July 1, 1863

Michigan infantry suffered the greatest loss of any northern regiment in Civil War fighting.

The Twenty-Fourth Michigan Infantry regiment of the Iron Brigade engaged advancing Confederate forces at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the Civil War. In savage fighting, the Twenty-fourth Infantry suffered 80 percent casualties (400 of 500 men) on the first day of the three-day Battle of Gettysburg.

Thank you Michigan Start Pages for this glimpse into our past.  See more here.

June 29, 1863

George Armstrong Custer was appointed to command the Michigan Cavalry Brigade.

Raised in Monroe, Michigan, George Armstrong Custer graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1861. Serving as a junior officer for the first two years of the Civil War, Custer—and two other junior officers—were promoted to brigadier general in late June 1863. The unique move was intended to instill élan in the Army of the Potomac’s cavalry command, which was often bested by Rebel cavalry. Custer received command of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade, which consisted of four regiments of Michigan cavalrymen. Several days later, Custer and his command played a key role in stopping Rebel efforts to break the center of the Union line in the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Thank you Michigan Start Pages for this glimpse into our past.  See more here.

May 10, 1865

Michiganders captured Jefferson Davis.

Fleeing the U.S. government, Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, was captured by members of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry near Irwinsville, Georgia. Colonel Benjamin Pritchard, a University of Michigan graduate from Allegan, Michigan, led the battle-hardened veterans of the Fourth. Pritchard transported Davis to Fort Monroe, Virginia, where he remained imprisoned for two years. The Fourth was mustered out of the federal service and came home. Several years later, they received part of the $100,000 reward that had been posted for Davis’s capture.

Thank you Michigan Start Pages for this glimpse into our past.  See more here.

March 8, 1869

Michigan ratified the Fifteenth Amendment.

The last of three Civil War amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Fifteenth Amendment guarantees that U.S. citizens shall not be denied the right to vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude. The amendment was introduced when it became clear that former slaves were being disenfranchised in the former states of the Confederacy.

Thank you Michigan Start Pages for this glimpse into our past.  See more here.

February 17, 1864

The First Michigan Colored Infantry was mustered into federal service.

Detroiter Henry Barns commanded Michigan’s first and only African American regiment. The First, soon re-designated the 102nd U.S. Colored Infantry, left Michigan for Hilton Head, South Carolina, with an enrollment of 895 officers and men.

Thank you Michigan Start Pages for this glimpse into our past.  See more here.