Gross, William L.

Few facts are known about the life of Colonel William L. Gross (1839-1909). He was the son of a Minister who migrated from eastern Pennsylvania to Peoria County, Illinois, and William was living in the town of Brimfield there in 1856. That year he also served in the Post Office in nearby Knoxville, Illinois. William may have attended Knox College in Galesburg and we know that he taught school. Between August and December of 1862, he was an employee of the Cairo, Illinois, Telegraph Office as a civilian. He may have served there until he received an appointment at the United States Military Telegraph headquarters at Danville, Kentucky in September 1863. In October 1863 he was commissioned Captain, Assistant Quartermaster in the United States Volunteers and Assistant Superintendent. In July 1865 he was sent to the New Orleans, Louisiana, office of the Military District of the Gulf, and in March 1866 he was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel, Superintendent of Telegraph, Military District of the Gulf. He mustered out of the military in July 1866, and in August was appointed manager of the Western Union Office in Omaha, Nebraska.

From the guide to the William L. Gross Papers, 1856-1867, 1863-1866, (Western Reserve Historical Society)

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