Fascinating Facts of the Civil War

Important dates:

Deaths in Northern Prisons: {C}



LocationNo. of PrisonersDeathspercent
Point Lookout, Md.38,0733,4469.0
Ft. Delaware, Del.22,7732,50210.9
Camp Douglas, Il.22,3013,75916.8
Camp Chase, Ohio14,2272,10815.0
Camp Morton, Ind.10,3191,76317.0
Elmira, N.Y.9,1672,98032.5
Louisville, Ky.8,4381391.7
Alton, Ill.7,7171,61320.9
Johnson's Island, Ohio7,3572753.7
Old Capitol, Washington, D.C.5,7614577.9
Newport News, Va.5,459891.6
Ft. McHenry, Md.5,32533.6
Ship Island, Miss.4,7891623.3
St. Louis, Mo.4,5855891.3
Camp Butler, Ill.4,15481619.6
Harts Island, N.Y.3,1172307.4
Rock Island, Ill.2,4841,92277.4
Totals:170,13622,87812.9
Deaths of Union prisoners in Confederate prisons - under nine percent {C}

Michigan in The Civil War:

Michigan had one of the Ten best Cavalry units in the Union army, Custer's Michigan Cavalry Brigade, in The Army of The Potomac

Michigan also had 16 regiments listed in Fox's Fighting 300, A monumental study published by William Fox in 1898, which listed those regiments that lost130 troops due to death or death by wounding.

  • They are the: 1st Cav. brigade, 5th Cav. brigade, 6th Cav. brigade, 1st sharpshooters, 1st, Inf., 2nd Inf., 3rd Inf., 4th Inf., 5th Inf., 7th Inf., 8th Inf., 16th Inf., 17th Inf., 20th Inf., 24th Inf., and 27th Inf.

    Michigan's Rankings:
    tied for 22nd in rank, based on thousands of active militiamen in 1860 - 1.2
    16th in the number of men furnished for the Conflict, regardless of side
    22nd based on number proportion of population furnished for military service, regardless of side - 11.8%, or 87,364
    9th based on manpower recruited for entire Union, 3.1% of The Army
    24th based on black troops furnished to The Union - 1,387 - 20.4% of Blacks recruited, and 0.2% of the black population
    9th based on white troops furnished to The Union - 85,479 - 11.6% of the white population


    Michigan regiments of Foriegn born soldiers:
    • 2nd Michigan Cavalry, Co. D - Dutch
    • 24th Michigan Infantry - Predominately Irish
    Michigan and Gettysburg -
    • Furnished 2,649 engaged troops
    • sustained 1,111 casualties
    • suffered a 41.9% loss at Gettysburg
    • 175 buried in National Cemetery in Gettysburg
    • The 24th Michigan Infantry had the greatest losses of any Union regiment - 363 casualties, 67 killed, 216 wounded

    Michigan's total recorded losses from The Conflict: 14,753

    Five Michigan units that had the most Battle Deaths in the Union Army:

  • The 5th Michigan Infantry was ranked 4th of Union Infantry with 263
  • The 16th Michigan Infantry was ranked 8th of Union Infantry with 247
  • The 1st Michigan was ranked 2nd of Union Cavalry with 164
  • The 5th Michigan was ranked 3rd of Union Cavalry with 141
  • The 6th Michigan was ranked 4th of Union Cavalry with 135

    The population in Michigan in 1860 was 742,941 (2.4% of The U.S. pop.), with a Black pop. of 6,799, zero slaves.

    Michigan had six electoral votes in 1860, and all six were given to Lincoln - All eight electoral votes Michigan had in 1864 went to Lincoln

    Michigan has two recorded attempts of women to enlist as men, to serve their country during The Conflict:

    Mary Burns enlisted as a man, but was detected before her unit shipped out, and was ejected.

    Sara Emma Edmonds, from Flint, made several trips into the South as a spy, and enlisted as Franklin Thompson, and served as a male nurse in Co. F, 2nd Michigan Infantry

    The Number of Soldiers recruited for the Conflict - {A}

    Prewar Occupations of the Union Soldier - {A}

    1860's Occupation1860's PercentYear 2001 Occupation of Our Battery membersYear 2001 percent
    Farmers48Teachers6
    Mechanics24Mechanics5
    Laborers16Laborers13
    Commercial5Commercial4
    Professional3Professional13
    Other4Other23

    Average height of Union soldiers: - {A}

    5 feet, 8 1/4 inches

    Average weight of Union soldiers: - {A}

    143 1/2 pounds

    The Haircolor of the typical Union Soldier - {A}

    ColorPercent
    Brown30
    Dark25
    Light24
    Black13
    Sandy4
    Red3
    Gray1

    The Eye color of the typical Union Soldier: - {A}

    ColorPercent
    Blue45
    Gray24
    Hazel13
    Dark10
    Black8

    Nationalities of Foreign-born Soldiers: - {A}

    Nationality Number of Troops
    German 175,000
    Irish 150,000
    English 50,000
    Canadian 50,000
    Other 75,000
    Total 500,000

    The first soldiers to die at Gettysburg: - {A}

    Burials by Section in the Gettysburg National Cemetary: - {A}

    Connecticut: 22Delaware: 15Illinois: 6(+4 postwar)
    Indiana: 81Maine: 104Maryland: 21
    Massachusetts: 159Michigan:175Minnesota: 56
    New Hampshire: 49New Jersey: 79New York: 876
    Ohio: 131(+3 postwar)Pennsylvania: 575Rhode Island: 14
    U.S. Regulars: 140Vermont: 61West Virginia: 11
    Wisconsin: 73Unknown: 4,606

    Ten Bloodiest Battles: - {A}

    RankBattleCasualties
    1.Gettysburg40,638
    2.Chickamauga28,399
    3.Seven Days27,535
    4.Antietam*23,381
    5.Wilderness22,033
    6.Chancellorsville21,862
    7.Shiloh17,897
    8.Atlanta19,715
    9.2nd Mannasas19,204
    10.Stones River18,459

    *Note - This was the bloodiest day in the war.

    Famous ( Or soon to be) Players: - {B}

    Christopher "Kit" Carson -

    Made his name a household word as guide to John Charles Fremont's expeditions of 1842 - 1845. He was almost guaranteed a brigadiership, but instead became lieutenant colonel of 1st New Mexico Cavalry, at age 52.
    He led 8 companies in the 2/21/1862 Battle of Valverde, and due to the significance of his leadership, reluctantly accepted a brevet.

    Frank Leslie -

    Born in England in 1821, came to US at age 27. Launched Frank Leslie's Ladies' Gazette of Paris, London, and New York Fashions. Expanded, to include Boys' and Girls' Weekly Sunday Magazine, Jolly Joker, Comic Almanac, Chatterbox, Ladies' Magazine, and Ladies' Journal. He was forced into bankruptcy, and died a debtor. Today, each one of the 200 issues of the illustrated newspaper from 1861 - 1865, is a collector's item. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly is has been a major source of Civil War art since The Conflict.

    Walt Whitman -

    42 at the time of Fort Sumter, he had failed as: office boy, printer's devil, schoolteacher, typesetter, journalist, and editor. Published Leaves of Grass in 1855, and cringed every time he saw a review.Served as a volunteer nursein the hospitals of Washington, only occasionally seeing glimpses of Abraham Lincoln.Received belated recognition of his poetic genius 1st in England, then in The US, after his death.

    Fire and Brimstone on the Battlefield, too!: - {B}

    Fighting Clergymen

    Episcopal priest William N. Pendleton exchanged his robe for a gray uniform and at age 51 became a captain in the Rockbridge Artillery. Quickly promoted, he became chief of Artillery on the staff of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston. He was so proud of his four 6-pounder brass smoothbore cannon, he named them Matthew, Mark, Luke , and John, claiming they " spoke a powerful language." On March 26, 1862, he was named Brigadier General in charge of Robert E. Lee's artillery. After the war, he returned to Grace Church in Lexington. His fighting men swore that when he signalled for a cannon to be fired, he bowed his head, and said this prayer:

    "Lord, preserve the soul while I destroy the body."

    In 1805, the Rev. Alexander J. Forsyth of Scotland perfected the percussion cap.

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    {A} - This data was obtained from the book The Civil War Book of Lists by Combined Books.
    {B} - This information was obtained from the book Civil War Curiosities written by Webb Garrison, and published by Rutledge Hill Press
    {C} - This information extracted from the book Civil War Prisons and Escapes, A Day-To-Day Chronicle written by Robert E. Denney, and published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

    If you have any questions or comments,
    email me at jlindsey@batteryd.com.