Army Papers: 1865-1879

William Bertram Coyle was born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 4, 1847. In September, 1861, Coyle entered the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland. He was then 14 years old. In May, 1863, he and some classmates left the University without leave and enlisted in the Union Army. As a result, the students were expelled for insubordination. In the Civil War, Coyle saw combat in Virginia and briefly served as a Prisoner of War (He was released after a few weeks in a prisoner exchange.). After the war, Coyle resumed his study of medicine at Queen's College in Belfast, Ireland. He graduated in 1868 and spent the next three years traveling Europe, Asia and Africa. He returned to the United States in 1871 and he became an acting assistant surgeon in the U.S. Army. He served on the Great Plains under Generals Custer, Crook and Miles and saw combat against Native Americans. He was an Army hospital steward at Camp Thomas, Arizona Territory, in 1879 and at Fort Robinson, Nebraska in 1882. Here he married Florence Handel on February 7, 1882, and a son, William Bertram, Jr., or "Bertie," was born on December 11, 1882. In 1883, the Coyle’s moved to Dakota Territory, settling in Spearfish and then Ipswich (both of which are now in South Dakota). A daughter, Florence, was born December 8, 1884. In 1890, the Coyle’s moved to Lakota, North Dakota where Coyle began a medical practice. In 1895, his son, Bertie, was thrown from a horse and killed. Coyle's wife, Florence, died the next year. Coyle continued to practice medicine in Lakota. He died there in 1903. This addition to the Carleton Elliott Simensen Military Heritage Collection consists of two separate donations from Gerry Wagness of the Lakota Public Library and Elizabeth Paul, a granddaughter of William Bertram Coyle who currently lives in Kalispell, Montana. Wagness donated the first folder of materials, which contains a family history by Coyle's daughter, Florence Coyle Wright, a copy of Coyle's obituary, a copy of Coyle's authorization to practice medicine in Dakota Territory (dated 1888) and two photos, one of Coyle with fellow Civil War veterans in the Grand Army of the Republic and another of Coyle's two children at a young age. Remaining materials were donated by Elizabeth Paul of Kalispell, Montana, a granddaughter of William Bertram Coyle. These document his military and medical career and personal life. They consist partly of U.S. Army documents received by Coyle, including notices of appointment, discharge papers, traveling cards and correspondence, spanning the years 1865-1893. Other papers span the years 1881-1906. These consist of correspondence, a copy of notes on a lecture by Coyle on heredity, a note from the North Dakota State Board of Medical Examiners authorizing Coyle to practice medicine in North Dakota, an ode written by Coyle and presented by him on Memorial Day, 1896, Resolutions of Sympathy from Euclid Lodge #24 upon the deaths of Coyle's son and wife and a 1906 letter from the Commercial Bank of Fargo requesting information on any surviving family members on behalf of Coyle's daughter, Florence Coyle Wright. Other materials include photographs, an 1883 medal from the Woman's Relief Corps, a ribbon commemorating the Seventh Annual Encampment of the North Dakota GAR (Grand Army of the Republic), a medallion commemorating a national encampment of the GAR, the memoirs of Albert Wright regarding the Sioux War of 1862 and newspaper clippings of Wright's recollections of same. The collection consists of two separate accessions. The first folder contains materials donated by Gerry Wagner of the Lakota City Library in Lakota, North Dakota. The materials were photocopied from Lakota Library holdings. Items photocopied include Coyle's obituary, a biography of Coyle written by his sister, Florence Coyle Wright, and photos of a young William Bertram and Florence and of Coyle with other Lakota members of the Grand Army of the Republic (Accession # 93-1898). Four photographs were separated and placed in the Photograph File Cabinets (OGL #1278-6-9). These consist of three portraits of William Bertram Coyle (one showing him in uniform) taken in 1902 and one photo of Fort Robinson, Nebraska taken circa 1882. Four oversized portraits, three 1924 newspaper clippings describing A.M. Wright's recollections of the 1862 Sioux War, an 1879 Army document appoint Coyle as Hospital Steward for the U.S. Army, and an 1886 authorization to practice medicine in the Dakota Territory were placed in the Oversize File Cabinets.