History of Saginaw county, Michigan; together with ... portraits ... and biographies ... History of Michigan ...

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HISTORY OF SAGINAW COUNTY.

MILITARY ORGANIZATION IN 1864.
The enlistment of troops continued through 1864. From Jan. 1
to Oct. 31 no less than 821 men were enlisted. Forty-three who
volunteered immediately, prior to Jan. 1, that year, bring up the
credits of the county for the first ten months of 1864 to 864, aggregating 1,905 troops since the beginning of the war. Of the 821
troops referred to, 634 volunteered, 26 were drafted, 153 were reenlisted veterans, and 8 entered the navy. Again, 40 enlisted for
one year, and 781 for three years' service. From Sept. 19, 1863,
to Oct. 1, 1864, 396 men enlisted for one year, 613 for three years,
756 enlisted in the army, 153 veterans re-enlisted, 8 entered the
navy, 75 drafted men commuted, and 28 were drafted. The 29th
Mich. Inf. was mustered into service at Saginaw, Oct. 3, 1864.
Tlhe proclamation of the President, calling for 300,000 volunteers, was issued Dec. 19, 1864. The quota assigned to Saginaw
under the call was 130, while the enrollment was so high as 2,160.
THE CLOSE OF THE DRAMA.
The number of Saginaw volunteers who went into the Union
army from Nov. 1, 1864, to the period when recruiting ceased,
April 14, 1865, was 134, of whom 115 volunteered and 19 responded
to the diraft. These figures show an aggregate representation
of Saginaw soldiers in the Union army of 1,154 men, all enlisting between Sept. 19, 1863, to April 14, 1865, which number,
witli 885 enlistments credited the cointy previous to Sept., 1863,
show a grand military representation of 2,039 men, or aboult oneforty-fourth of all the troops furnished by the State of Michigan
from April 17, 1861, to April 14, 1865. Throughout the brilliant
campaions which marked the progress of the terrific struggle there
is scarcely a black letter in the record of the troops furnished by
this county. Few desertions, unexcelled bravery, and magnificent
endurance marked their service throughout.
A review of the military affairs in which these troops participated, and in which so many of them won the soldier's crown,
would necessarily take in every field, whether contested in Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee,
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Missouri.
Following down the regimental rosters, from those of the first
engineers and mechanics to the most recently organized military
company, one is forcibly reminded not only of the endurilg quality of the Union soldier, but also of that terrible sacrifice which he
was willing to make in defense of the Union.
All the sacrifices made, all the dangers passed through, were not
in vain. The country survives its great losses in that war, and
though her sons who fell in defense of thle Union cannot be restored to this world, the memory of them lives on, and will forever
live, to inspire the present with a full sense of all that liberty is
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