Here is another watch from my own collection. This gold watch was presented to Major Josiah B. Cobb of the 12th Indiana Cavalry by his Colonel, Edward Anderson. Given the production date of the movement, a 15 jewel, "Appleton, Tracy & Company" Grade Model 1857, made by the American Watch Company of Waltham, MA, in October of 1863, I am surmising that Cobb received the watch upon his promotion to major. (The 12th IN Cavalry took the field in March 1864, at which time Cobb, a veteran of the 2nd IN Cav, the first Indiana cavalry unit to serve in the CW, was "elected" a captain of the 12th Cav's Company D. He was promoted to major later that year.) According to his obituary in the Indianapolis Times, Cobb had helped to organize the 12th Cav in the winter of 1863. The 12th Cav saw action in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee against N. B. Forrest's guerrillas and the forces of John Bell Hood. They were involved in the battles of Wilkinson's Pike (aka Third Murfreesboro), Overalls Creek, and Fort Blakely, among others. Previously, Cobb had enlisted as a sergeant in the 2nd IN Cav, Company M, in November 1861, in which he would have seen action at the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Perrysville, and possibly Stones River (aka Second Murfreesboro), before briefly returning to Goshen in late 1862 or early 1863.
Cobb again returned home to Goshen Indiana after the war, where he raised and raced horses, an especially fitting occupation for a retired cavalryman. (He reportedly had a racetrack on his property!) The major was elected Mayor of Goshen in 1884, and served as an Elkhart County Commissioner in 1901. He died on April 14, 1919.
I had high hopes that the Goshen Historical Society would be able to furnish a picture of the man, but no such luck. If anyone else can help me to locate a picture of Major Cobb, I would greatly appreciate it.
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