Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Eben P. Wolcott Correspondence, Ms1989-033, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Eben P. Wolcott Correspondence was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1989.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Eben P. Wolcott Correspondence commenced and was completed in January 2022.

Biographical Note

Eben P. Wolcott, son of William A. and Susan H. Peck Wolcott, was born ca. 1844. The 1860 federal census lists 15-year-old Eben living in the Salisbury (Litchfield County), Connecticut home of his parents. On September 2, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company E, 28th Connecticut Infantry. He was promoted to corporal on January 1, 1863. Eben Wolcott died on August 28, 1863, from disease contracted during the siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana and was buried in Town Hill Cemetery, Salisbury.

Scope and Content

This collection contains correspondence addressed to Eben P. Wolcott of Company E, 28th Connecticut Infantry during the American Civil War. Written by family members in Connecticut, the letters focus on family and local matters but also discuss war-time news. The 41 letters, dated between September 1862 and July 1863, were written largely by Wolcott's mother, Susan H. Peck Wolcott, and his sister, Josephine Darling Wolcott (1850-1937) from Lakeville, Connecticut. Other letters were writtne by Wolcott's father, William A. Wolcott; with a few written by cousins Ettie Wolcott, Nellie Everts, and D. C. F. Curtis of Clinton, Connecticut; his uncle L. B. W. Landon; and aunt Nancy B. Hill of Blackstone [Massachusetts]. Other letters were written by Eliza F. Butter of Somerville [Massachusetts], Milton J. Warner of Williams College, Massachusetts, and Abbie W. Peck of Millville. The letters focus on local and family matters but also discuss such national and war-time events as the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862), the death of Stonewall Jackson (May 1863), and inflation caused by the war.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Eben P. Wolcott Correspondence by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).