Joseph Leland Cosby papers, 1862-1897.

ArchivalResource

Cosby, Joseph Leland, 1838-1926. Joseph Leland Cosby papers, 1862-1897.

Joseph Leland Cosby papers, 1862-1897.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/775010553

The collection includes letters, a military pass, daybook, and muster roll relating to the Civil War service of Joseph Leland Cosby who served in Company K, 34th Regiment Virginia Infantry in Wise's Brigade, Confederate States Army. Cosby wrote from Camp Jenkins Farm and Camp Little Britain Island in South Carolina during 1863/64 when the Brigade was stationed near Charleston. Most of the letters are from 1864 when the army defended Richmond and Petersburg. Cosby described to his sweetheart, Lum, the religious revival that swept the army, his hopes of being married during the war and romance, the duties of a sentry, the conditions and fighting in the trenches near Petersburg, the poor rations, his reasons for fighting, his desire for peace, and his dreams. Other details include correspondence from the Virginia Hospital in Petersburg while Cosby recuperated from an illness; letters from the division hospital where he recovered from boils and a slight but lingering wound; and Cosby's last letter from the Chimborazo medical complex near Richmond that discussed his bout with typhoid fever. Cosby kept a tiny daybook that documents some of his activities, but it is very faded and is not very detailed. The muster roll lists not only names of the members of Company K, but also in some cases what happened to them, whether they were killed, transferred, discharged, wounded, etc.

30 items.

The Mariners' Museum Library