Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

made a substantial contribution to the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. While the state itself was far removed from the combat theaters of the war, Michigan supplied many troops and several generals, including

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

. When, at the beginning of the war, Michigan was asked to supply no more than one

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Austin Blair Austin Blair (February 8, 1818 – August 6, 1894), also known as the Civil War Governor, was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, serving as its 13th governor and in its House of Representatives and Senate as well as the U.S. Sena ...

sent seven.

Before the war

Before the Civil War, President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

took a weak position amid a looming South secession crisis.Rubenstein & Kiewacz, p. 103. Secretary of State

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...

of Michigan, a 78-year-old elder statesman who had been Michigan's U.S. senator and governor of

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit w ...

, resigned from Buchanan's cabinet in protest, remarking that "he had seen the Constitution born and now feared he was seeing it die". In December 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union. Outgoing Governor

Moses Wisner Moses Wisner (June 3, 1815 – January 5, 1863) was the 12th governor of Michigan, a Colonel during the Civil War, and an active supporter of the anti-slavery movement. Early life in New York Wisner was born in Springport, New York, descend ...

delivered a speech to a Michigan Legislature in defense of the Union and the Constitution, stating: "This is no time for timid and vacillating councils, when the cry of treason and rebellion is ringing in our ears." On January 2, 1861,

was sworn in as governor, vowing strong action to maintain the Union and punish secession. The Legislature was also firmly pro-Union; when Virginia invited Michigan to send delegates to the

Washington Peace Conference The Peace Conference of 1861 was a meeting of 131 leading American politicians in February 1861, at the Willard's Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the American Civil War. The purpose of the conference was to avoid, if possible, the seces ...

, the Legislature passed a refusal resolution stating that "concessions and compromise are not to be entertained or offered to traitors."

Military contribution

At the beginning of the Civil War, regiments from Michigan were raised to answer Lincoln's call for men.''Michigan Encyclopedia'' (Vol. 1, 2008–09 ed.), eds. Matthew L. Daly, Jennifer L. Herman & Caryn Hannan, p. 82, 58. The first volunteers from Michigan were mustered into the Army as the 1st Michigan Infantry on May 1, 1861.Rubenstein & Kiewacz, p. 104. On May 16, the regiment arrived in Washington; Lincoln was said to have exclaimed "Thank God for Michigan!" upon the troops' arrival. Over the course of the war, some 90,000 Michigan men (about 23 percent of the 1860 male population of the state) served in the Union forces. This figure includes some 1,600 black soldiers. Michigan raised a total of 30

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiments, eleven

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

regiments, one

light artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

regiment, two light batteries, two companies of

sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with "marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" i ...

s, and the 1st Michigan Engineers.J. Worth Carnahan,
Manual of the Civil War and Key to the Grand Army of the Republic and Kindred Societies
' (rev. ed. 1897), p. 84. According to Frederick H. Dyer, a total of 14,753 officers and men from Michigan died during the war, but a "Roll of Honor" prepared upon order of the Michigan Legislature in 1869 contains 14,855 names. Among the more celebrated units was the 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry, which, as a part of the famed

Iron Brigade The Iron Brigade, also known as The Black Hats, Black Hat Brigade, Iron Brigade of the West, and originally King's Wisconsin Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought ent ...

, suffered considerable losses at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

while defending

McPherson's Ridge McPherson Ridge is a landform used for military engagements during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, when the I Corps of the Union Army had a headquarters on the ridge and was defeated by the Confederate division of Major General Henry Heth. The ...

. George Armstrong Custer's " Michigan Wolverine" Cavalry effectively battled

J.E.B. Stuart James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials of ...

at Gettysburg on the East Cavalry Field. Several Union generals hailed from Michigan, including: Custer,

Elon J. Farnsworth Elon John Farnsworth (July 30, 1837 – July 3, 1863) was a Union Army captain in the American Civil War. He commanded Brigade 1, Division 3 of the Cavalry Corps (Union Army) from June 28, 1863 to July 3, 1863, when he was mortally wounded and die ...

Byron Root Pierce Byron Root Pierce (September 20, 1829 – July 10, 1924) was an American dentist who served as a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was noted for fighting at First Manassas and during the Peninsula and Seven Days Campaigns. Pierce ...

, Orlando Metcalfe Poe, Israel Bush Richardson, and

Orlando B. Willcox Orlando Bolivar Willcox (April 16, 1823 – May 11, 1907) was an American soldier who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Early life Willcox was born in Detroit, Michigan. He entered the United States Military Ac ...

. In a letter to his wife, one Union soldier from Michigan detailed his motivations for fighting for the U.S. in the war, before dying in 1864:

Casualties

14,753 Michigan soldiers died in service, roughly one of every six who served. A total of 4,448 of these deaths were combat deaths while the rest, over 10,000, were from disease, a constant fear in crowded army camps with poor food, sanitation and exposure issues and pre-modern medicine. Michigan suffered the sixth-highest losses among the Union states (the non-state U.S. Colored Troops losses also exceeded Michigan's).

Homefront

Michigan actively participated in the

sending thousands of volunteers. A study of the cities of Grand Rapids and Niles shows an overwhelming surge of nationalism in 1861, whipping up enthusiasm for the war in all segments of society, and all political, religious, ethnic, and occupational groups. However, by 1862 the casualties were mounting and the war was increasingly focused on freeing the slaves in addition to preserving the Union. Copperhead Democrats called the war a failure, and although it was attempted to make support for the war more and more a partisan Republican effort, the election of 1864 showed support for the Federal cause remained strong. Michigan voters overwhelmingly supported the Union: 79,149 (53.60%) to 68,513 (46.40%).1864 Presidential Election Results - Michigan
/ref>

References

* Bak, Richard. ''A Distant Thunder: Michigan in the Civil War'' (2004). 239 pp. * Bertera, Martin N., and Kim Crawford. ''The 4th Michigan Infantry in the Civil War'' (MSU Press, 2010). * Bratt, Peter. "A Great Revolution in Feeling: The American Civil War in Niles and Grand Rapids, Michigan," ''Michigan Historical Review'' vol. 31#2 (2005) pp 43+
online
* Brinks, Herbert. "The Effect of the Civil War in 1861 on Michigan Lumbering and Mining Industries." ''Michigan History'' 44 (1960): 101-108. * Dean, Eric T. " 'A Scene of Surpassing Terror and Awful Grandeur': The Paradoxes of Military Service in the American Civil War." ''Michigan Historical Review'' (1995): 37-61
online
* Dempsey, Jack. ''Michigan and the Civil War: A Great and Bloody Sacrifice'' (Arcadia Publishing, 2011). * Dilla, Harriette M. ''Politics of Michigan, 1865–1878'' (Columbia University Press, 1912
online at Google books
* Fennimore, Jean Joy L. "Austin Blair: Civil War Governor, 1861-1862." ''Michigan History'' 49.3: 202+. * Frank, Stephen M. " 'Rendering Aid and Comfort': Images of Fatherhood in the Letters of Civil War Soldiers from Massachusetts and Michigan." ''Journal of Social History'' (1992): 5-31
online
* Genco, James. ''Into the Tornado of War: A History of the Twenty-First Michigan Infantry in the Civil War'' (Abbott Press, 2012)
online
* Hershock, Martin J. "Copperheads and Radicals: Michigan Partisan Politics during the Civil War Era, 1860–1865," ''Michigan Historical Review'' 18 (Spring 1992
online
* Hoffman, Mark. '' "My Brave Mechanics": The First Michigan Engineers and Their Civil War'' (Wayne State University Press, 2007). * Kidd, James Harvey. ''Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer's Michigan Cavalry Brigade in the Civil War'' (Simon and Schuster, 2018), a primary source
excerpt
* Longacre, Edward G. ''Custer and His Wolverines: The Michigan Calvary Brigade, 1861–1865'' (1997). * Mason, Philip, and Paul Pentecost. ''From Bull Run to Appomattox'' (Wayne State University Press, 1961), on Michigan combat units. * Mitchell, Robert E. "Civil War recruiting and recruits from ever-changing labor pools: Midland County, Michigan, as a case study." ''Michigan Historical Review'' (2009): 29-60
online
* Rubenstein, Bruce A. and Lawrence E. Ziewacz, ''Michigan: A History of the Great Lakes State'' (5th ed., Wiley: 2014). Chapter 7 pp 102-113. * Sewell, Richard H. "Michigan Farmers and the Civil War." ''Michigan History'' 44.4 (1960): 353-375. * Taylor, Paul. ''"Old Slow Town": Detroit during the Civil War'' (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2013). x, 248 pp. * Williams, Frederick. ''Michigan Soldiers in the Civil War'' (Michigan historical Commission, 1960) * Woodford, Frank Bury. ''Father Abraham's Children: Michigan Episodes in the Civil War'' (Wayne State University Press, 1999).

Historiography

* Miller, Richard F. ''States at War: A Reference Guide for Michigan in the Civil War'' (2020
excerpt
{{Authority control 1860s in Michigan

American Civil War by state