Michigan in the Civil War

United States     U.S. Military      Michigan      Michigan Military      Michigan in the Civil War

During the Civil War, Michigan raised more than 90,000 men. Their records can be found in state records shown on this page, unit records which may be found on the military unit pages (see below for links), or federal records. For ideas on how to begin searching for your Civil War ancestor, see Beginning United States Civil War Research.

Introduction
Michigan raised more than 90,000 men for the Union. The Michigan regiments included 34 infantry regiments, 11 cavalry regiments, one sharpshooter regiment, one engineer regiment, many smaller independent units, and about 600 men in the Union Navy,

"14,753 Michigan soldiers died in service, roughly 1 of every 6 who served. 4,448 of these deaths were combat deaths while the majority, over 9000, were from disease..."

Michigan Military Units
Most units were numbered, however, some were named. See the table below for lists of the regiments, battalions, batteries, and other units.

The information in the lists of Michigan Military Units comes from the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors web site. That web site also can be searched by the name of a soldier.

Michigan Units by Number or by Name Union Units 1st-9th 10th-30th A to Z Michigan Units by Type of Unit Union Units Infantry Cavalry Artillery Unassign- ed Units Colored Troops Other

Cemetery Records

 * "Civil War Graves Registration Index Cards, 1861–1930" This index for the state of Michigan includes name, county of burial, and military unit.

1890 Census Veterans Schedules

 * 1890 Census Veterans Schedules - The "Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890) Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War" (NARA M123) are available online for the state of Michigan. The schedules list Union veterans and their widows living in Michigan in 1890. For more information on the 1890 Veterans Schedules see Union Census Records.

Pensions

 * Civil War Pension Index Cards - An of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917 is available on FamilySearch. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information. The majority of the records are of Civil War veterans, but the collection also includes records for veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, the Indian Wars, and World War I. For more information see Union Pension Records.

Service Records
Most of the service and pension files have not been filmed and are only available at the National Archives. Footnote.com is currently digitizing the records (11 March 2011).


 * Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, 1861–1865. 46 vols. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Ihling Bros. &amp; Everard, 1905. (Family History Library .) Brief service records of Michigan soldiers. For an index of names listed in these volumes use:


 * -Alphabetical General Index to Public Library Sets of 85,271 Names of Michigan Soldiers and Sailors Individual Records. Lansing, Michigan: Michigan Secretary of State, 1915. (Family History Library ; .)


 * Michigan. Adjutant General's Office. Records of Michigan Volunteers Mustered into the Service of the United States, 1861–1866. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1973. (.) Includes index. Lists name, rank, enlistment date and place, and residence. The records are also at the Michigan State Archives.


 * Michigan. Adjutant General's Office. Michigan Volunteers Descriptive Rolls, 1861–1866; Index to Michigan Volunteers, 1861–1865. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1972. (.) Indexes are on . 50 volumes listing name, rank, enlistment date and place, physical description, and service record. Lists death date and place for some individuals.
 * Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Civil War Principles and Substitutes index Database website.  (Accessed July 12, 2011).  Searchable database given names of substitutes and the person they served for.  Lists regiment and company.

For more information on service records see Union Service Records.

Histories

 * Robertson, John. Michigan in the War, Revised. Lansing, Michigan: W.S. George, 1882. (Family History Library, and 982366 item 3; 1880 edition on film .) General history for the state. Histories for each regiment.


 * Ellis, Helen H., compiler.” Index to John Robertson's Michigan in the war, revised edition, Lansing, Michigan, 1882” (Ann Arbor, Michigan. University Microfilms International-Books on Demand, 1989) 5 microfiche. Index to the book above, "Michigan in the War"


 * Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. Michigan in the Civil War: A guide to the Resources in the Bentley Historical Library. (accessed June 15, 2011). Gives brief information about items in collection. Histories, Regiment histories and diaries of individual soldiers.  Many items available on microfilm through interlibrary loan.


 * Harvey, Don. Michigan in the Civil War 1861-1865website. (Accessed May 2, 2011).  Gives Regimental histories and rosters for each company in the regiment.  Identifies the County where each man came from.


 * Hazel, Ed. Michigan in the American Civil War website. (accessed July 20, 2011) Gives overall History of Michigan and the war. Individual regiment histories for Infantry, artillery, and sharpshooters. Cavalry regiments are being added, but are not complete.


 * Clarke Historical Library, in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, has a great Civil War collection of published works and manuscripts. Michigan Infantry lists regimental histories at this library.

Officers

 * Robertson, John. Michigan in the War, Revised. Lansing, Michigan: W.S. George, 1882. (Family History Library, and 982366 item 3; 1880 edition on film .) Alphabetical lists show officer's residence, enlistment date, regiment, promotions, and date mustered out.

Grand Army of the Republic Veterans Organization

 * Grand Army of the Republic. Department of Michigan. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1973, 1991. (.) Indexed. 50 volumes. Union veterans organization records show name, age, birth state, residence, occupation, service dates, and discharge cause.

Post War Records

 * Clinton County Historical Society (Mich.). United States Civil War Soldiers Living in Michigan in 1894. St. Johns, Mich. (P.O. Box 23, St. Johns): Genealogists of the Clinton County Historical Society, 1988. . Other Libaries.

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)
Grand Army of the Republic founded in 1866 - 1956, was the largest veteran’s organization in the country after the Civil War. It was a fraternal organization members were veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, Marines and Revenue Cutler Service who served in the American Civil War. The group supported voting rights for black veterans, and lobbied the U.S. Congress to establish veterans' pensions. In 1890 the membership was 490,000. In 1888 there were 343 posts and 21,420 members in the state of Michigan

GAR Posts in the State of Michigan

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War
With the death of the last member of the Grand Army of the Republic the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was formed.