Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open to research. However, the donor is to be notified of the researcher's intended use of the collection.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Miles Washington Coe Papers, Ms1996-009, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Washington Coe Papers were donated to Special Collections and University Libraries in 1996.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Washington Coe Papers commenced and was completed in October, 2023.

Biographical / Historical

Miles Washington Coe, son of Miles and Eunice Fairbanks Coe, was born in Newark (Caledonia County), Vermont, on June 27, 1834. He moved with his parents while still an infant to Ohio, then to Indiana. He married Mary Martha Webb (1839-1925) in Gilead, Michigan, on July 4, 1859; the couple would have five children (Francis Marion, Nellie, Andrew Jackson, Hattie, and Bertha May). The 1860 federal census shows the Coes living and farming in Steuben County, Indiana. On September 28, 1864, Coe enlisted in Company C, 42nd Indiana Infantry. He mustered out with his regiment at Louisville, Kentucky, on June 18, 1865. According to the federal census, the Coes had moved by 1870 to Perry (Noble County), Indiana, where Miles Coe worked as a carpenter. By 1905, Coe was living in the Michigan Soldiers' Home in Kent County, Michigan. Miles Washington Coe died in Big Rapids (Mecosta County), Michigan, on June 2, 1907, and was buried in the city's Highland View Cemetery.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains the papers (photocopies only) of Miles Washington Coe, a private in Company C, 42nd Indiana Infantry during the American Civil War. The collection consists largely of 19 wartime letters from Coe to his family, as well as eight postwar letters, six written from the Michigan Soldier's Home. Coe's war letters commence with a letter written at Indianapolis on November 4, 1864. In this and subsequent letters written from Chattanooga; Cleveland [Tennessee]; Alexandria, Virginia; Wilmington and Goldsboro, North Carolina (and from aboard the steamers Cuba and Dermont), Coe discusses his regiment's movements, prospects for furloughs, his health (including a bout of jaundice); shares his views of the war; describes his surroundings, quarters, and food; and conveys news of mutual acquaintainces. Coe's wartime correspondence ends with a letter written in a camp near Washington on June 3, 1865. Most of Coe's brief postwar letters are written from the Michigan Soldiers' Home and focus on his health and his desire to come home. A letter from the home's commandant, George H. Turner, informs Mary Coe that he considers her husband "not competent to travel alone and ... feeble in his mind." The correspondence also includes three wartime letters from relatives S. A. Covell and Chester Coe. Also included in the collection is a copy of Miles and Mary Webb Coe's marriage certificate, Coe's military discharge certificate, and papers relating to his Civil War pension.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• Coe, Miles Washington, 1834-1907
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Miles Washington Coe Papers by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).