author
David Wright Judd
1838–1888
A Civil War journalist and editor, he turned firsthand experience into vivid military history and later became a leading figure in American publishing. His work connects the battlefield, the newsroom, and the world of 19th-century magazines.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Lockport, New York, on September 1, 1838, David Wright Judd was an American journalist, editor, and author. He graduated from Williams College in 1860 and served in the Union army during part of the Civil War. His best-known book, The Story of the Thirty-Third N. Y. S. Vols: or Two Years Campaigning in Virginia and Maryland (1864), drew on that wartime world and was presented as the work of a New York Times correspondent.
Judd went on to build a strong publishing career. Reference sources describe him as proprietor and editor of Hearth and Home, and family and publishing histories note that he worked closely with his brother Orange Judd's company, eventually becoming president of Orange Judd Company by 1883. He also edited Life and Writings of Frank Forester and The Educational Cyclopaedia.
He died in New York City on February 6, 1888. Though not widely known today, Judd's career shows an unusual range: soldier, reporter, historian, editor, and publishing executive, all in one life.