Judson Wade Bishop

Judson Wade Bishop (June 24, 1831 – March 19, 1917) was an American railroad draftsman, surveyor, newspaper editor, and brigadier general who commanded the 2nd Minnesota Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. He was later a key figure in the consolidation of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway.

Born in New York and trained as a civil engineer, Bishop settled in Minnesota Territory in 1857 and worked as a railroad draftsman and newspaper publisher before enlisting in 1861. He rose to command the 2nd Minnesota and led its uphill charge at the Battle of Missionary Ridge in 1863, a feat later depicted in a painting commissioned for the Minnesota State Capitol. Brevetted a brigadier general in 1865, he returned after the war to Minnesota's railroad industry and published a regimental history, The Story of a Regiment (1890).

Early life Judson Wade Bishop was born on June 24, 1831, near Le Ray, New York, to the Reverend John Fletcher Bishop and Allena Bishop (née Brown). According to the Minnesota Historical Society, Bishop had one brother, John F. Bishop, and two sisters, Anna Bishop and Lena Bishop.

According to The Weekly Pioneer and Democrat, the Chatfield Guards were composed of "well-to-do" farmers from the surrounding area. Bishop later married Mary Libannia Axtell, the daughter of the Reverend Charles Axtell of Xenia, Ohio, and had five daughters. Gilbert had commissioned Massachusetts artist Douglas Volk to create a painting of the moment when Bishop's troops captured the summit. Preliminary sketches and variants of the final painting are held by the Minnesota Historical Society. Volk would go on to establish the Minneapolis School of Fine Art in 1886, the predecessor to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Volk's portrait is still on display in the Governor's Reception Room at the Minnesota State Capitol. In 2016, following a heated debate, the portraits were voted to remain at the Minnesota State Capitol.

In 1882, Bishop commissioned an elegant Second Empire style home to be built at 193 Mackubin Street in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Special features to Bishop's house include carved wooden front doors and stained glass in two of the window bays. Bassford built the structure in 1882–1883 for Bishop, who used it as a rental property and the headquarters of the Langdon, Bishop and Company railroad contracting firm. The Bishop Block housed many of St. Paul's largest companies over the years. The Bishop Block and the John Wann Building are two of the oldest structures in the Lowertown Historic District. The Bishop building was later demolished with the facade being moved halfway up the block to the north, where it was incorporated into Galtier Plaza.