Fellow Sharpshooters

On July 15, 1862, Private Frank Cobb took up a pencil and wrote a 12 page letter to his brother, ’Durf’, describing the Army of Potomac’s recent battles before Richmond. This entry records Cobb’s harrowing experiences at Mechanicsville and the chaotic withdrawal to Gaines Mill. Reading Cobb’s letter is a challenge, as his writing is ‘stream of consciousness’ run-on sentences with minimal punctuation. This installment covers Pages 1-4.


Westover landing, VA
July 15, 1862

Dear brother

Where I left off on the records of the late battles, was way back to Mechanicsville Thursday night. Well, the very next morning as soon as it was light at all, Captain Drew of company G came around and woke us up and said that we must get up and carry some cartridges down to the boys in their rifle pits as they were most out. For an hour, the firing had been quite brisk and they were at it in Ernest out to the pits. There was a couple a dozen of us back in camp so we loaded ourselves with cartridges and started for the boys. The rebels were throwing shell, shot, grape and canister about the time I got up there and I guess that they had been for some time by the looks of the trees tree tops, etc. We went up to the left of the rifle pit and in cover of a piece of woods when we got to the edge of the woods, the captain gave a a couple of boys and myself an armful of cartridges and told us too

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Go across the road and give the boys in the rifle pits on our right of the road what cartridges we had and for us to get in with the boys in the pits, which was occupied by the Bucktails and the S shooters. The captain then deployed the rest of the boys along the edge of the woods and advanced in about 10 or 12 rods and stayed there until we all withdrew. I made my way the best I could across the road and in the edge of the woods, which was quite a job for it kept me a dodging around for cover from the fire of the rebel battery which was posted on a Hill 30 or 40 rods distant. I watched my chance for to go across the road, which was in plain sight of the rebels at an interval of firing I was for the other side of the road on a double quick just as I was reaching the bank of the opposite side of the road, “Bang” and a “whiz” and a “came a hail of shots”. It didn’t seem as if it went 6 inches over my head, but I suppose it went 6 feet. I dropped as if I if it had hit me, I looked around to see where it hit, which was about six rods past me all this I saw in about a second and a half I don’t believe

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I picked up my cartridges as soon as possible, and a little sooner and made for a little tree about 6 inches through and about four rods from me. I dropped several times while going that distance. It comes so natural for a fellow to “down” and as the word is. When we hear the report of a cannon shot, we can’t help to fall flat when we do hear one. I got behind that small tree and I was safe or I felt so anyways,. I laid there about four or five minutes awaiting for another interval of the firing when another hard shot come whizzing so fast that it did not – give a fellow a chance to think, hardly. This one hit the ground about 10 feet to the front of the tree glanced and struck my cover four or five feet from the ground. It threw dirt and bark all over me and in my eyes, it glanced off from the left side of the tree no harm was done, but it had a tendency to make me get away from there I tell you what. I didn’t stop to see if the grape was coming as was the CODE about them. I changed my position.

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better one behind a larger tree, which was much better than the first – from that position I TUSTED (tossed) the cartridges to the boys, as a rifle pit was now full I did not try to get in. our battery to the right of us a little drawed most of the shot and shell with the exception of a stray one now, and then canister and grape were thrown into the road all around us. We had held this position for half an hour longer than the orders were as a major in command of the Bucktail said when he ordered us to fall back to Gaines Mill about 3 miles back the battery was taken out first and after they had limbered up, we got out the best way we could I went back to the camp slung my knapsack, and kept on down towards the mills where the Regiment were stopped there and made me some coffee and tending to fall in with the company when it came along, but found out it had passed I fell in with the 4th Michigan boys.


Bill Skillman
Berdan Sharpshooters Survivors Association