5th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 5th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Service

The 5th Michigan Infantry was organized at Detroit, Michigan and mustered into Federal service for a three year enlistment on August 28, 1861.

In October 1862 the Army of the Potomac was reorganized. The 5th Michigan, along with the 17th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, was placed in the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Corps. "Our regiment is assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, III Corps (Union Army). This Brigade is commanded by General Berry of Maine (Hiram Gregory Berry), who is at this time sick at home. The division is commanded by General Birney of Pennsylvania (David B. Birney), the corps by Major General George Stoneman (George Stoneman). Colonel Poe of Michigan is in temporary command of our brigade."^[1]

The regiment was mustered out on July 5, 1865 at Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Total Strength and Casualties

The regiment mustered a total of 1586 men during its existence.^[2] It suffered 16 officers and 247 enlisted men who were killed in action or mortally wounded and 3 officer and 188 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 454 fatalities.^[3]

"When compared to other Michigan regiments that fought in the Civil War, the Fifth Michigan stands out. It had the second highest number of casualties of all Michigan infantry regiments in the war. Of all Union infantry regiments in the war, the Fifth Michigan ranked fifth in total number of casualties endured. A logical explanation for so many combat deaths and wounds is the fact that the Fighting Fifth played a key role in numerous charges against Confederate positions: twice at Williamsburg (Battle of Williamsburg), and at Fair Oaks (Battle of Seven Pines) the Wilderness (Battle of the Wilderness), Spotsylvania, North Anna, and Petersburg."^[4]

Commanders

• Colonel Henry D. Terry; 1861- Jun 1862 ^[5]
• Major John D. Fairbanks; 25 Jun 1862- 30 Jun 1862 ^[6]
• Captain Judson S. Farrar; Jul 1862 ^[7]
• Captain William Wakenshaw; Aug 1862 ^[8]
• Lieutenant Colonel Gilluly; - 13 Dec 1862 (KIA) ^[9]
• Lieutenant Colonel Sherlock; 13 Dec 1862 - 3 May 1863 (KIA) ^[10]
• Lieutenant Colonel John Pulford; 3 May 1863 – 5 May 1864 ^[11]
• Major Salmon S. Mathews; 5 May 1864 ^[12]
• Captain William Wakenshaw; 6 May 1864 ^[13]
• Captain Edgar H. Shook; 6 May 1864,^[14]
• Lieutenant (unnamed); May 1864 ^[15]
• Colonel John Pulford; Jun 1864 ^[16]
• Major Daniel S. Root; Aug 1864 ^[17]
• Lieutenant Colonel Salmon S. Mathews; Oct 1864 ^[18]
• Lieutenant Colonel Daniel S. Root; 31 Jan 1865 ^[19]
• Colonel John Pulford; 28 Feb 1865 – 17 Jul 1865 ^[20]

Timeline

• August 28, 1861 Organized at Detroit, Mich., and mustered in
• September 11 Left State for Washington, D.C.
• September 13 Attached to Richardson's Brigade, Heintzelman's Division, Army of the Potomac and duty in the Defenses of Washington, D.C.
• October 21–24 Reconnaissance to Occoquan
• January 9, 1862 Pohick Run, Va.
• March, 1862 Attached to Berry's 3rd Brigade, Kearny's 3rd Division, 3rd Army Corps, Army of the Potomac
• March 10–15 Advance to Manassas, Va.,
• March 17 Moved to the Virginia Peninsula
• March to August. Peninsula Campaign
• April 5-May 4 Siege of Yorktown, Va.
• May 31-June 1 Battle of Fair Oaks, or Seven Pines
• June 25-July 1 Seven days before Richmond
• June 25 Oak Grove
• June 29 Savage Station and Peach Orchard
• June 30 Charles City Cross Roads and Glendale
• July 1 Malvern Hill
• July 2 - August 16 Duty at Harrison's Landing
• August 16–26 Movement to Fortress Monroe, then to Centreville; 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Army Corps
• August 29 Battle of Groveton
• August 30 Bull Run
• September 1 Chantilly
• September 2 - October 11 Duty in the Defenses of Washington, D, C.
• October 11-November 23 March up the Potomac to Leesburg, and then to Falmouth
• December 12–15 Battle of Fredericksburg
• January 20–24, 1863 "Mud March"
• January 25 - April 27 At Falmouth
• April 27-May 6 Chancellorsville Campaign
• May 1–5 Battle of Chancellorsville
• June 11-July 24 Gettysburg Campaign
• July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg

The Regiment was commanded at Gettysburg by Lieutenant Colonel John Pulford, who was wounded on July 2 - the third of five times during the war.

From the Gettysburg monument: "Effective strength July 2nd 1863; present and detached service 21 officers and 262 men, total 283. Casualties: Killed 2 officers, 17 men; Wounded 8 officers 78 men; Missing 4 men; Total 109."

"The regiment fought here about 4:30 o'clock p.m., July 2, 1863, after it had been assembled from the skirmish line far in advance of this position. It moved to the support of the 2nd Corps in resisting Pickett's Charge, July 3."

• July 5–24 Pursuit of Lee to Manassas Gap, Va.
• July 23 Action at Wapping Heights, Va.
• August 16-September 17 On detached duty at New York City and at Troy, N.Y.
• October 9–22 Bristoe Campaign
• October 13 Auburn
• November 7–8 Advance to line of the Rappahannock
• November 7 Kelly's Ford
• November 26-December 2 Mine Run Campaign
• November 27 Payne's Farm
• January 4 to
• February 14, 1864 Veterans on furlough
• February 6–7 Demonstration on the Rapidan
• March Attached to 2nd Brigade. 3rd Division, 2nd Army Corps
• May 4-June 15 Campaign from the Rapidan to the James River
• May 5–7 Battles of the Wilderness
• May 8 Laurel Hill
• May 8–12 Spotsylvania
• May 10 Po River
• May 12–21 Spotsylvania Court House
• May 12 Assault on the Salient ("Bloody Angle")
• May 19 Harris Farm, Fredericksburg Road
• May 23–26 North Anna River
• May 26–28 On line of the Pamunkey
• May 8–31 Totopotomoy
• June 1–12 Cold Harbor
• June 16–18 Before Petersburg
• June 16 Siege of Petersburg begins
• June 22–23 Jerusalem Plank Road, Weldon Railroad
• July 27–29 Demonstration on north side of the James
• July 27–28 Deep Bottom
• August 13–20 Demonstration on north side of the James at Deep Bottom
• August 14–18 Strawberry Plains
• September 29-October 2 Poplar Springs Church
• October 27–28 Boydton Plank Road, Hatcher's Run
• December 7–12 Warren's Raid on Weldon Railroad
• February 5–7, 1865 Dabney's Mills, Hatcher's Run
• March 25 Watkins' House
• March 28-April 9 Appomattox Campaign
• March 30–31 White Oak Road
• March 31 Crow's House
• April 2 Fall of Petersburg
• April 3–9 Pursuit of Lee
• April 6 Sailor's Creek
• April 7 High Bridge
• April 9 Appomattox Court House, surrender of Lee and his army
• May 2–12 March to Washington, D.C.
• May 23 Grand Review
• June 10–14 Moved to Louisville, Ky.
• June 15 - July 5 At Jeffersonville, Ind.
• July 5, 1865 Mustered out
• 17 July 1865 Disbanded at Detroit, Mi.^[21][22]

See also

• List of Michigan Civil War Units
• Michigan in the American Civil War

Notes

1. ↑ Haley, Private John W., The Rebel Yell & the Yankee Hurrah: The Civil War Journal of a Maine Volunteer, Down East Books (Camden, Maine), 1985, page 38.
2. ↑ http://www.michiganinthewar.org/infantry/5thinf.htm Michigan in the Civil War Website
3. ↑ http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unmiinf1.htm The Civil War Archive website after Dyer, Frederick Henry. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 3 vols. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.
4. ↑ Sebrell, Thomas E. II, The 'Fighting Fifth': The Fifth Michigan Infantry Regiment in the Civil War's Peninsula Campaign, The Michigan Historical Review, Volume 35 No. 2, Fall 2009, page 51."
5. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
6. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
7. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
8. ↑ BATTLES AND LEADERS OF THE CIVIL WAR, VOL 2, 1887 The Century Company, New York, NY
9. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
10. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
11. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
12. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
13. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
14. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
15. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
16. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
17. ↑ http://www.beyondthecrater.com/resources/ors/vol-xlii/part-1-sn-87/number-85-report-of-major-daniel-s-root-fifth-michigan-infantry-of-operations-august-15-16/
18. ↑ Michigan in the War, Michigan Adjutant General, W.S. George & Company, State Printers, 1882 - Michigan
19. ↑ The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96)
20. ↑ Official Communications Between The War Department and Lieut. Colonel John Pulford U.S. Army, John Pulford, United States Adjutant General’s Office
21. ↑ http://civilwarintheeast.com/USA/MI/5MI.php
22. ↑ Official Communications Between The War Department and Lieut. Colonel John Pulford U.S. Army, John Pulford, United States Adjutant General’s Office

References

• The Civil War Archive
• Haley, Private John W., The Rebel Yell & the Yankee Hurrah: The Civil War Journal of a Maine Volunteer, Down East Books (Camden, Maine), 1985. This is a journal about the 17th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The 5th Michigan was in the same brigade and references are made regarding the whereabouts of the 5th.
• Crotty, Color Sergeant Daniel G., Four Years Campaigning in the Army of the Potomac, Dygert Bros. & Co. Printers and Binder (Grand Rapids, MI), 1874. Reprinted with new material in 1995 by Belle Grove Publishing Co. (Kearney, NJ). This is a journal of the 3rd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The 5th Michigan was in the same brigade and references are made regarding the whereabouts of the 5th.
• De Trobriand, Regis, Brevet Major-General, U.S. Volunteers, Four Years with the Army of the Potomac, Ticknor and Company (Boston, MA), 1889. Translated from French by George K. Dauchy. Régis de Trobriand was the commanding officer of the Army of the Potomac, III Corps (Union Army), 1st Division, 3rd Brigade, of which the 5th Michigan was a part of during much of the American Civil War.
• Sneden, Private Robert Knox, Eye of the Storm: A Civil War Odyssey, The Free Press (New York), 2000. Private Sneden was a member of the 40th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The 40th New York and 5th Michigan were members of the same brigade (Army of the Potomac, III Corps (Union Army), 1st Division, 3rd Brigade) and several mentions of the Michigan boys are included in the book.
• Sebrell, Thomas E. II, The 'Fighting Fifth': The Fifth Michigan Infantry Regiment in the Civil War's Peninsula Campaign, The Michigan Historical Review, Volume 35 No. 2, Fall 2009, pages 27 – 51."