John Ritter Hotaling (March 3, 1824 – October 12, 1886) was an American soldier, engineer, and businessman. He served as a dragoon in the Mexican-American War and as a cavalry officer and senior staff member of General John Logan's during the American Civil War. After the war, Hotaling was elected postmaster of Rochelle, Illinois; a position he occupied for 15 years, after which he retired and moved his family to Huron. He died there in 1886 of a heart attack.