The 12th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Infantry was an infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 that served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Service

The 12th Michigan Infantry was organized at Niles

Niles, Michigan

Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near South Bend, Indiana. The population was 11,600 at the 2010 census. It is the greater populated of two principal cities of and included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a...

, Dowagiac

Dowagiac, Michigan

Dowagiac is a city in Cass County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,147 at the 2000 census. It is part of the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, and Buchanan, Michigan

Buchanan, Michigan

Buchanan is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,681 at the 2000 census. The city is located at the southeast corner of Buchanan Township, about 5 miles west of Niles. It was named after James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States...

and was mustered into Federal service for a three year enlistment between December 9, 1861 and March 5, 1862 .

The regiment was mustered out on February 15, 1866.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered 1 officer and 52 enlisted men who were killed in action or mortally wounded and 3 officers and 372 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 428
fatalities.