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The '''Michigan Brigade''', sometimes called the '''Wolverines''', the '''Michigan Cavalry Brigade''' or '''Custer's Brigade''', was a [[brigade]] of [[cavalry]] in the volunteer [[Union Army]] during the
[[File:Advance of Custer's brigade LCCN2004660780.jpg|thumb|450px|Advance of Custer's Brigade by [[Alfred Waud]]]]
The brigade first gained fame during the [[Gettysburg Campaign]] under the command of youthful [[Brigadier General (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[George Armstrong Custer]]. After the war, several men associated with the brigade joined the [[7th U.S. Cavalry|7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment]] and later fought again under Custer in the [[American frontier|Old West]] [[frontier]]. ==Service record==
===Organization and the Gettysburg Campaign===
The Michigan Cavalry Brigade was created on December 12, 1862, at [[Washington, D.C.]]
[[File:Michigan Cavalry Brigade Monument, Gettysburg, PA.jpg|thumb|upright|Michigan Cavalry Brigade Monument]]
▲The Michigan Cavalry Brigade was created on December 12, 1862, at [[Washington, D.C.]]. It originally consisted of the 5th, 6th and 7th Michigan Cavalry [[regiment]]s, under the command of General [[Joseph T. Copeland]]. During the early part of the 1863 [[Gettysburg Campaign]], the 1st Michigan Cavalry and Battery M, 2nd United States Artillery were added to the brigade in central [[Maryland]] as part of a major reorganization of the [[Army of the Potomac]]'s [[Cavalry Corps (ACW)|Cavalry Corps]] by its commander, [[Alfred Pleasonton]].<ref>[http://www.michcavalry.com/MCB.html History of the Michigan Brigade]</ref>
The larger brigade was assigned to the newly promoted Custer, who assumed command near [[Westminster, Maryland]]. The Michigan Brigade saw its first combat action as an entity at the [[Battle of Hanover]] in southern [[Pennsylvania]] on June 30, 1863. There, Custer's men were deployed as a strong advance skirmish line south of town. Two days later, on July 2, the brigade participated in the [[Battle of Hunterstown]], where one of the Wolverines, Norville Churchill, rescued a fallen Custer, who was pinned in the road under his slain horse.<ref>[http://www.gdg.org/Research/Authored%20Items/nytimesaug81863.htm ''New York Times'', August 8, 1863.]</ref>
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===Bristoe and Mine Run Campaigns===
During the balance of 1863, the Michigan Brigade performed scouting and patrol duty, as well as screening the flanks of the Army of the Potomac. The brigade again engaged in a series of fights with [[J.E.B. Stuart]]'s Confederates during the [[Bristoe Campaign]] and the subsequent [[Mine Run Campaign]].
===1864===
▲For a time, the [[1st Vermont Cavalry]] was assigned to the Michigan Brigade.
In February 1864, the Michigan Brigade participated in [[Judson Kilpatrick]]'s large 5,000-man cavalry raid on the Confederacy's capital city, [[Richmond, Virginia]]. Kilpatrick's objectives for the daring raid were to free Federal prisoners of war, cut supply lines, and create panic among the Confederate civilians and government officials. Carrying only rations for two days, the troopers were expected to live off the land by foraging for food. Kilpatrick's men severed all the rail lines between Richmond and the Army of Northern Virginia, but did not enter Richmond or free the prisoners.
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During the [[Overland Campaign]] in May, the Michigan men were engaged in [[Philip H. Sheridan]]'s raid, fighting at the [[Battle of Haw's Shop]] on May 28. There, due to the heavily wooded terrain, Custer dismounted the brigade and deployed in a long, double-ranked line of battle, as if they were infantrymen. However, Custer inspired his men by staying mounted as he led them forward, waving his hat in full view of the enemy. Some of the relatively inexperienced [[South Carolina]] Confederate infantry mistook a Union shift in position for a retreat and charged after them, only to run into Custer's men, who captured eighty Confederates. Forty-one Michigan cavalrymen fell in the attack, but their enthusiastic charge caused [[Wade Hampton III|Wade Hampton]]'s men to withdraw.
At [[Battle of Trevilian Station|Trevilian Station]] on June 11 and 12, the brigade was heavily engaged. Custer maneuvered into a position in the rear of (and between) two Confederate [[division (military)|divisions]] and seized the train depot and a large cache of supplies. However, subsequent enemy movements left the Michigan Brigade nearly surrounded, and Custer had to fight his way out of the encirclement.
In July, the brigade rode to [[Washington, D.C.]] en route to the [[Shenandoah Valley]], then threatened by a Confederate force under [[Jubal A. Early]]. The Michigan Brigade was engaged at [[Winchester, Virginia]], on August 11, as well as in numerous other small engagements through September, when it fought at the [[Battle of Opequon]], also near Winchester, where it captured three Confederate battle flags. The brigade was again in action at the [[Battle of Fisher's Hill]].
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===1865===
On February 27, General Sheridan commenced a major movement against Early's remaining forces in the Valley and his communications and supply lines. The Michigan Brigade participated in an engagement at Louisa Court House against enemy cavalry under [[Thomas L. Rosser]], routing the Confederates and capturing the village and its important stores of military supplies.
▲On February 27, General Sheridan commenced a major movement against Early's remaining forces in the Valley and his communications and supply lines. The Michigan Brigade participated in an engagement at Louisa Court House against enemy cavalry under [[Thomas L. Rosser]], routing the Confederates and capturing the village and its important stores of military supplies.
Not long afterward, following Early's final crushing defeat at the [[Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia|Battle of Waynesboro]], Sheridan's force was reassigned to the Richmond area to help [[Ulysses S. Grant]]'s final push to break Lee's entrenchments. The Michigan Brigade arrived at White House, landing in time to participate in some of the final engagements of the [[Army of the Potomac]], including the [[Battle of Five Forks]] on April 1. They were active in the pursuit of Lee's retreating army following the fall of Richmond and again engaged the Confederates at the [[Battle of Sayler's Creek]] on April 6. They were among the troops that finally blocked Lee's planned escape route, precipitating the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House.
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===Western frontier duty===
Immediately after the review, the Michigan Brigade received orders to serve in the [[Old West|Western]] [[frontier]] in the District of the Plains, Department of Missouri. Using railroads and a series of riverboats, the brigade arrived at [[Fort Leavenworth]], [[Kansas]], 2,300 strong but with only 600 horses. There, the 5th Michigan was formally mustered out of the service, as well as portions of the other three regiments whose enlistments had expired, in all half the brigade. The remaining troopers saw subsequent duty in the [[Dakota Territory]] in the forces of [[Patrick Edward Connor|Patrick Connor]] until December.<ref>[http://www.michiganinthewar.org/cavalry/7thcav.htm Michigan in the Civil War.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509144101/http://www.michiganinthewar.org/cavalry/7thcav.htm |date=2008-05-09 }}</ref>
Most veterans of the Michigan Brigade were active in various fraternal organizations such as the [[Grand Army of the Republic]], and many men returned to Gettysburg for the 25th Anniversary commemorations. A few returned in 1913 for the 50th Anniversary.
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==References==
* U.S. War Department, [http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/records/list.cfm ''The War of the Rebellion'']: ''a Compilation of the [[Official Records of the American Civil War|
▲* U.S. War Department, [http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/records/list.cfm ''The War of the Rebellion'']: ''a Compilation of the [[Official Records of the American Civil War| Official Records]] of the Union and Confederate Armies'', U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.
* [http://members.aol.com/dlharvey/custer.htm Custer's Official Report for the Battle of Gettysburg]
* Longacre, Edward G., ''Custer and His Wolverines: The Michigan Cavalry Brigade, 1861-1865''. Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: Combined Publishing, 1997. {{ISBN
* [http://www.gdg.org/Research/Authored%20Items/nytimesaug81863.htm ''New York Times'', August 8, 1863.]
==Further reading==▼
* Urwin, Gregory J. W., ''Custer Victorious: The Civil War Battles of General George Armstrong Custer''. Lincoln, Nebraska, The University of Nebraska Press, 1990. {{ISBN
==Notes==
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==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080510132818/http://www.michiganinthewar.org/cavalry/michbrig.htm Michigan Cavalry Brigade]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080509144101/http://www.
▲==Further reading==
▲* Urwin, Gregory J. W., ''Custer Victorious: The Civil War Battles of General George Armstrong Custer''. Lincoln, Nebraska, The University of Nebraska Press, 1990. ISBN 0-8032-9556-1.
[[Category:History of Michigan]]▼
[[Category:Michigan Brigade| ]]
[[Category:Units and formations of the Union Army from Michigan|.]]
[[Category:1865 disestablishments in Michigan]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1865]]
[[Category:1862 establishments in Michigan]]
[[Category:1862 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]
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