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.
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Brief unpublished fifteen page biography with collection file.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated by Mr. Owsley R. Welch, approximately 1955.
Processing Information
Steven Bonario, March 1990. Derral Parkin, June 1995.
Contact:
University of Houston Libraries Special Collections MD Anderson Library 4333 University Drive
HoustonTX77204-2000USA
713-743-9750
Collection organization
Citation
William W. Edgerton Civil War Letters. Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. To cite a specific item from this collection, please consult the most recent edition of your style manual for the proper formatting. See the Citing Special Collections Materials page for more information. https://findingaids.lib.uh.edu/repositories/2/resources/30 Accessed July 07, 2020.
