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Francis Lawton Mobley Papers

 Collection
Collection number: ahc.MSS1008

Scope and Content

The bulk of the collection is a series of letters from Lt. Francis Lawton Mobley to his wife, Rhoda Gaskins Mobley during his time of service in the Civil War. Lt. Mobley illustrates daily camp life for his wife and reports on his general health and well-being. In most letters he reports his current location and the various ailments afflicting the men in his regiment. The most common ailments mentioned were "Brain" fever, chills, measles, mumps, and diarrhea as well as battle field wounds. In two separate letters written in the summer of 1862 Mobley writes to his wife and predicts a swift conclusion to the war. Several letters include comments on various reports he has received from nearby regiments. Some of those reports include the death of General Sidney Johnson' the sighting of Yankees in a balloon near Ft. Jackson; Stonewall Jackson's victory in Winchester, Virginia; and fighting at Manassas on August 29-31, 1862. The final two letters written in 1862 were to Mrs. F. L. Mobley regarding the death of her husband. A letter dated October 14, 1862, was from a friend of her husband who attended to him at the time of his death. He communicates Lt. Mobley's final wishes and disposition of his personal property. The other letter dated October 17, 1862 was from a woman, Mary T. Magill, who nursed Lt. Mobley at the make shift hospital in Winchester, Virginia. Ms. Magill provides more details about his final days including his spiritual readiness to die.

Dates

  • 1861-1916, undated
  • Majority of material found within 1861 - 1862

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Administrative/Biographical History

Francis Lawton Mobley (1836-1862) was born in Georgia to the Reverend George Griffen Mobley and Mary Grantham Mobley. In 1856, he married Rhoda Gaskins. Mobley mustered into the 50th Georgia Company I, on March 4, 1862, as a junior second lieutenant and was promoted to a full second lieutenant in June of the same year. Mobley suffered a minor bullet wound on September 14, 1862 in the Battle of South Mountain but remained with his company. On September 17, 1862 he participated in the Battle of Antietam and received a more serious injury. Mobley was sent to a makeshift hospital in Winchester, Virginia and died on October 9, 1862.

Extent

0.63 linear ft. (one document case and one half document case)

Language

English

System of Arrangement

Collection is arranged chronologically.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Glenn Hodges, 2009 (2009.173)

Existence and Location of Copies

Typescript copy of each letter is available.

Sources

Francis Lawton Mobley Papers, MSS 1008, James G. Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center.

Sources

Lori Nash-Cosgrove, ""There is no half way ground": Lt. Francis L. Mobley, 50th Georgia," North South Trader's Civil War, p. 22.

General

America's Turning Point: Documenting the Civil War Experience in Georgia received support from a Digitizing Historical Records grant awarded to the Atlanta History Center, Georgia Historical Society, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and the Digital Library of Georgia by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Description Control

Collection processed in 2011.

Title
Francis Lawton Mobley Papers
Author
Melanie Stephan
Date
March 2011
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Kenan Research Center at Atlanta History Center Repository

Contact:
130 West Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta GA 30305
404-814-4040