865, Rockwell was released from the Army and he returned to the Coastal Survey.
South America
In August 1865, the President of ColombiaColombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
requested the United States send a party of coastal engineers to examine a possible route for connecting Lake Santa Marta with the Magdalena River
Magdalena River
The Magdalena River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as...
. Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
agreed and directed the Coastal Survey Superintendent to identify engineers to undertake the task. Rockwell was one of six engineers selected for this unusual mission. He left for Columbia on December 11, 1865. The survey took about six months including a great deal of lost time caused by diplomatic wrangling as various Columbian officials tried to reduce the team’s compensation and divert the engineers into other projects. Rockwell and the other members of the team finished their work and returned to New York in June 1866.
Pacific coast
The Coastal Survey transferred Rockwell to the west coast is 1868. His first assignment was to survey a portion the San Francisco PeninsulaSan Francisco Peninsula
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is in Santa Clara County, including the cities of Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Mountain...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The survey was needed to help the Army place new coastal defenses around the city of San Francisco. In July 1868, Rockwell and his assistant were sent to Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
to survey and map the mouth of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
. The Columbia was an important waterway and it had not been charted since 1852. Rockwell’s soundings showed the river had change dramatically since it was first surveyed. He also discovered a new, deeper channel north of Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
. On the basis of Rockwell’s survey, most of the buoys around the Columbia River Bar and along the main channel were repositioned, making the passage into and out of the river safer.
During the winter of 1868 and the spring of 1869, Rockwell and his assistant surveyed and mapped Point Conception
Point Conception
Point Conception is a headland along the Pacific coast of U.S. state of California, located in southwestern Santa Barbara County. It is the point where the Santa Barbara Channel meets the Pacific Ocean, and as the corner between the mostly north-south trending portion of coast to the north and the...
near Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
. In July 1869, he returned to Oregon to continue his work on the Columbia River. He mapped Cape Disappointment
Cape Disappointment (Washington)
Cape Disappointment is a headland located at the extreme southwestern corner of Washington State on the north side of the Columbia River bar, at . The point of the cape is located on the Pacific Ocean in Pacific County, approximately two miles southwest of the town of Ilwaco...
and surveyed a number of bays above and below the mouth of the Columbia. However, his work was handicapped by smoke from forest fires, coastal fog, and heavy rains.
In the winter of 1871, Rockwell returned to California to survey San Simeon Bay. Then when the weather in the Pacific Northwest improved, he move north to conduct a survey of Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
in Washington state. For the next four years, he continued to shift from California to the Pacific Northwest, working the winter and spring months in the south and then moving north in May or June and staying through the fall.
In 1873, Rockwell was married to Cornelia Fleming Russell, who’s uncle was Governor of Tennessee. The Russell family was not happy with the match because of Rockwell's Union Army service during the Civil War, so the couple married secretly on a ferry boat in San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. After their marriage, Cornelia traveled with Rockwell, staying as close a practical given the outdoor nature of his field work. She may have even joined him in some of his field camps. Rockwell spent the next several years in northern California working on surveys of the Russian River
Russian River (California)
The Russian River, a southward-flowing river, drains of Sonoma and Mendocino counties in Northern California. With an annual average discharge of approximately , it is the second largest river flowing through the nine county Greater San Francisco Bay Area with a mainstem 110 miles ...
and Cape Mendocino
Cape Mendocino
Cape Mendocino located on the Lost Coast entirely within Humboldt County, California, USA, is the westernmost point on the coast of California. It has been a landmark since the 16th century when the Manila Galleons would reach the coast here following the prevailing westerlies all the way across...
. He also fixed the location of numerous mountain peaks in northern California.
In 1879, Rockwell moved his family home from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. He spent the next ten years working in the Pacific Northwest, making periodic trip to San Francisco where the Coastal Survey’s west coast office was located. During this time, he surveyed and mapped much of the lower Columbia and the highlands on both sides of the river. Between 1879 and 1884, he charted the channel of the Columbia’s major tributaries including the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
. His survey of the Willamette River was extremely detailed, including 17,782 hydrographic soundings. He also surveyed and mapped 50 miles of Oregon coastline south of Astoria along with other important coastal features including Nestucca Bay
Nestucca Bay
Nestucca Bay is a small S-shaped inlet of the Pacific Ocean located in northwest Oregon in the United States. It is located near the town of Pacific City in southwestern Tillamook County, approximately 12 mi south of Cape Lookout. The Nestucca and Little Nestucca rivers enter the bay from the...
, Tillamook Bay
Tillamook Bay
Tillamook Bay is a small inlet of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 6 mi long and 2 mi wide, on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Oregon...
, and several coastal rivers. In April and May 1884, Rockwell visited British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, filling his sketchbooks with scenes from his travels along the coast.
In the spring of 1890, Rockwell was called back to California to participate in a major survey of the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area in southern California. However, shortly after his arrival he was sent back to San Francisco to take charge of a survey party whose leader had died suddenly. After finishing a survey of Point Sur in the Big Sur
Big Sur
Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...
area of Monterey County, he returned to Portland in May 1890 to continue his Columbia River work. On June 1, 1892, Rockwell retired from the Coastal Survey after thirty-five years of service.
Later life
By 1892, Rockwell was well known within the Portland community. His work on the Columbia and Willamette rivers had help make commercial transportation to and from the city safer. His art work was also widely admired. Friends who receive a paintings or drawings as a gift considered themselves very fortunate. After retiring from the Coastal Survey, Rockwell opened an office in downtown Portland, taking work as a consulting engineer. In addition, his father had left him a significant estate which he invested. He served on the board of directors of three Portland banks including the Portland Trust Company (later known as The Oregon Bank) headed by Henry L. Pittock. Through his investments, Rockwell became moderately wealthy. His financial success gave him the freedom to travel, huntHunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
, and fish
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
at his leisure.
Long before he retired, Rockwell had begun writing about Oregon, especially the Columbia River. His works were published in a number of magazines including Pacific Monthly
Pacific Monthly
Pacific Monthly was a magazine of politics, culture, literature, and opinion, published in Portland, Oregon, United States from 1898 to 1911, when it was purchased by Southern Pacific Railroad and merged with its magazine, Sunset...
, The West Shore, and Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
. His articles were always carefully written, detailed, and accurate. Rockwell normally included a number of drawings with his articles. This added significant visual appeal to his articles.
Rockwell was an accomplished artist, skilled at landscape drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, watercolors, and oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
. In 1873, he exhibited two of his painting in the San Francisco Art Association
San Francisco Art Association
The San Francisco Art Association was an organization that promoted California artists, held art exhibitions, published a periodical, and established an art school. Over its lifetime, the association helped establish a Northern California regional flavor of California Tonalism as differentiated...
show and two more in the association’s 1874 show. No records exist for the association's art shows in 1875 or 1876. In 1877, Rockwell exhibited four painting in the San Francisco show. After retirement, Rockwell spent more time painting. In 1883, he began showing his work at the annual Portland Mechanics Fair and other local art exhibitions. He helped establish the Portland Art Club in 1885 and the Portland Art Association in 1892. Beginning in the late 1890s, Rockwell began displaying small watercolors, selling them for $10 and $20 to casual buyers. He also finished a number of large oil paintings during this period that were very popular in Portland society circles. Rockwell died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in Portland on March 22, 1907 at the age of 69.
Legacy
Rockwell played an important part in the early history of California and the Pacific Northwest. His survey parties mapped many prominent features along the Pacific coast. Shortly after Rockwell’s death, his wife donated 36 volumes of topographic survey reports to the Oregon State LibraryOregon State Library
The Oregon State Library in Salem, is the library for the U.S. state of Oregon. The mission of the Oregon State Library is to provide quality information services to Oregon state government, provide reading materials to blind and print-disabled Oregonians, and provide leadership, grants, and other...
. The reports cover the Columbia River and other areas in Oregon and Washington. In addition, some of his hand-drawn maps still exist in the archives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
in Washington, D.C.
Today, Rockwell’s artwork is well known in the Pacific Northwest. Many of his landscape watercolors and oil paintings are based on sketches he made during his topographical survey expeditions. His paintings were done in the English romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
style; however, his works always accurately reflected the details of the real landscapes he painted. It is estimated that Rockwell produced about 500 finished works. Only 134 of his paintings are known today along with his sketchbooks that include several hundred more drawings. Except for three casual sketchbook portraits, all his known works are landscapes. His paintings and drawings are on display in at least seven west coast museums.
- Anchorage Museum of History and ArtAnchorage Museum of History and ArtThe Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center is a museum located in downtown Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. Beginning as a public-private partnership to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Alaska purchase, it opened in 1968 with an exhibition of 60 borrowed Alaska paintings and a collection...
in AnchorageAnchorage, AlaskaAnchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, Alaska - Columbia River Maritime MuseumColumbia River Maritime MuseumThe Columbia River Maritime Museum is a museum of maritime history located about ten miles from the mouth of the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon, U.S.. It has a national reputation for the quality of its exhibits and the scope of its collections and was the first museum in Oregon to meet...
in Astoria, Oregon - Frye Art MuseumFrye Art MuseumThe Frye Art Museum is an art museum located in the First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, USA . The museum emphasizes painting and sculpture from the nineteenth century to the present. Its holdings originate in the private collection of Charles and Emma Frye...
in SeattleSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Washington - Glenbow MuseumGlenbow MuseumThe Glenbow Museum in Calgary is one of Western Canada's largest museums, with over 93,000 square feet of exhibition space in more than 20 galleries, showcasing a selection of the Glenbow's collection of over a million objects....
in Calgary, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - Oakland Museum of CaliforniaOakland Museum of CaliforniaOakland Museum of California or Oakland Museum is a museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California located in Oakland, California....
in OaklandOakland, CaliforniaOakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, California - Oregon Historical SocietyOregon Historical SocietyThe Oregon Historical Society is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preserves, and makes available materials of historical character...
in Portland, Oregon - Seattle Art MuseumSeattle Art MuseumThe Seattle Art Museum is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It maintains three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the central Seattle waterfront, which opened on...
in Seattle, Washington
Rockwell’s paintings and drawings are also sold at national auctions and by commercial galleries when individual works become available.