William Tell Cobb Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
College of William and Mary
Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
College of William and Mary
400 Landrum Drive
PO 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (757) 221-3090
Fax: (757) 221-5440
Restrictions:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Terms of access:

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Preferred citation:

William Tell Cobb Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Summary

Extent:
0.50 Linear Feet
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

William Tell Cobb Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Background

Scope and content:

Letters of William Tell Cobb (1840-1913), of Mauricetown, New Jersey, and his brother, Edwin Cobb (b. 1838), also of Mauricetown, New Jersey. William Cobb participated in the battles of Fair Oaks and 2nd Manassas while in the Army, and the battle of Fort Fisher while in the Navy; he describes these battles in his letters. Edwin Cobb provides an eyewitness account of the battle between the "Monitor" and the "Merrimac". Other topics dealt with in the letters are camp conditions and everyday life in the Army and Navy, interaction between Union and Confederate soldiers, and the financial difficulties faced by William Tell Cobb and his family during the war. The collection also includes a photo of William Tell Cobb, his copy of "The Soldier's Guide" and a collection of typescripts of the letters

Biographical / historical:

William Tell Cobb (1840-1913) served in the Union Army during the Civil War, as a private in the 20th Pennsylvania Infantry, an orderly sergeant in Company F, 5th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers from 1861- 1862, and as a private in Company B, 2nd U.S. Cavalry from 1862-1864. He also served in the U.S. Navy as an ordinary seaman on the ships Allegheny, Daylight, Shenandoah, and Princeton from 1864-1865.

Edwin Cobb (b. 1838), younger brother of William Tell Cobb, served in the U.S. Navy as well, as a 1st Lieutenant on the ship C. W. Holmes in 1862.

Acquisition information:
Acc. No. 1993.45A; Purchased: 188 items, 7/01/1993. (Same as 98 C63).
Processing information:

Processed by Kathy Feeney in 1998.

Arrangement:

This collection is organized into three series. Series 1 contains letters and typescripts; Series 2 contains miscellaneous material; and Series 3 contains transcripts. Theis collection is arranged into series by item description and then by chronologically by date.

Physical description:
188 items
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard