An Account of Oakland County / edited by Lillian Drake Avery.

CHAPTER V

MILITARY MATTERS
A LTHOUGH the Mexican war was the first conflict to engage
the attentions of the people of Oakland as a county, there lies
buried within its boundaries thirty-one soldiers who fought in the
Revolution, and their final resting places have been to a large extent
marked by the Daughters of the American Revolution. These men
came to Michigan after the independence of the Colonies had been
won from England, and formed a part of the pioneer vanguard in
this country. The same is true of Oakland county in the War of 1812
as in the Revolution. There was no county of Oakland at that time,
and while much of the fighting of that war occurred in southeastern
Michigan, the effect of it on this particular region was indirect. So
far as can be determined there were sixteen soldiers of that war who
settled in Oakland county after it was over.
Mexican War: The declaration of war with Mexico in April,
1847, found the people of this county eager and ready to aid in the
punishment of an arrogant country. Company A, Fifteenth United
States Infantry, was composed of men of this county. The enlisted
personnel numbered a hundred, nearly half of whom enlisted under
Lieut. Samuel E. Beach in Pontiac. The first captain was Eugene
Van de Venter, who was succeeded in December, 1847, by Thornton
F. Brodhead. William R. Strafford was first lieutenant and Samuel
E. Beach, second lieutenant, Beach having been promoted to first
lieutenant for:meritorious service at Contreras and Churubusco.
Others who served the company as officers were Edwin R. Merryfield,
Lewellyn Boyle and Charles Peternell, second lieutenants, and Thomas
W. Freelove, first lieutenant.
Company A campaigned in Mexico, fighting at Contreras, Vera
Cruz, Chapultepec, and Churubusco, and other minor engagements,
and suffered a large number of casualties, record of which is made
in previous publications. The entire history of Oakland county in
the Mexican war was one of high honor, and reflected credit upon
it throughout the state.
Civil War: The War of the Rebellion stands unique in the annals
of military conflicts in the world's history inasmuch as it has been
the only war by which both the conquerors and the vanquished benefited. Not only were men of Oakland county found on every hardfought field of that great struggle, but the civilians at home covered
themselves with glory by the manner in which they raised money for
war purposes and relief measures.
The amount of money raised by this county totaled $586,556.98,
a sum exceeded by but one county in the state, Wayne, which had a
much larger population. The Soldiers' Relief law authorized the