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

Michigan was the first state west of
the Alleghenies to send troops to
Washington D.C. The men of the First
Michigan marched from Fort Wayne to
Campus Martius where, before a huge
crowd, they were presented their regiment
colors in a public ceremony on May 11,
1861 – two days before departing for the
front.
“The timely arrival of the First
Michigan Infantry in Washington D.C.
as Confederate troops advanced on the
capitol caused President Lincoln to
reportedly say ‘Thank God for
Michigan,’” Stone said.
The Michigan First fought valiantly at
the first Battle of Bull Run, losing 117 of
500 officers and men.
From Detroit alone 6,000 answered
the call to defend the Union over the four
years of turmoil. During the brutal
conflict, 15,000 Michiganders lost their
lives in battle or to disease.
“Detroit officials decided in July 1862
to pay a bounty of $50 for each single
man and $100 for each married man who
volunteered,” wrote historian Arthur
Woodford in “This is Detroit: 1701-
2001.” “In all more than $200,000 was
paid by the city during the war. Detroit
26 DAC NEWS JULY 2011
Above, officers of the 24th Michigan Infantry that fought so gallantly at Gettysburg (Burton
Collection).
Left, a post-Civil War poster honors Company F of the 24th Michigan, which included volunteers
from Detroit, Dearborn, Plymouth and other area communities. (Courtesy Bentley Historical
Libary, Ann Arbor).
was also a principal
distribution point for
supplies from Michigan
farms and towns.”
While the Civil War has been the
subject of countless books, movies and an
acclaimed documentary series, Detroit’s
role in that historic era is less examined.
Although the war was fought long before
the Detroit Athletic Club came into
existence, there are connections to both
the original and modern day Club.
Club connections
The original DAC
membership roster includes
at least three Civil War
veterans: Russell A. Alger,
Sr. (an honorary member),
Frank J. Hecker and Hazen
S. Pingree.
Commissioned a second
lieutenant in the 2nd
Calvary, Alger was involved
in over 60 battles, wounded
four times and led the first
Union troops into
Gettysburg on June 28,
1863. He later became a
lumber baron and railroad owner with a
distinguished career in politics.
Alger served as Michigan governor,
U.S. senator and Secretary of War under
William McKinley. His son, Russell
Alger, Jr., an executive of Packard Motors,
was also a DAC member. Their Grosse
Pointe estate became the Grosse Pointe
War Memorial honoring veterans of
World War II.
Captured by rebels, Pingree was held
in the notorious Andersonville prison
near Americus (GA) before escaping
during a roll call prisoner exchange. He
returned to his Massachusetts regiment
and fought until Gen. Robert E. Lee’s
surrender at Appomattox.
After the Civil War,
Pingree, originally
from Maine, founded
the Pingree & Smith
Company in Detroit,
which became one of
the most prominent
shoe manufacturers in
the country. He served
four terms as Detroit
mayor, until 1896,
and gained national
attention for his social
programs in the
depression of 1893.
Pingree was elected
Michigan governor in
1897, serving two terms.
A statue of Pingree stands in Grand
Circus Park inscribed “The idol of the
people.”
Born in Freedom (MI), Hecker joined
Russell Alger, Sr. (left) with Hazen Pingree
in a post-Civil War image seen arriving by
train in Detroit. (Burton Collection)