Michigan Brigade

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The Michigan Brigade, sometimes called the Wolverines, the Michigan Cavalry Brigade or Custer's Brigade, was a

7th Michigan Cavalry, the Michigan Brigade fought in every major campaign of the Army of the Potomac from the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 to the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House
in April 1865.

Advance of Custer's Brigade by Alfred Waud

The brigade first gained fame during the

7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment and later fought again under Custer in the Old West frontier
.

Service record

Organization and the Gettysburg Campaign

The Michigan Cavalry Brigade was created on December 12, 1862, at

Cavalry Corps by its commander, Alfred Pleasonton.[1]

Michigan Cavalry Brigade Monument

The larger brigade was assigned to the newly promoted Custer, who assumed command near Westminster, Maryland. The Michigan Brigade saw its first combat action as an entity at the Battle of Hanover in southern Pennsylvania on June 30, 1863. There, Custer's men were deployed as a strong advance skirmish line south of town. Two days later, on July 2, the brigade participated in the Battle of Hunterstown, where one of the Wolverines, Norville Churchill, rescued a fallen Custer, who was pinned in the road under his slain horse.[2]

At the subsequent

third day, the brigade fought in piecemeal fashion, with the 5th and 6th serving as dismounted skirmishers near the John Rummel farm on the left of the battlefield, while first the 7th and then the 1st Michigan charged into a growing mounted melee in the center. Custer's cry of "Come on, you Wolverines!" became the rallying cry of the brigade.[3]

During the retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia from Gettysburg, Custer's men maintained a series of skirmishes and encounters with the Confederate rear guard, fighting another battle at Falling Waters as the last of Robert E. Lee's army slipped across the Potomac River. The skirmishing continued well into Virginia, including a minor affair at Amissville.

Bristoe and Mine Run Campaigns

During the balance of 1863, the Michigan Brigade performed scouting and patrol duty, as well as screening the flanks of the Army of the Potomac. The brigade again engaged in a series of fights with

Mine Run Campaign
.

1864

For a time, the

1st Vermont Cavalry
was assigned to the Michigan Brigade.

In February 1864, the Michigan Brigade participated in

Judson Kilpatrick's large 5,000-man cavalry raid on the Confederacy's capital city, Richmond, Virginia
. Kilpatrick's objectives for the daring raid were to free Federal prisoners of war, cut supply lines, and create panic among the Confederate civilians and government officials. Carrying only rations for two days, the troopers were expected to live off the land by foraging for food. Kilpatrick's men severed all the rail lines between Richmond and the Army of Northern Virginia, but did not enter Richmond or free the prisoners.

During the

Philip H. Sheridan's raid, fighting at the Battle of Haw's Shop on May 28. There, due to the heavily wooded terrain, Custer dismounted the brigade and deployed in a long, double-ranked line of battle, as if they were infantrymen. However, Custer inspired his men by staying mounted as he led them forward, waving his hat in full view of the enemy. Some of the relatively inexperienced South Carolina Confederate infantry mistook a Union shift in position for a retreat and charged after them, only to run into Custer's men, who captured eighty Confederates. Forty-one Michigan cavalrymen fell in the attack, but their enthusiastic charge caused Wade Hampton
's men to withdraw.

At Trevilian Station on June 11 and 12, the brigade was heavily engaged. Custer maneuvered into a position in the rear of (and between) two Confederate divisions and seized the train depot and a large cache of supplies. However, subsequent enemy movements left the Michigan Brigade nearly surrounded, and Custer had to fight his way out of the encirclement.

In July, the brigade rode to

Battle of Opequon, also near Winchester, where it captured three Confederate battle flags. The brigade was again in action at the Battle of Fisher's Hill
.

On September 26, Custer was promoted to divisional command and Colonel James H. Kidd of the 6th Michigan assumed direct command of the Michigan Brigade. The brigade spent the rest of the year in the Valley, engaging in a series of running fights with Confederate cavalry, including the decisive victory over Jubal Early at the Battle of Cedar Creek.[4]

1865

On February 27, General Sheridan commenced a major movement against Early's remaining forces in the Valley and his communications and supply lines. The Michigan Brigade participated in an engagement at Louisa Court House against enemy cavalry under Thomas L. Rosser, routing the Confederates and capturing the village and its important stores of military supplies.

Not long afterward, following Early's final crushing defeat at the

Battle of Sayler's Creek
on April 6. They were among the troops that finally blocked Lee's planned escape route, precipitating the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House.

Under the command of Colonel Peter Stagg, the Michigan Brigade was part of Sheridan's force that rode southward to

William T. Sherman's army in its quest to defeat another Confederate army under Joseph E. Johnston. However, Johnston surrendered before Sheridan arrived. The Michigan Brigade returned to Washington, D.C., for the Grand Review of the Armies
on May 23.

Western frontier duty

Immediately after the review, the Michigan Brigade received orders to serve in the

Western frontier in the District of the Plains, Department of Missouri. Using railroads and a series of riverboats, the brigade arrived at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 2,300 strong but with only 600 horses. There, the 5th Michigan was formally mustered out of the service, as well as portions of the other three regiments whose enlistments had expired, in all half the brigade. The remaining troopers saw subsequent duty in the Dakota Territory in the forces of Patrick Connor until December.[5]

In late 1865, the remnants of the much depleted brigade were consolidated into the 1st Michigan Veteran Cavalry and served in the

Battle of Little Big Horn in June 1876.[6]

Most veterans of the Michigan Brigade were active in various fraternal organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic, and many men returned to Gettysburg for the 25th Anniversary commemorations. A few returned in 1913 for the 50th Anniversary.

A modern non-profit group calling itself the Michigan Cavalry Brigade Association serves as living historians and reenactors.[7]

References

  • U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the
    Official Records
    of the Union and Confederate Armies    , U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.
  • Custer's Official Report for the Battle of Gettysburg
  • Longacre, Edward G., Custer and His Wolverines: The Michigan Cavalry Brigade, 1861-1865. Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: Combined Publishing, 1997.
    ISBN 0-938289-87-X
    .
  • New York Times, August 8, 1863.

Further reading

  • Urwin, Gregory J. W., Custer Victorious: The Civil War Battles of General George Armstrong Custer. Lincoln, Nebraska, The University of Nebraska Press, 1990.
    ISBN 0-8032-9556-1
    .

Notes

  1. ^ History of the Michigan Brigade Archived 2008-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ New York Times, August 8, 1863.
  3. ^ Custer's Official Report for the Battle of Gettysburg.
  4. ^ Colonel Kidd's official report for Cedar Creek.
  5. ^ Michigan in the Civil War. Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Michigan Cavalry Brigade Archived 2008-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Michigan Cavalry Brigade Association

External links

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