Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection consists primarily of letters that Rohloff and Philip Hacker wrote to their parents and siblings while serving in the 2nd and 5th Michigan Infantry Regiments during the Civil War. Also included are two of Rohloff Hacker's diaries, letters by additional Michigan soldiers and a female aid worker, and letters that William Hacker received from his brother Karl in Neustrelitz, Germany, from 1877-1880.

This collection consists of letters that Rohloff and Philip Hacker wrote while serving in the 2nd and 5th Michigan Infantry Regiments during the Civil War. The collection also includes two of Rohloff Hacker's diaries, letters by additional Michigan soldiers and a female aid worker, and letters that William Hacker received from his brother Karl in Neustrelitz, Germany, from 1877-1880.

Among the most valuable letters in the collection are Rohloff's written during the summer of 1861. These provide an excellent sense of life in the camps defending Washington, going beyond descriptions of the routine of camp life to discussions of morale, officers, and the preparedness of soldiers on both sides. Rohloff describes the equipment and uniforms issued to his Regiment -- late and in poor condition -- in great detail, and their involvement in skirmishes and in the 1st Battle of Bull Run. He displayed an unusual zeal in soldiering, remarking that he did not hesitate in firing at Confederate soldiers, even the first time, and making a number of caustic remarks about Confederate soldiers. The amusing rivalry he and Philip carried on through their correspondence with home over their regiments and relations with friends and women decreased after the First Battle of Bull Run, and seems to have ended altogether after the Peninsular Campaign, when both their moods turned darker and more serious. The brothers both wrote informative letters during the Peninsular Campaign, particularly during the siege of Yorktown, the Battle of Williamsburg, and the Seven Days' Battles. The letters describing the Battle of Fredericksburg are also absorbing, particularly Philip's account of his own wounding. Somehow, through their experiences, which included a number of disastrous defeats at the hand of the enemy, both brothers unwaveringly maintained their faith in their country and their religion.

Rohloff and Philip wrote clearly and succinctly, and both were sensitive to the larger issues of the conflict and to the effect of war on the participants and civilians. Both commented occasionally on strategy and the leadership of the Union Army. Philip's letters are somewhat more polished than Rohloff's. The majority of the brothers' letters were written to family members, with most addressed to their father and mother, William and Barbara Woll Hacker, their younger siblings, Serena and Theodore, or their sister and brother-in-law Augusta and Alpheus Macomber in various combinations. Rohloff also wrote more than 30 letters to his former employers, E.F. Albright and C. Thomson, or Mrs. Albright.

The collection contains letters of several other Michigan soldiers, most of who served with the Hackers, or were friends of the Hacker family from Brighton. Among these are four letters from Peter Smith (Co. G, 2nd Michigan), reminiscing about his friendship with Rohloff and describing visits to his grave; five from Newton J. Kirk (Co. E, 26th Michigan Infantry); four from Capt. John C. Boughton (Co. G, 2nd Michigan), two letters of Edward R. Bliss (4th Michigan Infantry), and six letters written in February and March, 1863, by W. H. Pratt, a Sergeant in the hospital in which Philip Hacker was dying (probably William H. Pratt, Co. E, 26th Michigan Infantry). Another group of additional correspondence consists of 16 letters that Julia Susan Wheelock wrote about her work for the Michigan Soldiers' Relief Association in Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia between 1863 and 1866. Wheelock is also mentioned in several of the soldier's letters. In 1870, Wheelock published a memoir of her war-time experiences, The Boys in White; the Experience of a Hospital Agent in and around Washington.

The collection also contains a group of 5 letters that Karl Hacker wrote to William Hacker, his brother, from Neustrelitz, Germany, between September 16, 1877, and February 12, 1880. The letters are written in German schrift. Hacker's correspondence concerns local news and events, including several festivals; changes in Neustrelitz and Germany since William left for the United States; and his work as a construction supervisor. He provided updates about his health, and also discussed news of family members and friends in the United States and Germany.

The collection also contains The Congregational Psalmist: A Collection of Psalm Tunes, three soldier's bibles, two belonging Rohloff C. Hacker and one from Alexander Reuben that also has Philip W. Hacker's name in it, a leather wallet with Philip Hacker and William A. Ferguson's name on it, and a sewn cloth case. Miscellaneous items such as newspaper clippings, stamps, hunting licenses, currency, 4 photographs, and photographic negatives are also included. A small selection of 20th century family correspondence about the Hacker brothers supplement the collection.

The John and Samuel Hunt papers consist primarily of Civil War era correspondence between the friends and family of John and Samuel Hunt with many letters between the two brothers. Also included is John Hunt's Civil War diary, which contains accounts of his service as adjutant with the 81st Ohio Infantry Regiment between January and December, 1862.

The John and Samuel Hunt papers are comprised of 78 letters, 1 receipt, 3 miscellaneous printed items, 2 photographs, and 1 diary. The collection consists primarily of Civil War era correspondence between the friends and family of John and Samuel Hunt, with many letters between the two brothers. For the most part, cousins, sisters, and friends wrote the pre-Civil War letters, addressed to John Hunt. These concern family matters, school, and local Ohio politics.

John's Civil War era letters, mainly to Samuel with a few items to other family members, focus on his relationship to his family, particularly his parents. He also described Civil War camp life in Missouri, Tennessee, and near Corinth. Early on, in a letter from December 8, 1861, he wrote about a conflict between his regiment's lieutenant colonel and captain over a battalion drill, which almost resulted in a duel. The brothers often bonded over the activities (past and present) of the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity, which they had both joined at Miami University. Samuel sent John his DKE pin, which made him popular with the ladies in St. Louis (February 23, 1862). Samuel kept John up-to-date on the fraternity's election results and activities. A few months after the war, John was working in Washington DC as a lawyer's clerk and reported that the town was "full of rebels at present seeking pardon" (September 17, 1865).

Letters from Samuel describe university life during the war and the impact that the war was having on the homefront. He included fiery political commentary and espoused bellicose sentiments, particularly in the early part of the war. In a letter to John dated May 25, 1861, Samuel wrote: "The murder of the accomplished Col-Ellsworth must and will be avenged -- those fine Zouaves will cause destruction in the enemy's camp -- they are 'spoiling for a fight' and will soon be gratified[.] " Samuel kept up his correspondence with a number of friends and Miami University alumni with whom he communicated about the school and his own academic progress.

The John Hunt's Civil War diary contains accounts of his service as adjutant with the 81st Ohio Infantry Regiment between January and December, 1862. He entered notes almost daily, except during his sick leaves in April and from August 15 through the end of 1862. During his leave, Hunt wrote a few entries in August concerning an Ohio Copperhead and his views on the draft, and recorded a short run of daily entries from November 1-22. The diary includes descriptions of travels in the north and south and is most detailed between May and August, when the 81st Ohio took part in the assault on Corinth, Mississippi, and in the late fall, when they were encamped near Corinth. Hunt's brief entries provide interesting anecdotes about life in the Union camps, soldiers' amusements, and the scene near Corinth.

The Miscellaneous series consists of two photographs (a staged family portrait and a carte-de-visite of a young well dressed man), an army pass for John R. Hunt (February 1862), and three programs concerning the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (1862-1863).

From about 1860 through at least the end of the Civil War, Samuel C. Taylor worked as a salesman for the Philadelphia clothing firm of Charles Stokes & Co. The 1863 portion of his journal contains almost daily entries between February and May, vividly describing his travels from Philadelphia to Memphis and social life in Memphis during the Civil War. The 1890 portion of the journal consists of seven humorous essays, which are highly stereotypical, possibly semi-fictional, depictions of life in the south.

The Taylor journal is a single, 3/4 leather-bound volume in two sequential parts, the first dated 1863, the second, 1890. The journal is probably a transcript made in 1890 or 1891 from the original, based on the style of binding and paper, and the continuity in handwriting and pen between the two dated parts. The 1863 portion, 260 pages long, takes the form of almost daily journal entries from the time of Taylor's departure from Philadelphia on February 16th, through his stay in Memphis, until his return to Philadelphia on May 16th, and is uniformly well written and interesting. It is a far more polished piece of writing than many journals, and may have been corrected or embellished at the time of its transcription. At its best, Taylor's prose has the feeling of Mark Twain's exuberant descriptions of life on the Mississippi, leavened with the cynical undercurrents of Melville's Confidence Man., and though it is brief, covering only a four months' residence, the journal is a valuable social record of life in wartime Memphis as seen by a person come to take advantage of the quick money to be made. Taylor has a preference for the "colorful" aspects of life in Memphis, and includes vivid descriptions of the shoddy accommodations, the venality and corruption, rampant violence and crime, and of soldiers, prostitutes, rebels, drunks and rowdies. Throughout, he displays an eye for the telling detail, a good sense of humor, and an unerring flair for making a good story out of difficult circumstances.

Among the several highlights in the journal is an excellent description of the steamboat trip to Memphis, during which a "Jewish" swindler/gambler managed to con his way out of several tight spots by his using his wits and his finesse with cards. Once in Memphis, Taylor provides memorable descriptions of the city in all its war-time depravity, and vivid accounts of long lines of ragged, worn-out soldiers marching in to town, of murder, robbery and charlatanism, of prostitutes and drunks shouting and shooting in the streets, and of the characters, like himself, who have descended on the city to turn a quick profit, legally or illegally. Taylor was somewhat less accomplished in his poetry, though his poem about life in Memphis during the war is an amusing, sarcastic look at the closet secessionists of the city, Memphis' cheerless, malattired women, crime, and the amusement he occasionally found, including listening to the "darkies" singing. One quatrain summarizes his attitudes well: "What an awfull place to live in / Now I'll stop or freighten you (sic) / Yet upon my word of honor / What I've written you is true" (p. 106).

Taylor's attitude toward Jews, synonymous with swindling merchants in his mind, and African-Americans is highly stereotyped. He is, however, somewhat sympathetic toward slaves and freedmen even as he is willing to have a laugh at their expense. In Memphis, he attended a religious service for freedmen delivered by a mulatto preacher named Revels. Taylor was genuinely moved by the sermon, and seems to have agreed with its message. He is also somewhat sympathetic with the "contrabands" he sees being trampled by Union soldiers, or boating up river, half-dressed and hungry to a mission in Missouri. In general, though, Taylor is inclined toward a cynical view of strangers, and is always on his guard for the cons and crooks that were abundant in Memphis.

The 1890 portion of the Taylor journal consists of seven humorous essays, which are highly stereotypical, possibly semi-fictional, depictions of life in the south. They include:

1. "Sketches from the South," (Chattanooga, April 3, 1890: p. 263-268)
2. "A Kentucky Wheelman," (Louisville, Ky., April 20, 1890: p. 269-271)
3. "A Hodoo Doctor" (Birmingham, Ala., April 30, 1890: p. 272-275)
4. "The Negro Drill Workers" (Memphis, Tenn., May 2, 1890: p. 276-279)
5. "The Georgia Cracker, The Alabama Razor Back" (Atlanta, Ga., May 10, 1890: p. 280-284)
6. "New Orleans, La." (May 20, 1890, New Orleans: p. 285-293)
7. "Pensacola, Florida" (September 20, 1890, Pensacola: p. 293-295)

These essays are the interesting products of a talented writer, who, though sympathetic observer of southern society, is nevertheless mired in the ingrained attitudes and prejudices of his day. In the first essay, Taylor discusses the phenotype of African-Americans and the several "clases or sets" that comprise the African-American community in the South, from the rich, to the merchants, mechanics, drill men, tramps and the "poor old uncle." "The hoodoo doctor" and "The Negro drill workers" are somewhat longer essays along the same lines, and are written as first hand experiences. In "A Kentucky wheelman" and "The Georgia cracker, the Alabama razorback," Taylor turns his eye to the poor white community in the deep South, and paints a dismal view of the state of their culture. Essays 3, 4, and 5 also include crude, pen and ink illustrations of the subjects of the essay.