Hope Carpenter was born November 17, 1837 in Lenawee County, Michigan, the son of Joseph H. and Susan Carpenter. He was named for his paternal grandfather, Hope Carpenter (1757-1840), who served with the New Jersey militia during the American Revolution. The younger Hope’s childhood was spent in his native county, on his parents’ farm in Cambridge Township.

On September 16, 1861 he enlisted in the army, being mustered into Company E, 3rd Michigan Cavalry as a Private on October 3rd. He was described as being six feet tall, with light complexion, brown hair, and blue eyes.

The regiment left Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 28, 1861 for St. Louis, Missouri. In March 1862, the regiment was under the command of General Pope and participated in the operations against New Madrid and Island No. 10 in the Mississippi River, being constantly under fire for several days. The water at this place was extremely bad, and more sickness was contracted here than at any other point in the regiment’s four and a half years service.

After the evacuation of New Madrid and the surrender of Island No. 10, the regiment was sent up the Tennessee River to the battlefield of Shiloh and took part in the siege of Corinth, Mississippi, which lasted until the end of May 1862. Private Carpenter had more than his share of disease while in the army, and during the latter siege he contracted chronic diarrhea.

Upon the fall of Corinth, the 3rd Michigan served under Gen. W. S. Rosecrans in the campaign in Mississippi and Alabama, which was directed by Gen. U. S. Grant. It bore a conspicuous part in the battle of Iuka, September 19, 1862, and acted so gallantly that Gen. Rosecrans acknowledged its meritorious service in general orders.

One of its hardest fought battles was that of Corinth, Mississippi on October 3-4, 1862. For several days some portions of the regiment were in the saddle without intermission, day and night. On the retreat of the rebels south the 3rd Michigan was constantly on their flanks and rear, capturing many prisoners. This pursuit extended over 75 miles into the heart of Mississippi.

During the following months of that year the regiment was constantly on scouting duty in northern Mississippi and Tennessee, and its marches and engagements with the enemy were continuous and incessant. About the middle of December 1862, Private Carpenter was taken prisoner and held until June 1863. The details of his capture and confinement have yet to be discovered.

Hope Carpenter rejoined his regiment and subsequently contracted piles while serving near Rienzi, Mississippi in July 1863. In August the regiment was engaged with the enemy at Grenada, Mississippi, and destroyed an immense amount of railroad stock, including 60 locomotives and nearly 500 cars. During the following months of the year, by continuous marches and fighting, it succeeded in driving from the country the notorious bands of guerrillas that had long infested that section. It met on several occasions the forces under Generals Forest and Chalmers, and severe engagements took place at Ripley, Orizaba and Ellistown, Mississippi, and at Purdy and Jack’s Creek, Tennessee. Near Memphis, Tennessee in the winter of 1863 Hope Carpenter contracted rheumatism from exposure. He was treated at the regimental hospital and at the Post Hospital at Tuscumbria, Alabama.

In January 1864, the 3rd Michigan was at La Grange, Tennessee, where the regiment re-enlisted and was sent back to Michigan on a 30-day veteran furlough. It then returned to St. Louis, Missouri, where, in May 1864, it was sent to Little Rock, Arkansas, and was soon engaged in scouting and driving General Shelby and the confederates he commanded beyond the Arkansas River.

Tad Campbell at Carpenter’s grave in 2004

Private Carpenter’s term of enlistment was soon up and he was honorably discharged at Brownsville Station, Arkansas on October 24, 1864.

Hope continued to live in Michigan until 1883 when he moved to South Dakota, settling in McPherson County. In 1891 he moved north, where he lived in the North Dakota counties of Dickey, Thompson, and Williams. He and his wife were granted a divorce in Brown County, South Dakota on January 13, 1908. Hope Carpenter died of cancer at Munich, Cavalier County, North Dakota on November 5, 1909, at the age of nearly seventy-two years. His ex-wife later attempted to claim Hope’s government pension, but was denied because of the divorce.