Robert Eugene Rogers
Papers, 1861-1925

SC22519

View catalog record

Biographical Note:

Robert Eugene Rogers was born in 1841 in Newark, Wayne County, New York.  He was the son of Shubael M. Rogers (b. 1808) and Tenney Armstrong (b. 1808).  As a young man he lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he apprenticed as a machinist.  Rogers enlisted in the Civil War as a sergeant in Co. F, 11th Illinois Infantry in April 1861.  Subsequently, he was also with Co. C, Chicago Light Artillery (Busteed's Battery) and 1st New York Light Artillery, where he served as a first lieutenant and regimental quartermaster.  Rogers married Anna Parker Sibby (b. 1842) on May 20, 1862 in Mazon Township, Grundy County, Illinois.  The couple had three children:  Dora Marth Rogers (b. 1865), Henry Elden Rogers (b. 1867) and William Eugene Rogers (b. 1875).  After the war, Rogers was known to live in the Midwest, and lived in approximately 13 different locations between 1865 and 1925. He owned RE Rogers & Sons Mfrs. Agents Lumber and Other Forest Products in Sterling, Colorado, circa 1916.  Later in life Rogers resided in California where he began writing a personal memoir of his experiences in the war.  He died on August 5, 1930. 

Provenance Note:

These papers were transferred to the New York State Library by a deed of gift from Harvey Finks of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc., Chicago, Illinois.  A two-page summary of the contents of the papers was prepared by Daniel R. Weinberg of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, and was included with the donation of the papers.  Originally, these papers were together in one box, and most were double or triple folded and bound with string; papers were kept in chronological order with papers of the same dates being bound together. The materials in this collection have been flattened and placed in folders, adhering as much as possible to the original order.

Scope and Contents Note:

This collection contains the personal and military papers of Civil War Lieutenant Robert Eugene Rogers.  Primarily, the material covers Lieutenant Rogers' recordkeeping during the time he served as Regimental Quartermaster, Commanding Battery B, First New York Light Artillery.  War-date papers consist of routine forms and documents including camp, clothing and garrison equipage returns, ordnance stores returns, lists of expended items, etc. 

Rogers' personal papers include some family and genealogical records, letters, and handwritten accounts of his experiences during the war.  Of particular note is a 37-page personal narrative, written circa 1925, which describes his experiences serving in the army during the Civil War.  The narrative was written by Rogers in ink on pulp notepaper while he was living at a soldiers' home in California. The eloquently written manuscript depicts Rogers' background and  his early enlistments as well as what he encountered as a soldier at 2nd Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg and other battles.

Box and Folder List: