William A. Cowles, 1834-1905
No. 22601 William A. Cowles, from the Healey Library at UMass, Boston
William A. Cowles, who was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1834, served two tours of duty with the 42nd Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers during the Civil War. For his first tour, he served as a private for nine months from 1862-1863 in New Orleans and played the French horn in the Regiment’s Band. During his second tour in 1864, Cowles served as a corporal for 100 days. He married Josephine Lewis of Quincy in 1858, and eventually the couple had two daughters. The Cowles family later moved to Billerica, Massachusetts, where he died on September 15, 1905.
UMass Boston Special Collections has a collection of Cowles’ papers and artifacts
William A. Cowles (1834-1905) papers, 1862-1928
Quantity: 2 boxes
Processed by Elizabeth Mock
Finding aid reviewed by Catherine Shaw, September 2012
Accession number: 81-8
PROVENANCE
This collection was donated to University Archives & Special Collections at UMass Boston by Reverend Gordon Gillette in October 1981.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
This small collection consists primarily of Cowles’ journals that he kept while serving his first tour of duty in New Orleans during the Civil War. Also included are a ration book, a manuscript music book which shows the music played by the Regiment’s Band, miscellaneous service records, newspaper clippings, photographs, a printed history of the 42nd Regiment, and documents relating to the death of Cowles and his wife in 1905 and 1928 respectively.
Included with this collection are Cowles’ war-time sewing kit and portable writing kit, a tuning fork, and various Civil War and post-Civil War patriotic badges.
INVENTORY
Box 1:
Journals, 2 bound volumes, 1862 – 1863
v.1, Dec 4, 1862 – June 17, 1863
v.2, Dec 4, 1862 – Aug 10, 1863
Transcription of v.1 and its continuation in Ration Book, see