Book Description

Michigan enlisted thirty regiments of infantry, eleven of cavalry, and fourteen batteries of light artillery for service in the Union army. Michigan regiments fought and served in all theaters of war, earning the respect of their comrades and their enemy. Sixteen regiments appear in William F. Fox's "300 Fighting Regiment" listed in "Regimental Losses in the American Civil War." Fourteen members of the 1st Cavalry and 15 members of the 5th Cavalry were killed at Gettysburg and 28 troopers of the 6th Cavalry died at Falling Waters, Maryland. At Spotsylvania Court House, the 1st Sharpshooters suffered 451 killed and 36 killed in an assault on Petersburg. The 5th Infantry lost more men killed and mortally wounded than any other Michigan regiment, 263. At James Island, South Carolina, the 8th Infantry suffered 61 killed, and at Gettysburg, 94 men from the 24th Infantry were killed. The author of this volume, Byron Root Pierce, began his Civil War career in the 3rd Michigan Infantry, rising from captain to brevet Major General by the end of the conflict and losing a leg at Gettysburg. By the end of the war, 85,500 men had served in Michigan Regiments. Over 8,000 died in combat or from wounds sustained in combat, and another 1,200 died of disease and other causes. Each regiment and battery receives it own entry, giving the history of the unit, the senior officers, and the total number of men who served and died while in service.