Month: August 2026

Search for Food

August 21, 2026 BD No Comments

Soldiers of both armies arrived into Maryland and Pennsylvania looking for their foe and to fight for their beliefs. Present day people have to remember though that they had to forge for their food and their shelter once they made camp. Thousands of soldiers looking for food, with the lack of water. There was plenty of food for the animals, like the horses and the donkeys, but not enough for the walking soldiers.

Location of Confederate Corps (red) and Union Corps (blue)

Confederate Corps were in Cashtown, Carlisle, and Chambersburg. Union Corps were just south of Gettysburg, the 11th Corps in Emmitsburg (0), and the remainder Union Corps in northern Maryland.

Soldiers would look through the farms and the orchards in search of harvested food. Food was plentiful across Adams County in late June and early July. Farmers would have had apples, grapes, corn, onions, cherries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, plums, dandelion greens, zucchini, cucumber, possibly some early pumpkins for picking as they walked through fields. Some of the meat they could have taken were fish, turkeys, chickens, cows, and lame horses.

However, not having enough fruits in your diet caused soldiers to have scurvy. Early symptoms generally include the lethargy, fatigue and painful limbs especially the legs. In more advanced stages, receding gums and loss of teeth can occur.

One Union soldier from the 157th New York, from a diary entry from Captain William Saxton, stated that “The constant use of salt meats and hard bread, with scarcely any vegetables, had a great tendency to produce scurvy or at least its symptoms.” Fruits such as strawberries, dewberries, and apples made the symptoms disappear due to vitamin C to grow healthy bones and feel better overall.

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3rd Michigan

August 12, 2026 BD No Comments

This regiment was mustered into service within the first few months of the Civil War in June 1861. They first organized in the fairgrounds south of Grand Rapids, and then left for Washington D.C. on June 13th. This regiment was consisted of soldiers from Kent, Iona, Ingham, Muskegon, and Ottawa counties which surrounding the countryside around Grand Rapids. This first commander of this regiment was Col. Daniel McConnell, pictured below. He had some military experience within the Mexican War.

Courtesy of Ancestory.com: Col. Daniel McConnell (seated 3rd from left)
3rd Michigan Infantry

When they departed for Washington D.C., the 3rd Michigan infantry regiment had 1,040 soldiers and officers. They took the same type of transportation to get from Michigan to Washington D.C. like their previous Michigan regiments. They left Grand Rapids on railroad to Detroit, boarded a steam ship to Cleveland, and then rode the rails the rest of the way to their destination. The 3rd Michigan arrived in Washington D.C. on June 16th, 1861.

The 3rd Michigan was at the battle of Manassas in July 1861, but only in reserves. Due to unpopular interactions with the soldiers and ill health, Col. Daniel McConnell resigned his commission on October 22, 1861. His next in line, Stephen G. Champlin was promoted to colonel the very same day.

Their first real battle was the battle of Fair Oaks or also called Seven Pines in early June 1862. They would have 30 soldiers killed, 124 wounded, and 15 missing. Col. Champlin was wounded in the hip, and received a 30-day furlough, and then returned to commanded the 3rd Michigan. In August 1862, at the 2nd battle of Manassas, his hip injury returned and he went back on medical leave. Due to the injury, a new commander had to be chosen. The commander that started out as Captain Bryon Root Pierce of Company K, would now become Lieutenant Colonel of the 3rd Michigan.

Detroit, Gettysburg, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Railroad Maps

1st Michigan – August 1861

August 10, 2026August 11, 2026 BD No Comments

The picture below shows the 1st Michigan soldiers standing around Fort Wayne, Detroit, in 1861. This black and white photo is 165 years old this month. Look at the contrast of the uniforms and the glare of the soldiers onto the photographer. It seems like they are are dressed in Federal uniform before they depart for Washington D.C. Upon a zoomed-in version of the picture, most of the soldiers on the left have their bayonets in their rifles and are ready to get marching. All of the soldiers in this photograph have their caps on, along with nice black shoes.

What else would these soldiers of the First Michigan be thinking about heading off to war? Some of them are smiling at the camera, while the ones on the extreme right seem to be sitting and pondering the task at hand. I wonder how many of these soldiers actually survived the Civil War. The world will never know, because there are no names to the soldiers within this picture.

Detroit, Gettysburg, Michigan, Union

Three Month Regiment – 1st Michigan

August 2, 2026August 10, 2026 BD No Comments

To uphold the United States Constitution, each state had to commit one regiment to the United States military. On April 16, 1861, one regiment from the state of Michigan was formed. The signed a three-month volunteer paperwork to serve. This one regiment had ten companies included within it, and it was completed on April 29th, 1861. The reason for this was the attack on Fort Sumter on the 12th of April.

Within these 10 companies were approximately 798 soldiers and enlisted officers. This photograph shows the presentation of colors to the 1st Michigan Infantry on their departure on May 11, 1861. They arrived in Washington D.C. five days later. A few days after their arrival, they attacked Alexandria, Virginia, a day after the state seceded from the Union. Little incident occurred on May 24th, but martial law was enforced for the city throughout the Civil War. When Alexandria, Virginia fell to the 1st Michigan, Col. Orlando Wilcox stated “Alexandria is ours” as two-thirds of the population fled the town. The city became a headquarters for U.S. military railroad, along with one of the largest Union hospital centers.

Courtesy of the George Eastman Museum – Matthew’s House at 1st Manassas

A few months later, on July 21, 1861, the first battle of Manassas began. The 1st Michigan was commanded by Major A.F. Bidwell within the 2nd Brigade that was commanded by Col. Orlando Wilcox. It was a hard-fought battle, but the Union loss with over 2700 hundred soldiers causalities, with around 90 causalities from the regiment itself. The 1st Michigan was then sent home and was mustered out on August 7th, 1861.

However, once returning to Michigan, the regiment morphed and signed three year papers and served as the 1st Michigan through Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg, and other battles after 1863.

Detroit, Gettysburg, Michigan, Union