MC 79

1 box (.33 cu.ft.)

About Col. Edward E. Cross:

Edward Cross was born on April 22, 1832 in Lancaster, Coos County, New Hampshire. At the age of fifteen, Cross began working as a printer for the Coos Democrat. In 1850, he left New Hampshire, eventually settling in Cincinnati, Ohio where he worked at the Cincinnati Times first as a printer and later as a reporter. In 1857, after a stint as their Washington correspondent, he left the paper in order to move further west.

Cross later settled in Arizona, where he invested in local mining interests, wrote dispatches for the Cincinnati Times, and began the territory’s first newspaper, the Weekly Arizonian. In addition to his writing and mining interests, Cross joined U.S. Army scouts in their efforts against the Apaches. In 1860, he crossed the border into Mexico to command a Sonoran army garrison supporting the insurgency of Benito Juarez.

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Cross returned to New Hampshire where he accepted a commission as colonel of the Fifth New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment. He was mustered into service on August 27, 1861 and began training recruits at Camp Jackson, outside Concord, NH.

Under Cross, the Fifth New Hampshire was renowned for its professionalism and courage under fire. It also incurred the highest losses of any Union regiment during the Civil War. Cross led the Fifth into battle at Fair Oaks, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. He twice returned to New Hampshire to recuperate wounds received on the field of battle.

In 1863, Cross rose to brigade command, but without a promotion to brigadier general. He increasingly became embittered over both the lack of promotion and the missteps of his superiors, but he stuck by his regiment. Cross led a brigade into battle on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg and was mortally wounded in fighting near the “Wheatfield.” He died early on July 3, 1863. His body was transported back to Lancaster where he was buried.

Sources on Colonel Cross

Child, William. A History of the Fifth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers, in the Civil War, 1861-1865. Bristol, NH: R.W. Musgrove, Printer, 1893.

Cross, Edward E. Stand Firm and Fire Low: The Civil War Writings of Colonel Edward E. Cross. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2003.

Pride, Mike and Mark Travis. My Brave Boys: To War with Colonel Cross and the Fighting Fifth. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2001.

Waite, Otis F.R. New Hampshire in the Great Rebellion. Claremont, NH: Tracy, Chase & company, 1870.

About the Col. Edward E. Cross collection:

The collection consists of a war-time journal kept by Colonel Edward E. Cross, military reports, correspondence, and Cross’ passport. Among the correspondence is a letter to his father and hand-written copies of letters of recommendation from General Hancock. Among the military reports is a draft of his report on the Battle of Fair Oaks (Va.), a 12-page report on the Chancellorsville (Va.) campaign, and miscellaneous notes.

Cross’s journal provides a detailed account of the formation, training, and war-time exploits of the Fifth New Hampshire. It covers the period from the time that Cross assumed command in August of 1861 through February 1863 and contains his personal reflections about the regiment, Army politics, Cross’s trips back to New Hampshire, and accounts of the battles of Fair Oaks, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. The journal also includes pasted-in newspaper clippings, most of which detail the activities of the Fifth New Hampshire. Also in the collection is Cross’s 1860 passport and various newspaper clippings, both by Cross and others, concerning the Fifth New Hampshire.

The collection is digitized.

The Colonel Edward E. Cross Collection was donated to the University of New Hampshire Library by Walter Holden.