This collection is made up of 12 letters and one manuscript map pertaining to George W. Gragg of Company K, 6th Massachusetts Infantry, and the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, and his father William Gragg, a career surgeon's steward in the U.S. Navy. The bulk of the papers date between 1862 and 1864, respecting in part George Gragg's service in and around Suffolk, Virginia, in early 1863. The manuscript map depicts fortifications around Suffolk at the time of the April-May 1863 siege.
The letters are comprised of five from William F. Gragg to his son George and daughter-in-law Lizzie, 1853-1863; four letters and one note from George W. Gragg to Lizzie Cole before and after their marriage; George Gragg's discharge certificate (June 8, 1863); and a manuscript map of Suffolk, Virginia, and its environs (ca. May 1863). Gragg purchased the map from a fellow soldier in the 6th Massachusetts Infantry, John H. Keith (Company C), for 37 cents. One additional, incomplete letter, dated February 1, 1863, from Suffolk, Virginia, appears to be from George W. Gragg to his mother Maria, in which he relates a detailed description of the Battle of Deserted House, near Suffolk, Virginia.
Please see the box and folder listing below for details about each item in the collection.
William F. Gragg was born on November 26, 1810, in Boston, and married Maria Cloutman (1813-1902) on March 28, 1830. They had four children, including George William Gragg (1832-1903), William F. Gragg, Jr. (1834-1920), Mary (1841-1917), and Maria Eugenia "Geny" (1852-1941). William F. Gragg was surgeon's steward from at least the 1850s until his death in December 1864. He was a patriotic man as evidenced by letters to his children from the 1850s and early 1860s.
George W. Gragg was born on December 9, 1832, and became a farmer at Billerica, Massachusetts. He married Mary E. "Lizzie" Cole (1837-1918). He served a nine-month stint in the 6th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, 1862-1863, and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy on August 1, 1864. He received a position as surgeon's steward, like his father, aboard the USS Circassian. He was mustered out on January 4, 1865. George W. Gragg died on February 4, 1903, at Waltham, Massachusetts.