CDV OF GEORGE B. COSBY, C.S.A.

CDV OF GEORGE B. COSBY, C.S.A.

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Item Code: 1138-105

This CDV photograph is a bust view of Cosby. Image is clear with very good contrast. Plain mount remains in good condition; lightly trimmed on the left side. No photographer’s backmark. Modern pencil identification on back.

George Blake Cosby (January 19, 1830 – June 29, 1909), was born in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated 17th of 43 in the 1852 class of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He was assigned as a brevet Second Lieutenant to the U.S. Mounted Riflemen Regiment on July 1, 1852 and was appointed a full Second Lieutenant on September 16, 1852. Cosby was wounded fighting Native Americans at Lake Trinidad, Texas on May 9, 1854. Cosby transferred to the 2nd U.S. Cavalry Regiment on March 3, 1855. He was promoted to First Lieutenant on May 1, 1856 and to captain on May 8, 1861. He taught cavalry tactics at West Point before his resignation to join the Confederate States Army. Cosby resigned on May 10, 1861 in order to join the Confederate Army.

On May 16, 1861, George B. Cosby was appointed Captain and assistant adjutant general in the regular army of the Confederate States. On June 20, 1861, he was promoted to Major with the same duties. He also became assistant adjutant general of the Army of the Peninsula until the following month. Between November 9, 1861 and February 16, 1861, he was assistant adjutant general and chief of staff for Brigadier General Simon B. Buckner. As such, Cosby carried the note that opened negotiations for the surrender of Fort Donelson from General Buckner to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Cosby was captured as a result of the surrender of the Fort Donelson. He was not exchanged until August 15, 1862.

Upon his return to duty in August 1862, Cosby was appointed Colonel of cavalry. In October, 1862, he was appointed chief of staff of the Army of Mississippi and on December 23, 1862, chief of staff for the District of the Gulf. Cosby was promoted to Brigadier General on January 20, 1863 and given command of a cavalry brigade in the Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana.

In February 1864, Cosby and his brigade were assigned to the Department of Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee until September 1864, when they were assigned to the Department of West Virginia and East Tennessee until the end of the war. Cosby had between 2,000 and 4,000 men under his command at various times during this assignment. Cosby was paroled in Kentucky in May, 1865. He had disbanded his men when he heard about the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia.

After the Civil War, Cosby moved to Butte County, California where he was a farmer. For a period of time, he also was a sutler in Oregon. He held several government positions, including Secretary of the Board of State Engineers and member of the West Point Board of Visitors.

General Cosby committed suicide on June 29, 1909 at Oakland, California, allegedly due to continuing pain from his old war wounds. George Blake Cosby was buried in the City Cemetery, Sacramento, California. [jet]  [ph:L]

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