Manuscripts Collection
William Hale attended and taught school in New York from 1852-1856. In 1859, William purchased a prairie farm in Cannon Falls, Minnesota and, during 1861, he lived in Cannon Falls and St. Paul and held a position as an enrolling clerk of the Minnesota Senate.
Hale joined the army in October 1861, and began his career at Fort Snelling as a clerk in the Quartermasters Department. Hale served with the Third Minnesota Volunteer Regiment, November 24, 1861-August 28, 1862, and was assigned to numerous camps throughout the South. He was promoted to Sergeant Major and was at the surrender of the Third Minnesota at Murfreesboro. In 1862 he became ill and recovered at his farm in Cannon Falls, Minnesota.
Hale returned to service on November 16, 1862 at Fort Snelling after a march from Fort Ridgely. The Regiment was scheduled for service in the South but a long delay ensued because the men were not getting paid. Hale returned to Cannon Falls during this time, and reported back to his regiment at Winona.
In 1863, Hale took part in campaigns that resulted in the capture of Vicksburg, the opening of the Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico, and the capture of Little Rock, Arkansas in September 1863.
In October 1863, Hale transferred to the regiment that became the Fourth United States Colored Artillery. He remained at Fort Halleck through August 1864 and was promoted to Major, responsible for troop training.
In 1864 William married Sarah Baker of Cannon Falls, Minnesota. She died in 1868.
Hale left the army in 1866 and attempted to become a businessman in the South. He and Edward Webster rented a plantation at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where they had a disastrous experience in cotton growing. During part of 1867 he worked in Fair Dale with the Freedman's Bureau as an agent, and attempted to find more work with the Bureau in other parts of the South.
Hale returned to Minneapolis in September 1867, and was first employed by the Minnesota Central Railway Company under D. C. Sheperd. He became clerk of W. D. Washburn and Company in December 1867.
Hale spent the rest of his life in Minneapolis. He served as Postmaster for Minneapolis (1890-1894, 1902-1914), and became a partner in W. D. Washburn on the death of G. M. Stickney in 1872. Hale married Flora Hammond in 1870. She was a teacher of vocal and instrumental music. They had 3 daughters and 2 sons. One daughter died in infancy.
Hale died on January 15, 1915, after becoming ill while traveling on the steamship
These documents are organized into the following sections:
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the
Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics
should
Access to reserve materials requires the curator's permission.
St. Paul, Minnesota : Minnesota Historical Society, 1963. 1 microfilm reel; 35 mm.
Microfilm available for interlibrary loan or sale from the Minnesota Historical Society.
Originals of 3rd Minnesota letters were loaned for microfilming by Floyd Risvold, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Accession numbers: 1800A; 9475; 9486; 10,694; 16,434; 16,449; 16,454
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project
grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission
Catalog ID number: 001730031
Correspondence and miscellaneous papers illuminate myriad details regarding William Hale's personal and public life, and his career as a solider during the civil war.
Some of those details are revealed in letters discussing many topics: Lucie Hale's teaching career; news, cultural and social events from different locations in Minnesota including Cannon Falls, St. Paul, and Minneapolis; politics in Minnesota; the real estate market in Minnesota; weather; William Hale's marriages to first Sarah Baker and then Flora Hammand; William Hale's failed attempts to become a businessman in the South after the civil war and William Hale's professional career in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
There is correspondence between Hale family members (including William's father Eusebius, and his sister Lucie), relatives (including his cousin Sherman Hale), the Hammond family, and friends. Correspondence from business partners is also included (William D. Washburn and others).
Letters of the 3rd Minnesota Volunteers on microfilm consist mostly of letters written by Hale to members of his family from 1861 to 1864. Revealed in the letters are Hale's opinions on the war and other topics: various marches; the health of troops; food, routine; discipline; weapons; the camps, towns, and cities. He also gives detailed accounts of his service with the Minnesota Third Regiment and the Fourth United States Colored Artillery. Vivid descriptions and accounts of the surrender of the Minnesota Third Volunteer Regiment at Murfreesboro and subsequent events are also included.
Microfilmed official and personal papers include orders for Hale to report to Columbus and a miscellany of receipts, returns, payrolls, special orders, statements, and letters. The information is centered on the Murfreesboro surrender and the Fourth United States Colored Artillery, although there is some data on family affairs, his business, and Lake Shetek.
Journals, ledgers, account books, letter books, and other records were kept by Hale mostly as receiver of the American Savings and Loan Association of Minneapolis (1887-1902)
Includes Articles of incorporation and bylaws.
All kept by William D. Hale except volume 137 which was kept by his wife Flora during 1908.
Kept by Flora Hale.
Photocopies of original letters are filed in chronological order with the correspondence and miscellaneous papers (1862).
William D. Hale writes to his parents, recounting an expedition into Indian country and the anticipated trial and execution of prisoners.
Digital version
This statement is also available as part of the microfilmed correspondence and miscellaneous papers.
Digital version
William D. Hale writes to his parents, detailing surrender of the Third Minnesota Volunteer Regiment at Murfreesboro and subsequent events.
Digital version
Transcript, Digital version
Partial letter discussing military campaigns in Tennessee.
Digital version
Transcript, Digital version