George A. Cobham Jr.

For other people with the same name, seeGeorge Cobham.

George Ashworth Cobham Jr.
George Ashworth Cobham
Born	(1825-12-05)December 5, 1825 Liverpool,England
Died	July 20, 1864(1864-07-20)(aged 38) Fulton County,Georgia
Place of burial	Oakland Cemetery,Warren,Pennsylvania
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/ branch	United States Army Union Army
Years of service	1861-1864
Rank	Colonel BrevetBrigadier General
Unit	111th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
Battles / wars	American Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville Battle of Gettysburg Battle of Wauhatchie Battle of Lookout Mountain Battle of Ringgold Gap Atlanta Campaign Battle of Peachtree Creek†

George Ashworth Cobham Jr.(December 5, 1825 – July 20, 1864) commanded the111th Pennsylvania Infantryin theAmerican Civil Warand rose to the rank of brigade commander before being killed in battle.

This monument to Cobham stands in the Tidioute Cemetery, Tidioute, Warren County, Pa.

Early life

Cobham was born inLiverpool,England,and migrated to the United States with his family in 1836. Settling in Warren County,Pennsylvania,Cobham attendedAllegheny CollegeinMeadville, Pennsylvania,then worked as a contractor in western Pennsylvania. He married Annie Page of Warren, Pennsylvania around 1858. They had one son, Frederick P. Cobham, born in 1859.

Civil War

Early in the Civil War, Cobham began recruiting in Warren County following the Union disaster at theFirst Battle of Bull Run.Invited to join the regiment then forming atErie, Pennsylvania,Cobham led his men into camp and on January 28, 1862, he becamelieutenant colonelof the111th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.The regiment served on garrison duty atBaltimore,Maryland,andHarpers Ferry.It also served underMaj. Gen.Nathaniel P. Banksat theBattle of Cedar Mountain,in the division ofBrig. Gen.Christopher C. Augur.Cobham fell ill withtyphoid feverin July 1862 and did not rejoin the regiment until October of that year. He was promoted to the rank ofcolonelon November 7, 1862.

Cobham led the regiment at theBattle of Chancellorsvillein Brig. Gen.John W. Geary's second division ofXII Corps.Cobham was credited with capturing the flag of the 5th Alabama Infantry during the fight. When brigade commander, Brig. Gen.Thomas L. Kane,was taken ill, Cobham led the 2nd Brigade of Geary's division in theGettysburg Campaign.Kane returned to the brigade during theBattle of Gettysburgon July 2, 1863, but he was unable to retain command. Cobham resumed command. The brigade built defenses onCulp's Hill.As evening fell, they were ordered to march to the relief of the left flank of the army. Starting without a guide, Geary got lost and took Cobham's andCharles Candy's brigade down the Baltimore Pike in the wrong direction. Returning with the brigade to the Culp's Hill area in the early morning hours of July 3, Cobham took part in the fighting of July 3, helping to hold off the confederate attacks.

When XII Corps was transferred under the command of Maj. Gen.Joseph Hookerto relieve theArmy of the Cumberland,besieged at Chattanooga, Cobham was transferred with his brigade. They fought at theBattle of Wauhatchie,theBattle of Lookout Mountainand theBattle of Ringgold Gap.When the XII Corps andXI Corpswere amalgamated into theXX Corpsunder Hooker, Cobham reverted to command of the 111th Pennsylvania Infantry, still part of Geary's second division.

Cobham participated in Maj. Gen.William T. Sherman'sAtlanta Campaign.He took command of 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, XX Corps, when its previous commander, Col.David Ireland,was wounded at theBattle of Resacaon May 15, 1864. He led the brigade until Ireland returned on June 6, 1864. Col. Cobham was killed while leading his regiment at theBattle of Peachtree Creekon July 20. Cobham was awarded a posthumousbrevetpromotion to the rank ofbrigadier generalon July 19, 1864, effective as of the date before his death. Geary, his division commander, described Cobham in one of his letters as a valuable and beloved officer.

Burial and legacy

Cobham was buried at Oakland Cemetery inWarren, Pennsylvania.In a family tiff in 1865, his remains were exhumed and reburied in the family burial plot at Cobham Park, the family home in Warren County, Pennsylvania. As a result, Cobham's wife and in-laws sued the Cobham family for their return. The case was dismissed by the court, and General Cobham remained buried at Cobham Park. In 1896, the local post of theGrand Army of the Republicconvinced the surviving family to allow Cobham's reburial in the GAR plot at Oakland Cemetery, where he rests today.

Cobham's wartime letters to his mother and brother are part of the collections of the Warren County,Pennsylvania Historical Society.Some additional letters written by him are in theSalvation ArmyArchives inAlexandria, Virginia.

See also

• List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union)

References

• Blair, William Alan (ed.),A Politician Goes to War: The Civil War Letters of John White Geary,University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995,ISBN0-271-01338-9.
• Dyer, Frederick H.,A Compendium of the War of Rebellion: Compiled and Arranged From Official Records of the Federal and Confederate Armies, Reports of the Adjutant Generals of the Several States, The Army Registers and Other Reliable Documents and Sources,Des Moines, Iowa: Dyer Publishing, 1908 (reprinted by Morningside Books, 1978),ISBN978-0-89029-046-0.
• Eicher, John H., andEicher, David J.,Civil War High Commands,Stanford University Press, 2001,ISBN0-8047-3641-3.
• Greene, A. Wilson, "'A Step All-Important and Essential to Victory': Henry W. Slocum and the Twelfth Corps on July 1–2, 1863," in Three Days at Gettysburg: Essays on Confederate and Union Leadership, ed.Gary W. Gallagher,Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1999, pp. 169–203.
• Pfanz, Harry W.,Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill,University of North Carolina Press, 1993,ISBN0-8078-2118-7.