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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Wilhelm Jacob Steubing Correspondence, Ms1992-042, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Wilhelm Jacob Steubing Correspondence was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in 1992.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Wilhelm Jacob Steubing Correspondence commenced and was completed in October, 2023.

Biographical / Historical

Wilhelm Jacob Steubing, son of William J. and Anna Catherine Schaefer, was born in Prussia on November 9, 1832, and immigrated to Texas with his parents in 1845. He married Nancy Judson Hopkins (1841-1932) in Gonzales County on September 15, 1858; the couple had 16 children. On July 1, 1862, Steubing (as Jacob Steubing) enlisted as a private in Company B, 26th Texas Cavalry. Company muster rolls show him present for duty through February 1864. (No later muster rolls are on file.) The Steubings appear in the 1870 census as residents of Gonzales Texas, with "William" described as a 38-year-old blacksmith and Nancy, 29, as a housekeeper. William J. Steubing died in Gonzales County on May 3, 1898, and was buried in Waelder Cemetery.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of six wartime letters exchanged between Wilhelm Jacob Steubing, a private in Company B, 26th Texas Cavalry and his wife Nancy J. Steubing at the family home in Hopkinsville, Texas, during the American Civil War.

Wilhelm Steubing's first letter, written from Sabine Pass (Jefferson County), Texas, on April 29, 1863, notes that the "Yankeys" have taken Alexandria and expresses doubt that the Confederates can stop Union forces from taking Austin, while providing a description of the opposing forces. On June 30, 1863, Wilhelm writes from Galveston, conveying war news from Vicksburg and Pennsylvania. On November 14, 1863, Nancy Steubeing writes of having heard that Wilhelm's regiment had been sent to Louisiana and that Brownsville, Texas had been taken by Union forces and conveys hope that Wilhelm will be sent to Brownsville and have an opportunity to stop at home. The following day, Wilhelm again writes from Galveston that his regiment will soon depart for Harrisburg "to avoid the Yankeys landing on our coast" and that his and other regiments will be formed into a cavalry brigade. He adds that he is sending Nancy two vials of laudenum and gives her instructions for buying whiskey. On December 8, 1863, Wilhelm writes from a camp 10 miles south of Brazoria, Texas, that the regiment had arrived there hungry after a forced march, while he worked with the quartermaster to haul stores to camp from Barnard Station. He again writes from near Brazoria on December 20, briefly describing camp: "there is ten Devitions of the Army here and we are all in a pile." On February 14, 1864, Nancy writes from Hopkinsville, informing Wilhelm of the illnesses of herself and several family members, concluding, "i believe they have got the flux." She then expresses concern that her father will be conscripted: "i recon you no they are making evry efforte to get evry man in the army i donte no how soon Pa will hav to go and if he has to go what will become of me and the children, for you no he has taken care of us evry since you have bin in the servise ... i think evry man that carse any thing for his people will go home when they drag out the olde men who are trying to take care of those who are neearest and dearest."

Also included is an 1859 letter from N. A. Hopkins of Raleigh (Smith County), Texas, addressed to Nancy Steubing. Hopkins shares general news and compares the men of her neighborhood to those of Steubing's: "[Y]ou sedd for me to come out thar and you wold show me some of the prettest yong men in the universe but you cant do that for thar is some her as pretty as can be. ... I am sure if you had of come out her and seed our yong Gents be fore you marred I am sure you wold never marred one of the dutch." The collection also includes three envelopes addressed to the Steubings.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Wilhelm Jacob Steubing Correspondence by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).