By Ian Woolsey and Anne Bahde
Title: Benjamin F. Cook Letters, 1860-1865
Predominant Dates: 1860-1865
ID: MSS CookBF
Primary Creator: Cook, Benjamin F. (1833-1915)
Extent: 0.25 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: The collection consists of 2 series: Series 1: Letters, 1860-1865 and Series 2: Service Papers, 1864-1865.
Languages of Materials: English [eng]
This collection is comprised of approximately 150 letters sent by soldier Benjamin Cook to his wife Julia during his service in the Union Army in the Civil War. His letters provide a first-hand account of certain battles and events in the Civil War and detail his life and concerns as a soldier.
This collection has been digitized; reference scans are available upon request. Due to the age and fragility of these materials, researchers are encouraged to use the digital copies. Transcripts of letters in Box-folder 1.1 are also available upon request.
The letters in this collection were written and sent by Benjamin F. Cook to his wife Julia from various locations throughout the Northeast and South as Cook served with the 12th Massachusetts Volunteers in the Civil War. The letters date from his time before the Civil War while serving in the state militia, and run through the end of the war. Handwritten in pencil or ink, Cook's letters vary in length from a single scrap of paper to several pages. The correspondence is fairly regular throughout the war years, though there are long periods of time when letters were not sent, either due to a planned leave of absence or unknown circumstances.
Cook details the trials of a soldier's daily life in the Civil War, including limited resources such as clothing and food. He describes political situations within his company, as well as relationships between the soldiers, including incidents of disobedience and punishment, fighting and petty arguments, and theft. He frequently requests his wife to send him needed supplies, including new clothes, paper, and shoes. The letters show the misery and monotony of life at the front, including complaints about the weather, trouble sleeping, illness, late pay, and idly sitting waiting for something to happen. He reports to his wife on troop movements, skirmishes with Rebels, battle strategy, and troop plans. He continuously expresses a longing for home and family, asking for more letters from his wife, and trying to participate in home life by giving advice on the raising of children and spending of money. The end of the war is a frequent subject of speculation in the letters, and Cook vacillates between expressing confidence and fear, good spirits and depression, eagerness to fight the enemy and the overwhelming desire to run away.
Letters of note include a description of the Battle of Antietam (Box-Folder 1.4, Item 9), comments on black regiments (Box-Folder 1.3, Item 3), an encounter with a conscientious objector (Box-Folder 1.5, Item 26), and letters written from the battlefield (Box-Folder 1.6, Items 16-18).
This collection has been digitized; reference scans are available upon request. Due to the age and fragility of these materials, researchers are encouraged to use the digital copies.
More Extent Information: 1 box
Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.
Acquisition Note: Purchased in 2015
Related Materials: The small U.S. Civil War Collection contains materials generated by both North and South. The Duke University David Rubenstein Library holds Benjamin F. Cook's diary for the years 1862-1863. The Peabody Essex Museum holds a small file of Cook's personal papers.
Preferred Citation: Benjamin F. Cook Letters (MSS CookBF), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Processing Information:
We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-racist Actions Statement online.
Please be aware that some of the content in the Benjamin F. Cook Letters may be disturbing or activating; racist, derogatory language is used toward African Americans in the letters. We acknowledge the racism represented by this language and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein.
[Date of acknowledgement: April 2023]
Cook, Benjamin F. (1833-1915)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns--Personal narratives.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
United States. Army. Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 12th (1861-1864)