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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Herman J. Bradley Correspondence, Ms1989-074, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Herman J. Bradley Correspondence was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in 1989.

Processing Information

The processing and description of the Herman J. Bradley Correspondence commenced and was completed in February 2022.

Biographical Note

Herman J. Bradley was a Union soldier during the American Civil War. There is nothing in this collection that definitively identifies Bradley's army unit, but evidence within the letters suggests that he was the Herman (or Hermon) J. Bradley who served in Company I, 17th New York Infantry and Company B, 9th New York Heavy Artillery. This Herman Joseph Bradley, son of William and Delilah Eddy Bradley, was born in Williamson (Wayne County), New York on December 1, 1840. The 1860 federal census lists him among the residents in his parents' Williamson home. Bradley enlisted in Company I, 17th New York Infantry in September 1861, and was discharged due to disability the following year. He enlisted in Company B, 9th New York Heavy Artillery on September 13, 1864, and was mustered out with the 9th on July 6, 1865. In the 1870 federal census Bradley appears as a farmer residing in the home of Lewis Bradley (probably Herman's older brother) in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Bradley married Harriet A. Kellog (1837-1897); the couple would have three children. By 1880, the Bradleys were living in Kent County, Michigan, where Herman Bradley was employed as a grocer. Herman J. Bradley died in Williamson, New York on March 10, 1909, and was buried in Marion Cemetery.

Sources:

Scope and Content

This collection contains two letters associated with Herman J. Bradley, a Union soldier during the American Civil War, written to Bradley's family. The first letter, dated November 10, 1861, at Camp Butterfield, [Virginia], is written by Darius Russell to Herman's father, William Bradley of Marion. Russell writes at length regarding Bradley's ill health. The second letter, incomplete, is unsigned but attributed to Bradley. Written at Camp Cedar Creek on November 7 (no year, but likely 1864), the letter is addressed to "Dear Father and Friends." The writer notes that he has just returned from an 80-mile march from Martinsburg, expresses anxiety at having no money or stamps, and requests a pair of mittens from home. He briefly mentioned guerilla action in the area and the recent capture of General Alfred N. Duffie.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Rights Statement for Archival Description

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