Jacob Hoke (March 17, 1825 – December 26, 1893) was a nineteenth-century American merchant and businessman in

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Franklin County, in the South Central Pennsylvania, South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Gre ...

. His personal observations and diary entries formed the basis for one of the earliest classic accounts of the Gettysburg Campaign during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. He was also a prolific writer of widely circulated religious materials for the United Brethren Church.

Formative years

Hoke was born in

McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania McConnellsburg is a borough and the county seat of Fulton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,150 at the 2020 census. History The McConnellsburg Historic District was recognized by the United States Department of the Int ...

on March 17, 1825 to Henry and Sarah (Eyster) Hoke. He was educated in the local schools and, from the age of twelve until May 1841, clerked in a country store.

Career

Hoke relocated to Chambersburg, where he engaged in a series of business ventures that generated enough capital to enable him to open his own dry goods store on Chambersburg's town square. During the early part of the American Civil War, he assisted in caring for the wounded from the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...

in the autumn of 1862.''Biographical Annals of Franklin County, Pennsylvania'', Volume 1, p. 265. Hoke lived on the second floor above his shop. As the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

began invading the town in late June 1863, he had an excellent vantage point from which he could observe and watch the movements of the Southern soldiers. For the next two weeks, Confederates occupied the town, and much of the

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

passed within view of Hoke. During the summer of 1864, he again was in a position to witness the Civil War in his hometown when much of Chambersburg was burned by Confederate cavalrymen commanded by

John McCausland John McCausland, Jr. (September 13, 1836 – January 22, 1927) was a brigadier general in the Confederate army, famous for the ransom of Hagerstown, Maryland, and the razing of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. Earl ...

, who operated under the orders of Maj. Gen.

Jubal A. Early Jubal Anderson Early (November 3, 1816 – March 2, 1894) was an American lawyer, politician and military officer who served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, Civil War. Trained at the United States Military Academy, ...

. In 1884, Hoke integrated his memories, notes, observations, and outside sources into a pamphlet he entitled "Reminiscences of the War." Three years later, he produced a larger, more detailed work, ''The Great Invasion of 1863, or, General Lee in Pennsylvania''. Published in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, the book has become a standard reference work for a first-hand account of the two Confederate incursions into south-central Pennsylvania. For many years, Hoke was president of the Franklin County Bible Society, and served on several church-related boards and committees, including chairing the Board of Missions for the national United Brethren Church. He married twice, but had no children.

References

* ''Biographical Annals of Franklin County, Pennsylvania'', Volume 1. Reprinted by Heritage Books, * Hoke, Jacob
''The Great Invasion of 1863, or, General Lee in Pennsylvania...''.
Dayton, Ohio : W. J. Shuey, 1887.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoke, Jacob Historians of the American Civil War 19th-century American merchants People from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania 1825 births 1893 deaths People from Fulton County, Pennsylvania