James H. Simpson

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

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 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.

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. The following year, he worked on road construction in Florida and then lake surveys in Wisconsin and Ohio. From 1845 to 1847, he was in charge of the harbor of Erie.

In 1849, Simpson surveyed areas in the American Southwest, between Santa Fe and the Navajo tribal lands. He had recruited wilderness artists Edward and Richard Kern to record the expedition in watercolors, oils, drawings and maps. He surveyed a road from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Sante Fe, New Mexico and then served for a year as the Chief Topographical Engineer for the Department of New Mexico.

After six months sick leave, Simpson returned to duty and was transferred to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1851 where he spent the next five years overseeing the roads of the territory. During this period, he was promoted to captain. From June 1856 to February 1858, Simpson was engaged in coastal survey of Florida.

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