The hard-fighting 11th Michigan Volunteer Infantry was recruited from sparsely settled southwest Michigan shortly after the Civil War broke out. Mainly composed of young farmers and tradesmen, the regiment rapidly evolved into one of the Army of the Cumberland’s elite combat units, tenaciously fighting its way through some of the war’s bloodiest engagements.
This book—featuring a complete unit roster—chronicles the regiment through the words of the veterans, tracing their development from a rabble of idealists into a fine-tuned fighting machine that executed successful bayonet charges against superior numbers. The narrative continues into the postwar period, discussing the ex-soldiers’ careers through Reconstruction and the Gilded Age. Photographs, maps, illustrations and a statistical analysis round out the work.

Eric R. Faust has written three books about the exploits of Michigan troops during the Civil War. He lives in Palo Alto, California.

Eric R. Faust
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 252
Bibliographic Info: 38 photos & illustrations, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2016
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6316-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2282-8
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
1. “Stars and stripes unfurled”: April–November 1861 5
2. “An enemy to be feared”: November 1861–April 1862 26
3. “Covered in dust instead of glory”: April–December 1862 44
4. “Two huge serpents”: December 1862–January 1863 66
5. “Perfectly careless”: ­January–September 1863 78
6. “We fought like tigers”: September 1863 96
7. “The enemy fled like a flock of sheep”: September 1863–May 1864 113
8. “Sick and tired of fighting”: May–October 1864 132
Epilogue 152
Appendix A: A POW Poem 159
Appendix B: The 11th Michigan by the Numbers 160
Appendix C: Unit Roster 164
Chapter Notes 219
Bibliography 233
Index 237

“well-written, with exceptional maps, this is a book I’m delighted to add to my library…highly recommend”—Civil War News.