The 1st Regiment Michigan Volunteer Sharpshooters 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 1st Michigan Sharpshooters was organized at Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo, Michigan

The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...

 and Dearborn, Michigan

Dearborn, Michigan

-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...

 between April 14 and October 7, 1863 and six companies were mustered into Federal service on July 7, 1863.

Major John Piper, of Battle Creek, originally served as Captain of the famed Company D (The "Michigan Boys") of the Western Sharpshooters (W.S.S.) Regiment. Captain Piper resigned from the W.S.S. to take up the position of Major of the 1st Michigan Sharpshooters. He was killed in action at the Battle of Spottsylvania Courthouse, May 13, 1864.
Company K was composed primarily of Native Americans of the United States, especially members of the Ojibwa

Anishinaabe

Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...

, Odawa

Odawa people

The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...

, and Potawatomi

Potawatomi

The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...

 nations.

The regiment was mustered out of service on July 28, 1865.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered 6 officers and 131 enlisted men who were killed in action or mortally wounded and 165 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 362
fatalities.

Commanders

• Colonel
  Colonel
  Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
  
   Charles Victor DeLand held nominal command of the regiment from its initial muster until his discharge for disability, on 4 February 1865. Because of wounds, incarceration as a POW, hospitalization, and brief stints as brigade commander, he spent only a portion of this time in active command. DeLand was promoted to Brevet
  Brevet (military)
  In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
  
   Brigadier General for "for faithful, gallant, and meritorious service" on 14 March 1865.
• Captain (United States) Levant Rhines actively commanded the regiment from 14 May 1864 until killed in action, 17 June 1864. He was posthumously promoted to major.
• Captain Elmer Dicey actively commanded the regiment from Rhine’s death until 15 July 1864. He also commanded the regiment during the battle of the Crater, 30 July 1864, during which he was captured.
• Captain George Murdock actively commanded the regiment from 30 September 1864, when Colonel DeLand was wounded and captured, until November 1864. He resigned on 12 December 1864. Murdock was promoted to Brevet Major on 4 December 1864.
• Major
  Major
  Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
  
   Asahel Nichols actively commanded the regiment from 12 November 1864 until February 1865, when he assumed full command. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
  Lieutenant colonel
  Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
  
   in March, and remained in command until 2 April 1865, when he was seriously wounded. He was promoted to Brevet Colonel for his “conspicuous gallantry” that day.
• Several officers briefly commanded the regiment during the ensuing battle on 2 April 1865, among them, Captain James DeLand, and Captain Levant Case, who assumed command after DeLand was wounded. Both men were promoted to Brevet Major for their actions that day.
• Captain (later Brevet Major) Ira Evans commanded the regiment from 3 April until 27 April 1865.
• Major and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Buckbee commanded the regiment from 27 April until the Sharpshooters mustered out, 28 July 1865.

See also

• List of Michigan Civil War Units
• Michigan in the American Civil War
  Michigan in the American Civil War
  Michigan made a substantial contribution to the Union during the American Civil War. While far removed from the fighting in the war, Michigan supplied a large number of troops and several generals, including George Armstrong Custer. When, at the beginning of the war, Michigan was asked to supply no...
  
  
• Western Sharpshooters Regiment
  66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
  The 66th Illinois Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment originally known as "Birge's Western Sharpshooters" and later as the "Western Sharpshooters-14th Missouri Volunteers", was a specialized regiment of infantry sharpshooters that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-...