The 6th 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 6th 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:...

 at Kalamazoo, Michigan

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 mustered into Federal service for a three-year enlistment on August 20, 1861.

The regiment was converted to the 6th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Heavy Artillery

6th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Heavy Artillery

The 6th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Heavy Artillery was an artillery regimentthat served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:...

 on June 10, 1863, by the order of Major General Nathaniel Banks for distinguished service in the Siege of Port Hudson

Siege of Port Hudson

The Siege of Port Hudson occurred from May 22 to July 9, 1863, when Union Army troops assaulted and then surrounded the Mississippi River town of Port Hudson, Louisiana, during the American Civil War....

.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered 2 officers and 76 enlisted men who were killed in action or motally wounded and 6 officers and 498 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 582
fatalities.