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

This collection contains a diary chronicling Hiram W. Coppernall's service in the 24th New York Cavalry Regiment throughout 1864, as well as a photograph. Coppernall recorded his daily movements and activities with the regiment, which saw action at the Battle of Petersburg.

The Hiram W. Coppernall collection pertains to his service in the 24th New York Cavalry Regiment, Company H, during the Civil War. Throughout 1864, he kept a diary (120 pages), which concerns his military training, his unit's marches through Virginia, his participation in the Battle of Petersburg, and his affliction with severe sunstroke. He began writing shortly after his enlistment, and a woman named "Eliza" contributed some early entries in which she apologized for intruding and encouraged Coppernall to remember and write to her. After training and performing police duty in Washington, D.C., the regiment left for Virginia in late April. On May 7, they constructed a breastwork, and on May 18-19 they traveled to Spotsylvania Court House. Coppernall occasionally reported on military engagements that often ended in Union defeats. On June 18, he participated in an assault on Petersburg, Virginia, and on July 30 he mentioned a tunnel explosion and the resulting Battle of the Crater. He wrote less frequently after August 6, when he suffered from severe sunstroke, and he spent much of the rest of the year recuperating and on furlough in New York. He rejoined his regiment in December. In addition to Coppernall's diary entries, the volume has a list of men in his regiment and financial accounts, which include a list of the clothing he received from the United States government for his military service. The diary is accompanied by a carte-de-visite photograph of Coppernall and a framed photograph of two Union cavalry officers, with the message "Same here" (1864).

The Kate Pierce papers consist of letters sent to Pierce by several writers, including her brother, Franklin, a soldier in the 15th New York Engineers; Edward Brady, of the 13th U.S. Infantry; and several female friends. Also included are several school exercises.

The Kate Pierce papers consist of 36 letters written to Kate, 4 school exercises, and 3 photographs, spanning 1859-1873. Kate Pierce's brother, Franklin, wrote 14 letters in the collection, describing his experiences with the 15th New York Engineers in 1864-1865. In several of these, he described his duties: on October 12, 1864, he wrote, "…our folks tore down brick houses belonging to the rebels in side of the works that we are building. You can see the avenues leading up to the cellars still remaining[.] Shrubs and bushes graveled walks all denoting that wealthy planters owned them…". He also noted his gratitude for the U.S. Christian Commission (December 24, 1864), and described a prolonged stay in the hospital, which was "warm" and a "good place to sleep" (January 12, 1865). In many letters, he requested family news and expressed pride in having a number of female penpals.

The collection also includes eight letters to Kate from Edward Brady, a musician in Company F, 13th U.S. Infantry, stationed at Fort Bridger, Wyoming. Shortly after Brady placed an advertisement requesting a penpal in a newspaper, they began corresponding. In his first letter to her (March 5, 1871), he thanked her for her "kindness in noticing my poor Advertisement (and especially from a soldier).” In his letters, Brady discussed the difficulty of educating oneself while in the army (March 5, 1871: "if one's Comrades see one improving his time by study…they would never leave off plaguing him and playing him tricks until he should quit in disgust…"). He also discussed his motivations for joining the military (March 25, 1871), described the country surrounding Fort Bridger (April 15, 1871), and recounted desertions (May 29, 1871). In his letter of July 29, 1871, Brady included two carte-de-visite photographs of himself and described a confrontation with "an Organization formed, among the Mormons for the avowed purpose of fighting against the United States in case the Law against some of there [sic] so called privileges was enforced." Correspondence from Brady ended abruptly after he asked Kate if he could write to her "as though to a sister" (December 15, 1871).

Also present in the collection are four brief compositions written by Kate Pierce: "Order of Exercise," "Imagination," "Sleigh Ride," and an untitled piece beginning "There are 'dark hours' in everyones [sic] lifetime mingled with pain and despair." All appear to date from the 1860s.