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THE 16th MICHIGAN INFANTRY VINCENT’S BRIGADE, GRIFFINS’S DIVISION, FIFTH CORPS BY KIM CRAWFORD FIRST EDITION MINT CONDITION Brand new, unread, pristine condition book. Sample shown; yours comes new and protected in the original publisher’s shrink wrap. Clean, Sharp, Bright, Solidly Bound, New Book Illustrated Throughout with Photographs and Maps Contains a Complete Unit Roster PUBLISHED BY MORNINGSIDE PRESS, IN 2002 The 16th Regiment’s first commander, T. B. Stockton, was probably the most qualified military resident of Michigan at the outbreak of the Civil War. A class of 1827 West Point graduate, he commanded the only Michigan regiment in the Mexican-American War and later became prominent in political affairs. But when President Lincoln asked Michigan to provide four regiments of volunteers to help put down the rebellion, the Michigan governor (a Republican) initially offered Stockton (a Democrat) nothing higher than a Depot Quartermaster’s post. Eventually Stockton got his regimental command, but he never rose higher than colonel, in sharp contrast to those without negative political baggage such as his fellow Michigander, George Armstrong Custer, a major general at age twenty-five. The 16th Michigan served in the east, as part of the V Corps and played major or supporting roles in all of its battles from Yorktown, Gaines’ Mill, and Malvern hill to the Wilderness, Petersburg, and Appomattox. At Gettysburg, the 16th stood near the 20th Maine in the critical battle for Little Round Top. The Maine troops won accolades for their spirited performance which made their commander, Joshua Chamberlain, a hero at the time and an icon in the eyes of current Civil War historians. The 16th Michigan fared less well. Colonel Norval Welch, who replaced disgruntled Stockton in command of the 16th, for some unexplained reason, withdrew from the front with some of his troops along with the all-important regimental colors. This led to dissention within the regiment only to end when Welch was killed in September 1864 bravely leading a charge on Confederate lines at Petersburg. In its four years of service, 251 men of the 16th Michigan were killed or died of wounds, 20 died in Confederate prison camps, 106 died of disease, and 632 were wounded – a far higher ration of killed to wounded than seen in later wars, given the fact that the 16th was heavily engaged in some of the battles in the East, and got off lightly in others, on assumes these may be representative casualty figures for a Union four-year regiment. The book contains a complete roster of the men who served in its various companies. Reflecting its close knit associations fostered by the fact that all its men came from Michigan, the postwar survivors met annually until around 1920 its last veteran died in 1937 at age ninety-six. THIS BOOK IS IN MINT CONDITION This is a brand new, unread, pristine condition book with no shortcomings. It comes in a pristine condition, new dust jacket. A sample is shown; your book is brand new and comes in the original, publisher’s shrink wrap. The book is clean with no wear; the pages are clean and bright white. The book is illustrated with maps and photographs. 645 pages. This in a brand new book printed on acid-free paper, with cloth binding, and having a full index. I ship upon payment receipt (no waiting) and carefully wrap books to protect them during shipment.