The hard-fighting 11th Michigan Volunteer Infantry was recruited from sparsely settled southwest Michigan shortly after the Civil War broke out. Mainly composed of young farmers and tradesmen, the regiment rapidly evolved into one of the Army of the Cumberland's elite combat units, tenaciously fighting its way through some of the war's bloodiest engagements. This book--featuring a complete unit roster--chronicles the regiment through the words of the veterans, tracing their development from a rabble of idealists into a fine-tuned fighting machine that executed successful bayonet charges against superior numbers. The narrative continues into the postwar period, discussing the ex-soldiers' careers through Reconstruction and the Gilded Age. Photographs, maps, illustrations and a statistical analysis round out the work.

The 11th Regiment, Michigan Infantry was organized at White Pigeon, Michigan. It mustered in September 24, 1861. The 11th fought in the West and was strongly engaged at Stones River, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Kennesaw and Peach Tree Creek. The regiment mustered out September 30, 1864. Recruits were formed into a detachment and transferred to the 11th Regiment reorganized. Company A - St. Joseph County and Jackson County Company B - Branch County Company C - St. Joseph County Company D - St. Joseph County and Branch County Company E - St. Joseph County Company F - Lenawee County Company G - Lenawee County and St. Joseph County Company H - Branch County Company I - Monroe County Company K - Lenawee County Unassigned Company - St. Joseph County and Jackson County

The 6th Michigan Volunteer Infantry first deployed to Baltimore, where the soldiers' exemplary demeanor charmed a mainly secessionist population. Their subsequent service along the Mississippi River was a perfect storm of epidemic disease, logistical failures, guerrilla warfare, profiteering, martinet West Pointers and scheming field officers, along with the doldrums of camp life punctuated by bloody battles. The Michiganders responded with alcoholism, insubordination and depredations. Yet they saved the Union right at Baton Rouge and executed suicidal charges at Port Hudson. This first modern history of the controversial regiment concludes with a statistical analysis, a roster and a brief summary of its service following conversion to heavy artillery.

His letters to Sarah Jane Babcock, his future wife, vividly illustrate the plight and perspective of the rank-and-file Union infantryman while revealing the innermost thoughts of an articulate, romantic, and educated young man. King's wartime correspondence explores a myriad of issues faced by the common Federal soldier: the angst, uncertainty, and hope associated with long-distance courtship; the scourge of widespread and often fatal diseases; the rapid evolution of views on race and slavery; the doldrums of camp life punctuated with the horrors of combat and its aftermath; the gnawing anxiety while waiting for mail from home; the incessant gambling, drunkenness, and profanity of his comrades; and the omnipresent risk of death or crippling disability as the cost of performing his duty: to preserve the Union. Through meticulous research and careful editing, Eric R. Faust presents a story that does not cease with King's muster out, or even with Lee's surrender at Appomattox.

The hard-fighting 11th Michigan Volunteer Infantry was recruited from sparsely settled southwest Michigan shortly after the Civil War broke out. Mainly composed of young farmers and tradesmen, the regiment rapidly evolved into one of the Army of the Cumberland's elite combat units, tenaciously fighting its way through some of the war's bloodiest engagements. This book--featuring a complete unit roster--chronicles the regiment through the words of the veterans, tracing their development from a rabble of idealists into a fine-tuned fighting machine that executed successful bayonet charges against superior numbers. The narrative continues into the postwar period, discussing the ex-soldiers' careers through Reconstruction and the Gilded Age. Photographs, maps, illustrations and a statistical analysis round out the work.

The Eleventh Michigan Infantry was recruited during the fall of 1861 in St. Joseph, Branch, Hillsdale, Lenawee, and Monroe counties. In 1862 the Infantry was brigaded with the Eighteenth and Sixty-ninth Ohio and Nineteenth Illinois as Stanley's Brigade.