William W. Edgerton Civil War Letters

Collection

Identifier: 1955-001

Staff Only

The William W. Edgerton collection is composed of personal correspondence between Civil War private William Wilberforce Edgerton of the 107th New York Volunteers and his immediate family. Most of the letters are between William W. Edgerton and his mother, Dorothy Doud Edgerton. Additional correspondents include his brother, John Howard Edgerton, and his sisters, Martha Newton and Augusta Tenney.

The correspondence is arranged chronologically. Following it are some battle diaries kept by William Edgerton and other miscellaneous items.

Note: Locations have been noted exactly as written even though obviously misspelled, e.g. staford for Stafford and corthouse for Courthouse.

Dates

1862-1865

Creator

Edgerton, William W. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

The material in this collection is in the public domain. Reproduction decisions will be made by Special Collections staff on a case-by-case basis.

Extent

0.75 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

William Wilberforce Edgerton, a native of south central New York, was a private with the 107th New York Infantry Regiment (Campbell Guards). Following a station at the defenses in Washington, he saw action in numerous campaigns, starting in Maryland with the Army of the Potomac's XII Corps, 1st Division, 3rd Brigade at the 1st Battle of Antietam as part of the Maryland Campaign (September 4-20, 1862), and, in Virginia, the Chancellorsville Campaign (April 30-May 6, 1863) and as part of the reinforcements sent to aid the Army of the Tennessee for the Chattanooga Campaign (October-November 1863). Finally, Edgerton saw action as part of the Army of the Cumberland's XX Corps, 1st Division, 1st Brigade in the Atlanta Campaign (May-September 1864), the Savannah Campaign (November-December 1864), and the Carolinas Campaign (January-March 1865). The 107th New York Infantry Regiment was mustered out in Washington on June 5, 1865.

Sources:

Brief unpublished fifteen page biography with collection file.