Willis Berry Cobb1,2
ID# 15453, (1836 - abt 1870)
Father | Caleb Clark Cobb3 (25 Dec 1797 - 19 Nov 1867) |
Mother | Louisa Berry Long3 (1812 - 1881) |
Charts | Descendants of Gideon Cobb |
Ancestry | The Cobbs of Pawlet, Vermont |
Narrative:
Willis Berry Cobb was born in 1836 in Eddyville, Kentucky![](ml.png)
He was probably the male under age 5 listed in the household of his mother, Louisa Berry Long, in the 1840 Federal Census of Caldwell Co., Kentucky
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Willis has not been found in the 1850 or 1860 censuses, unless he was the "John C. Cobb," age 13, listed with his brother Gideon in his father's household in 1850. The listing appears as if "John" was Caleb's son, but why he might be listed by that name is a mystery.8
Civil War Service --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---
Willis enlisted as a private in Co. D, 3rd. Regiment Kentucky Infantry on 5 Aug 1861, at Camp Boone, Tennessee
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Willis was charged with "conduct subversive of order and military discipline and contrary to army regulations" on 3 Jan 1862 while it Camp No. 4 near Bowling Green, Kentucky
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He was on sick leave from 12 Nov until 20 Dec 1862. It being "impractical to take rations in kind" he was paid 75 cents per day, a total of $27, as compensation. Near the end of 1863 he was charged $40 for the loss of 40 rounds and a carbine.12
On 1 Feb 1864 Stephen R. Mallory, Secretary of the Navy, wrote to James A. Seddon, Secretary of War, stating that Willis had been appointed assistant paymaster in the Navy, and requesting his discharge from the Army. He said that Willis was then in Richmond, Virginia
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Willis served on the C. S. S. Torpedo, an iron screw steamer, tug/tender, in the James River Squadron in 1864. On 16 Jul 1864 he wrote a letter to the first auditor explaining he had paid the mother of a deceased sailor from the Torpedo under orders from Commander Hunter Davidson, then learned he should have waited for an administrator to be sworn.16,17
Service records for Confederate Navy personnel have not survived, so we had few details about Willis's service in the Navy. It is clear that his role was a significant one. For example, the statement of his accounts for the second quarter of 1864 shows he received drafts from the Treasurer totaling $15,000 for "Pay for the Navy," of which he disbursed $8,600 including payrolls, clothing and small stores. He received a like amount for "Submarine Batteries" and processed vouchers exceeding that amount.18
Willis was captured 3 Apr 1865 at Richmond
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Moving to Texas? --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---
According to family lore he moved to El Paso, Texas
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El Paso was a frontier town at the time, and no contemporary sources have been found to verify the story. A search of El Paso Co. tax lists from 1867 through 1881 failed to find him listed, nor does he appear in indexes of tax lists elsewhere in Texas, but neither has any further record of him been found in Kentucky or elsewhere.
According to this same family records his death happened in 1870.
There is a W. N. Cobb listed on the 1870 Federal Census of Dycusburg, Crittenden Co., Kentucky
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Willis died about 1870 in El Paso, Texas
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Citations
- [S7222] Alfred Albert Cobb, family history notes, Gideon Berry Cobb family notes, shows name as Willis Berry Cobb.
- [S1691] Louisa Cobb household, 1870 U.S. Census, Crittenden Co., Kentucky, shows name as W. N. Cobb.
- [S7222] Alfred Albert Cobb, family history notes, Gideon Berry Cobb family notes.
- [S7222] Alfred Albert Cobb, family history notes, Gideon Berry Cobb family notes, shows year and town.
- [S1691] Louisa Cobb household, 1870 U.S. Census, Crittenden Co., Kentucky, shows age 35 and state.
- [S7222] Alfred Albert Cobb, family history notes, Gideon Berry Cobb family notes, shows year, as 1870, and story of being shot.
- [S1797] Louisa Long household, 1840 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky.
- [S1829] Clark C. Cobb household, 1850 U.S. Census, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, lists John C. Cobb age 13, Gideon B. Cobb age 4, Lousia B. Long (Caleb's future wife and mother of his sons), and Sarah Long (Louisa's mother).
- [S7225] Willis B. Cobb, Compiled Service Records, Confederate, Kentucky, 23 Oct 1861- 1 Jan 1862 muster roll card.
- [S3019] "Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System," National Park Service, "3rd Regiment, Kentucky Mounted Infantry" shows unit history.
- [S7225] Willis B. Cobb, Compiled Service Records, Confederate, Kentucky, proceedings of the court martial of private W B Cobb, 3 Jan 1862.
- [S7225] Willis B. Cobb, Compiled Service Records, Confederate, Kentucky, receipt 25 Jan 1863; muster roll card for Nov & Dec 1863.
- [S7225] Willis B. Cobb, Compiled Service Records, Confederate, Kentucky, letter 1 Feb 1864; muster roll for Mar & Apr 1864, shows his as transferred to Navy.
- [S7227] Register of Officers of the Confederate States Navy 1861-1865, pg 37, shows transfer date.
- [S4392] United States Congressional Serial Set, Senate Doc. No. 234, 58th Congress, 2nd session, Journal of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865, vol IV, pp 144-6.
- [S7227] Register of Officers of the Confederate States Navy 1861-1865, pg 37.
- [S7228] Casualties, Subject File of the Confederate States Navy, 1861-1865, letter W. B. Cobb to Boling Baker 16 Jul 1864.
- [S7226] Clothing and food, Subject File of the Confederate States Navy, 1861-1865, W. B. Cobb accounts quarter ending 30 Jun 1864.
- [S7229] W. B. Cobb, Compiled Service Records of Confederate General and Staff Officers, and Nonregimental Enlisted Men.
- [S1691] Louisa Cobb household, 1870 U.S. Census, Crittenden Co., Kentucky.