Detroit and the Civil War Detroit and the Civil War Detroit and the ...

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150th Anniversary Detroit Detroit and and the the Remnants of a battle flag of the 2nd Michigan Infantry shows major engagements the unit fought in during the Civil War. Photo from the Burton Historical Collection, DPL. 24 DAC NEWS JULY 2011 Civil Civil War War T his year marks the sesquicentennial of the Civil War and across Michigan nearly 20 exhibits and 40 special events are planned, from an Abraham Lincoln exhibit at the Plymouth Historical Museum to an interactive display with 100 artifacts at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Lectures, battle reenactments and Civil War Days at Fort Wayne in Detroit are among the 150th anniversary celebrations. The Detroit Historical Museum plans a special event (July 26) highlighting Detroit’s role in the Underground Railroad, while the most extensive exhibition ever assembled from the Civil War holdings of the National Archives is on view at The Henry Ford through Labor Day.
By Mary Rodrique Although no Civil War battles were fought here Michigan sent 90,000 soldiers and more than $1.5 million to help preserve the Union and bring an end to slavery in America’s “war of the rebellion” that raged from 1861 to 1865. The war predated the first Detroit Athletic Club by more than two decades, yet a few of the club’s earliest members fought for the Union while others supported the efforts at home. “Michigan’s enthusiastic response to the war reflected an ardent belief in preserving the United States,” said Joel Stone, curator for collections for the Detroit Historical Society. “Fort Wayne served as a training base and the primary muster point for units from all over Michigan.” Because of deteriorating relations between the Federal government and Great Britain, Fort Wayne was also considered a primary defensive post in the event that Britain attempted another invasion, according to Stone. It also served as a recuperation facility for injured soldiers returning from the battlefront. Built in the 1840s, Fort Wayne saw troops reporting for duty in every military conflict from the Civil War through Vietnam. “Historians generally point to the Civil War as the event that galvanized an amalgam of separate states into a nation,” said Stone. “Detroiters and Michiganders were clearly dedicated to that principle, and backed their convictions with their lives.” Detroit prepares Shortly after the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861, echoes reverberated far beyond Charleston harbor. “Detroit’s reaction was reflected across the state,” said Stone. “Thousands answered the call almost immediately assembling more than twice the troops the President requested following the attack on Fort Sumter. Michigan soldiers were involved in every major campaign and hundreds of battles and skirmishes.” Less than a week after the fort’s surrender, all military and civil officials in Detroit were called to a meeting at the U.S. Post Office at Griswold and Larned to take an oath of allegiance and hear patriotic speeches. A photo from that day, April 20, 1861, shows hundreds of men, many arriving by horse and carriage, others standing on rooftops, for the oath swearing administered by the Honorable Ross Wilkins, U.S. attorney. At the end of Griswold Street the old state Capitol building is visible. Above, the 2nd Michigan drills on the grounds of Fort Wayne in 1861. Left, an unidentified company of recruits (possibly 2nd Michigan) outside of Fort Wayne in 1861. (Burton Collection photos) DAC NEWS JULY 2011 25
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