The 2nd 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 2nd Michigan Infantry was organized by Francis William Kellogg

Francis William Kellogg

Francis William Kellogg was a U.S. Representative from the states of Michigan and Alabama.-Biography:...

 and others at Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

. It mustered into Federal service for a three-year enlistment on May 25, 1861. Another key early supporter and recruiter was future general Israel B. Richardson

Israel B. Richardson

Israel Bush Richardson was a United States Army officer during the Mexican-American War and American Civil War, where he was a major general in the Union Army...

.

The regiment included Sarah Emma Edmonds (aka "Franklin Thompson") who had enlisted in company F disguised as a man. Anna Etheridge

Anna Etheridge

Lorinda Anna "Annie" Blair Etheridge was a Union nurse and vivandière who served during the American Civil War. She was one of only two women to receive the Kearny Cross....

 served as the regimental vivandiere

Vivandière

Vivandière may refer to:*Vivandière a generic name for women attached to military regiments*La Vivandière, a ballet choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon.*La Vivandière , an 1867 musical play by W. S. Gilbert...

.

The regiment was mustered out on August 1, 1865, at Detroit.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered 11 officers and 214 enlisted men who were killed in action or mortally wounded and 4 officers and 143 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 372
fatalities.