A Roster and History of Troops Activated Prior to the American Civil War
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00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 2 00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 1 Michigan’s Early Military Forces 00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 2 00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 3 Michigan’s Early Military Forces a roster and history of troops activated prior to the american civil war rosters compiled by le roy barnett with histories by roger rosentreter Wayne State University Press Detroit 00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 4 Great Lakes Books A complete listing of the books in this series can be found at the back of this volume. Philip P. Mason, Editor Department of History, Wayne State University Dr. Charles K. Hyde, Associate Editor Department of History, Wayne State University COPYRIGHT © 2003 BY WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS, DETROIT, MICHIGAN 48201. ALL RIGHTS ARE RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT FORMAL PERMISSION. MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 07 06 05 04 03 1 2 3 4 5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Michigan’s early military forces : a roster and history of troops activated prior to the American Civil War / rosters compiled by Le Roy Barnett ; with histories by Roger Rosentreter. p. cm. — (Great Lakes books) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8143-3081-9 (alk. paper) 1. Michigan—Militia—History—18th century. 2. Michigan—Militia—History—19th century. 3. Michigan—Militia—Bibliography. 4. Michigan—Militia—Registers. 5. Michigan—History, Military—18th century. 6. Michigan—History, Military—19th century. 7. Michigan—Genealogy. 8. Soldiers—Michigan—Genealogy. I. Barnett, LeRoy. II. Rosentreter, Roger. III. Series. UA260 .M53 2003 355.3'7'09774—dc21 2002152375 ISBN 9780814340301 (ebook) 00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 5 To our parents . Who developed in us the curiosity to ask questions and the determination to find correct answers. 00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 6 00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 7 4>>>>>>(>>>>>>$ Contents Foreword by Major General E. Gordon Stump, 2. War of 1812 Adjutant General 9 Map of the Theater of Operations 70 Preface by Le Roy Barnett 11 Michigan in the War of 1812 71 Acknowledgments 15 Bibliographic Note 80 A User’s Guide to the Listings 17 War of 1812 Related Historic Sites and Abbreviations Used in the Rosters 21 Monuments in Michigan 82 List of Relevant Michigan Illustrations 83 1. Introduction to the Organizational Chart of Participating Michigan Units 85 Pre-Territorial Militia Roster of Michigan Men in the BY DENNIS M. AU War of 1812 87 Map of the Theater of Operations— Revolutionary War 24 3. Black Hawk War, 1832 Michigan in the Revolutionary War, Map of the Theater of Operations 146 1775–1783 25 Michigan in the Black Hawk War 147 Michigan in the Indian War, 1783–1796 35 Bibliographic Note 158 Map of the Theater of Operations—Indian Black Hawk War Related Historic Sites and War 36 Monuments in Michigan 159 The Period of Growing Tension, List of Relevant Michigan 1797–1811 49 Illustrations 159 Bibliographic Note 53 Organizational Chart of Participating Michigan Units 160 Related Historic Sites and Monuments in Michigan 53 Roster of Michigan Men in the Black Hawk War 162 List of Relevant Michigan Illustrations 54 Roster of Michigan Men in the Revolutionary 4. Toledo War, 1835 and Early Indian Wars 56 Map of the Theater of Operations 234 7 00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 8 Contents Michigan in the Toledo War 235 Roster of Michigan Men in the Bibliographic Note 243 Patriot War 314 Toledo War Related Historic Sites and Monuments in Michigan 244 6. Mexican War, 1846–1848 List of Relevant Michigan Map of the Theater of Operations 332 Illustrations 244 Michigan in the Mexican War 333 Organizational Chart of Participating Bibliographic Note 341 Michigan Units 245 Mexican War Related Historic Sites and Roster of Michigan Men in the Monuments in Michigan 342 Toledo War 247 List of Relevant Michigan Illustrations 343 Organizational Chart of Participating 5. Patriot War, 1838–1839 Michigan Units 344 Map of the Theater of Operations 294 Roster of Michigan Men in the Michigan in the Patriot War 295 Mexican War 346 Bibliographic Note 311 Patriot War Related Historic Sites and Monuments in Michigan 312 Index of Names 509 List of Relevant Michigan Illustrations 362 Index of Places and Subjects 515 Organizational Chart of Participating Michigan Units 312 8 00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 9 4>>>>>>(>>>>>>$ Foreword SINCE FRENCH COLONIAL TIMES, the area that now constitutes Michigan has been protected by local militia. Whether from domestic or foreign threats, these citizen-soldiers were ready to defend their communities and governments whenever called upon to do so. In time, these local militia units became collectively known as the Michigan State Troops and, later, as the Michigan National Guard. Many people are aware that some ele- ments of this home defense force, under their more modern names, were activated to serve in the Mexican Border Campaign, World Wars I and II, as well as in Korea and the Persian Gulf War. But while the more recent activities of the Michigan militia are fairly well chron- icled and remembered, little is known about the earlier contributions of these Wolverine warriors. To partially fill this gap in our state’s military history, Drs. Barnett and Rosentreter—with the help of Dennis Au—have created this account of Michigan’s sol- diery in the last quarter of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century. During this seventy-five-year period, Michigan’s equivalent of the “Minutemen” were called to active duty numerous times during real or perceived crisis situations. On a few other occasions of lesser significance or alarm, the citizen soldiers were placed on alert until threatening circumstances returned to normal. In all of these instances, our troops served with distinction and honor in fulfilling their missions. Because these early engagements were poorly documented, the accomplishments of our pioneer fighting men have been mostly forgotten and unappreciated. Now, for the first time, this book describes the conflicts in which the old Michigan militia participated and identifies each soldier who is known to have sacrificed his time (and in some cases his life) to keep the peace or preserve freedom. This volume, then, is more than the story of Michigan’s military activities of long ago. It is also a roll of honor giving overdue recog- nition to those early residents of our State who answered the call to defend and maintain the American way of life that we enjoy today. Furthermore, the book can serve as an unof- ficial record of the organized and activated reserve within the borders of present-day Michigan. 9 00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 10 Foreword My predecessors—in conjunction with crown, state, or federal authorities— ordered the Michigan militia to arms when conditions required between 1775 and 1850. The muster rolls, rosters, and papers generated by these crises have been (insofar as pos- sible) tracked down by the authors of this work after years of research. Their findings are brought together here as a record of operations undertaken and successfully discharged by the first Michigan armies in the field. In order for the Michigan Department of Military Affairs to keep alive this state’s martial traditions, it must be aware of what has transpired in the past. This book will help my agency and the people it serves to learn more about and pay tribute to the active role of the early Michigan militia. E. Gordon Stump, Maj. Gen. MIANG, Adjutant General of Michigan 10 00 Barnett FMT 12/16/02 2:05 PM Page 11 4>>>>>>(>>>>>>$ Preface WHILE WORKING AS REFERENCE ARCHIVIST at the State Archives of Michigan from 1974 to 1997, I was impressed with the frequency with which I and others consulted the forty- six-volume Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War. Because this source is such a useful compilation, it disappointed me that similar books did not exist for the other wars in which Michigan men participated. After years of waiting for such a publi- cation to appear, I decided to undertake the job myself. I planned to identify every soldier who served on active duty from Michigan prior to the Civil War. In an attempt to be as inclusive as possible, I also decided to cite those individuals who volunteered to serve in combat during this period but were not activated at the time of crisis. Along with each name, I tried to track down some basic data about these soldiers, like rank, unit, and dates of muster. In the case of troops participating in the Mexican War, government sources enabled a wider range of information to be included. These data were gleaned from records found in the National Archives, the State Archives of Michigan, official government documents, county histories, and private let- ters and diaries. I had hoped that by creating this reference tool I would finally be able to answer requests by patrons for information about their ancestors who participated in Michigan’s military engagements during the British, territorial, and early statehood eras. However, as the project developed it became clear that other purposes could be served by this enter- prise. For one thing, the work would finally permit us to recognize those individuals who served Michigan and the nation in times of perceived or actual danger. Beyond standing as a tribute to veterans, this compilation also gives proper credit to Michigan for its participation in the antebellum wars.