Michigan and Slavery
An estimated 12 million Africans were forced
across the Atlantic Ocean between 1450 and 1808, the year the United States
outlawed "importing slaves" from Africa. The men who drafted the United States
Constitution debated about slavery and the legal status of enslaved people. The
Constitution they wrote viewed enslaved people as property. But there were
people—enslaved and free Africans, African Americans and European Americans—who
challenged the idea that anyone could be considered property. They sought either
to keep slavery from growing or to end it entirely.
Slavery was legal in the territory that would
become Michigan until the adoption of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787. Michigan
prohibited slavery when it adopted its first state constitution in 1835. The
people who resisted slavery by escaping to Michigan, or assisted those people
who had escaped, shaped communities and lives in a state that would soon send
thousands of its citizens into the bloodiest conflict in American history, in
part, to determine whether or not any person could be considered property, a
slave.
Before the Civil War, many
Michigan citizens helped slaves escape from the South, via the Underground
Railroad, a secret, often informal, organization of safe hiding places and
people willing to provide transportation between them. Michigan's Underground
Railroad stories document the lives of African Americans who escaped enslavement
in rural and urban communities in states including Missouri, Tennessee,
Louisiana, Arkansas, Virginia and Mississippi. A large number of them ran away
from Kentucky by themselves, in pairs and in groups of acquaintances or
families.
Those escaping slavery often used political and religious networks of African and European men and women, rather than specific routes. They traveled through places like Ohio, Indiana and Illinois on their way to Michigan. Most traveled by foot and/or wagons. Some made direct journeys from the South, while others spent short or longer times in communities along the way.
Antislavery activists used many strategies,
including public demonstration, challenging and changing the laws, forming
antislavery organizations or religious congregations, holding public meetings,
and speaking and writing against slavery. Through religious and/or political
affiliations, European American and legally free and formerly enslaved African
American women and men in Michigan often knew each other. They provided safe
places for African Americans who escaped slavery, food and sometimes clothing.
They helped create opportunities for the formerly enslaved to start new lives in
Michigan in tolerant communities.
Michigan has many Civil War heroines. Among them
were Quakers who worked in the Underground Railroad. Born a Quaker, Laura Smith
Haviland lived in Adrian and led escaped slaves to freedom in Canada. She was so
effective in her abolitionist activities and her work for the Underground
Railroad that Southern slave owners offered a $3,000 reward for her capture. She
and her family opened one of the first schools in Michigan to admit black boys
and girls. A historical marker stands at the Raisin Valley Friends Church in
Adrian where her father was the first pastor. Laura Haviland is buried in the
church cemetery.
Another Michigan Civil War heroine was Sojourner
Truth. Born a slave in New York in 1797, she was freed in 1828 and became an
advocate for abolition (making slavery illegal) and for woman suffrage (giving
women the right to vote). In 1856, she moved to Battle Creek. She traveled
throughout the nation preaching about emancipation and the rights of black
people and women.
While black and white communities did not always
live side-by side, they sometimes joined together to resist attempts of "slave
owners" to take formerly enslaved women and men back into slavery. In several
cases, they provided defense and protection against the men and women who
claimed ownership over African Americans who had escaped to Michigan. Their
tactics included confrontation, legal battles, writing and speaking about
slavery and the need to end it.
Civil
War
According to the 1860 U.S. census,
Michigan had a population of 749,113.
Although Michigan did not fight any battles on its soil, its soldiers fought in
practically every major battle and campaign during the American Civil
War.
Michigan made a substantial contribution to the
Union during the 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 more than four regiments, Governor Austin Blair (January 2, 1861 –
January 5, 1865) sent seven. Upon the arrival of Michigan's 1st volunteers in
Washington D.C. (known as Washington City at the time), May 16, 1861, they were
the first to arrive from a western state, prompting President Lincoln to remark,
"Thank God for Michigan!"
Colonel Willcox (later promoted to brevet
major-general) soon led the 1st Michigan Volunteers at the First Battle of Bull
Run (aka Manassas), Virginia, on July 21, 1861. During the conflict's initial
major engagement, WIllcox, while leading the 1st Michigan, was wounded and
captured during the repeated charges against the enemy's position. Because of
Willcox's action at Bull Run, he was awarded the Medal of Honor (in 1895), with
the following citation: At Bull Run, Va., 21 July 1861, "led repeated charges
until wounded and taken prisoner."
More than 90,000 Michigan men, nearly a quarter
of the state's male population in 1860, served in the war. In addition to the
approximately 600 men who joined the Union Navy, Michigan raised 36 regiments
and 7 companies infantry volunteers (including 1 regiment of Colored troops), 1
regiment of sharpshooters, 12 regiments and 2 companies of cavalry, 1 heavy
artillery regiment, 14 light artillery batteries, 1 engineer regiment, and
numerous small independent units. During the war, 4,007 officers were
commissioned; 2,067 left the state with regiments; 1,940 were promoted from the
ranks, except 10, who were appointed from the regular army, and a small number
were commissioned to recruit within the state.
Among the more celebrated units was the 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry, which, as a
part of the famed Iron
Brigade, suffered considerable losses at
the Battle of Gettysburg while defending McPherson's Ridge. George Armstrong
Custer's "Michigan Wolverine" Cavalry effectively battled J.E.B. Stuart at
Gettysburg on the East Cavalry Field. The 4th Michigan Cavalry, however, was
ordered to capture Confederate President Jefferson Davis in May of 1865.
Prior to
Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, Michigan Governor Austin Blair had
already committed Michigan's support to the Union cause. Blair, an ardent abolitionist and supporter of
the Union, pledged his state's commitment in his first inaugural address in
January of 1861:
"Secession is revolution, and revolution in the overt act is treason and
must be treated as such. It is a question of war that the seceding states have
to look in the face. They who think that this powerful government can be
disrupted peacefully have read history to no purpose. The sons of the men who
carried arms in the seven years war with the most powerful nation in the world, to establish this
government, will not hesitate to make equal sacrifices to maintain it." See also
Michigan and the American Civil War
(1861-1865).
No definite action was taken until word
was received of the firing on Sumter, followed by the first call for troops. The
news was as a trumpet call "to arms." Gov. Blair issued a proclamation April 16,
calling for ten companies of volunteers, and proceeded to Detroit to attend a
meeting held there that afternoon. Michigan's quota was one regiment of
infantry, to be fully clothed, armed and equipped, and it was estimated that
$100,000 would be necessary for this purpose. The treasury was comparatively
empty and the state was in no condition to meet the requirements promptly. This
being made known, a resolution was passed at the Detroit meeting, pledging the
city to a loan of $50,000 to the state, and calling upon the state for a like
amount. Those present pledged $23,000, and in a very short time $81,020 had been
subscribed. This enabled the state treasurer, "Hon. John Owen, to negotiate a
loan, chiefly from the state's own citizens, sufficient for the needs of the
hour, and this, together with all subsequent indebtedness of a like nature, was
assumed by the state."
"Michigan was enabled to respond promptly with
well-drilled troops, sending into the field during 1861, thirteen regiments of
infantry, three of cavalry, and five batteries of artillery, a total strength of
16,475 officers and men, besides thirteen companies, which had gone into service
in regiments of other states, having failed to find service in those of their
own. Ten of these regiments, one battery and one company had been partly armed
and wholly clothed and subsisted by the state. All these organizations were well
officered, Gov. Blair making careful selections in the face of tremendous
pressure for the appointment of men unfitted for the positions."
By July 1, 1862, 27,000 men had been enrolled in the state. This included the Lancer regiment, a particularly fine body of horsemen, principally from Canada, fully equipped with the exception of horses, and the "Chandler Horse Guard," a four-company battalion, fully equipped and mounted. These two organizations were not accepted by the government, and were disbanded before leaving the state. The enlistments without these two organizations numbered 25,734, including 2,028 recruits for organizations then in the field, an excess of several thousand over the state's proportion. African-Americans, known as colored troops, throughout the state actively displayed their dedication to war effort as well and in February of 1862 entered Federal service as the First Colored Infantry. They, like so many Michigan soldiers, played a vital role in the Union war effort working to disrupt Confederate supply lines in South Carolina and Florida.
Enlistments dragged after the disastrous
Peninsular Campaign (March - July 1862), and to stimulate the patriotism of the
people public meetings were held. One of these, held in Detroit July 15, 1862,
was disrupted by a mob, whose members drove every speaker and officer from the
stand, pursuing them into the Russell House and other places near by. "This
exhibition of treason aroused the lethargic spirit of the people" and a week
later an immense gathering was held, at which pledges of patriotism, means and
persistent support were given, and measures taken for recruiting the regiments.
Resolutions were adopted, favoring the raising of means, both by the city
government and by citizens; treason was roundly denounced; enthusiastic
addresses were made and loudly applauded by thousands of all conditions and
walks of life — acres of ground being crowded by patriotic people. Bounties of
from $10 to $30 were offered by individuals for enlistments in their respective
wards; one laboring man offered $50 towards raising half a company in his ward;
another offered $1 each to every man who enlisted from the city of
Detroit.
The
report of the adjutant-general at the close of 1862 indicated a total enrollment
of 45,569 troops since the beginning of the war. This did not include fully
1,400, known to have gone into regiments of other states, nor several hundred
who had gone into the regular army.
The
total number drafted during the fall and winter of 1863 was 6,383. Of these, 261
were sent to the rendezvous at Grand Rapids, 643 furnished substitutes (of whom
43 deserted), 1,626 paid $300 commutation money, 596 were exempted for physical
disability, 330 as aliens, 204 for unsuitableness of age, and 1,069 failed to
report. At the end of the year 1863 an aggregate of 53,749 had been mustered in.
The offer of the government to accept reenlistment of soldiers with the title of
"veteran" was accepted by 5,545 men. By Oct.
1864, this gave the state a total credit of 83,347 from the beginning of the
war.
In 1864,
the state was targeted by Southern sympathizers who had fled to Canada, that
place being a convenient rendezvous. The Confederate government sent paid
emissaries there for the purpose of fomenting trouble. Being on the border,
Michigan was continually threatened and found it necessary to be constantly on
guard against probable invasions. Several companies were kept on duty in and
about Detroit to guard the city from pillage and the torch, armed steam tugs
were continually occupied in patrolling the river, and a small force guarded the
arsenal at Dearborn, where were stored 35,000 stands of arms.
A party
of 4 men, led by Bennett G. Burley, boarded the passenger steamer Philo Parsons
at Detroit, for Sandusky, Sept. 19, 1864, and were joined at Sandwich and
Amherstburg, Canada, by 30 more. This party seized the boat shortly before
reaching Sandusky and the steamer Island Queen at Middle Bass island, and
announced their intention of capturing the U.S. war vessel Michigan, which was
guarding Johnson's island, on which were 3,000 Confederate prisoners. The Island
Queen was finally cast adrift. In the party was a Capt. Beall, who appeared to
be in command and who subsequently stated he was a Confederate officer. The
Parsons was afterwards steered towards Detroit, some of the passengers being put
ashore on American soil. The steamer was afterwards found at Sandwich. It also
transpired that Burley was commissioned an acting master in the Confederate
navy, and that an effort to get possession of the Michigan and liberate the
prisoners had been authorized by President Davis. "Burley was extradited and
tried in Ohio, the jury failing to agree as to the nature of the crime. Being
recommitted, he broke jail and fled the country, returning to Scotland, his
native land."
The success of the Union army during the fall of
1864 and the winter and spring of 1865 brought the war to a close and orders
were at once issued to cease recruiting and drafting. The adjutant-general's
department showed that Michigan had enlisted and drafted 90,747 men, though the
provost marshal-general gave credit for only 90,048. Of these, 1,661 were
colored, 145 were Indians, and 14,393 were foreign-born, "representing nearly
all countries of Northern Europe, France and French dominions, Spain and
Spanish-America. The amount paid by drafted citizens of Michigan as commutation
money was $594,600."
14,753 Michigan soldiers died in service
(including 623 at Andersonville Prison in Georgia). 4,448 of these deaths were
combat deaths while the majority, more than 9000, were from disease, a constant
fear in crowded army camps with poor food, sanitation and exposure issues and
pre-modern medicine. This put Michigan's loss at sixth highest among the Union
states (the non-state U.S. Colored Troops losses also exceeded
Michigan's).
In 1865, Governor Austin Blair, in one of
his final gestures as acting governor, established the Michigan Soldiers' and
Sailors' Monument Association in order to collect funds for a monument
commemorating Michigan's sailors and soldiers killed during the Civil War.
Voluntary subscriptions from citizens were collected and sculptor Randolph
Rogers, who had created similar Civil War commemorative monuments in Ohio and
Rhode Island, was chosen as the artist for the monument. The state's foremost
Civil War monument was unveiled on April 9, 1872. Attending the dedication were
Generals George Armstrong Custer, Philip H. Sheridan and Ambrose E.
Burnside.
Early in June, 1865, arrangements were made for
the reception of the returning troops and as they entered the state they were
taken in hand and substantially entertained. The use of the upper story of a
large freight house at Detroit was donated by the Michigan Central railroad and
fitted up as a dining room with a seating capacity of 2,000. From that time
until June 10, 1866, 19,510 Michigan and 3,506 Wisconsin troops were cared for
at that place. Similar arrangements had been made at Jackson and in the same
period of time 10,659 soldiers received the cordial, substantial reception
accorded those who rendezvoused at Detroit.
Gov. Henry Crapo (January 3, 1865 – January 6,
1869), who succeeded Blair, issued a proclamation on June 14, 1865, welcoming
and thanking the returning Michigan troops. In conclusion he said:
"We are proud in believing that when the history
of this rebellion shall have been written, where all have done so well, none
will stand higher on the roll of fame than the officers and soldiers sent to the
field from the loyal and patriotic state of Michigan."
Care of the Wounded and Sick
Michigan's part in the care of suffering
soldiers was a creditable one. Her surgeons were ready at all times to meet the
exigencies of the times and many of her own soldiers, as well as those of other
states, owed their lives to the promptness and solicitude shown by her medical
men and the agents appointed by the governor. The legislature of 1863
appropriated $20,000 for the work, and in 1865 an additional sum of $25,000.
Gen. Joseph K. Barnes was appointed surgeon-general, and his selection proved to
be a happy one. After the battle of Gettysburg, the surgeons, with their
assistants, left for the scene, with a quantity of sanitary stores, prepared in
large part by the women of the state. No distinction was made in treating the
wounded, the wounded Confederate also receiving careful attention. After the
engagement at Perryville in 1862, several thousand sick and wounded Confederates
were in the hospitals at Harrodsburg, Ky. Surgeon William H. DeCamp of the Mich,
engineers and mechanics was detailed as medical director, in charge of all the
hospitals at that point, and his attitude was such as to elicit the voluntary
written thanks of the surgeons of the Confederacy in attendance.
The Michigan Soldiers' Relief
Association of Washington, D.C, is said to have been the first to commence its
work in the field at the east and the last to cease, beginning as it did in the
autumn of 1861 and continuing until Sept., 1866. This association was formed by
Michigan people at the capital, with Hon. James M. Edmunds president, Dr. H. J.
Alvord, secretary, and Z. Moses, treasurer. Membership assessments were
necessary at first, but as soon as its organization and aims became known to the
people of the state, contributions began to pour in until they had aggregated
$24,902.24. In the trying period of Grant's great battles, when sickness and
wounds were the greatest, the association established the famous Michigan soup
house at City Point, which relieved the suffering of thousands, regardless of
state. It followed closely in the wake of the Army of the Potomac in its
Peninsular Campaign, found plenty to command its attention after the second Bull
Run and the various engagements which filled the hospitals at Washington,
Baltimore and Fortress Monroe, and later at Alexandria, Frederick City,
Annapolis, New York and Philadelphia In 1863, after the campaign in Maryland and
Pennsylvania, including bloody Gettysburg, and in 1864, following the battles of
the Wilderness and Spottsylvania, and the operations about Richmond and
Petersburg, the hospitals were filled. The necessities were great, but the
association met them with the aid of the Christian and U.S. sanitary
commissions. In the later days of the war a home was established in Washington,
where the wounded and sick, passing through the city, were given shelter. For
many days the bread consumed averaged over 300 loaves daily, and imperfect
records showed over 8,000 names of those furnished one or more meals. At the
conclusion of the active campaign of Sherman's army, Michigan regiments, quartered at and near
Washington, were supplied with vegetables, pickles, bread and tobacco. See also
Michigan and the American Civil War
(1861-1865)
Aftermath
After the
conflict, Lansing, the capital, was so designed as to give a special
military museum, and in a large, commodious room may be found Michigan's
battleflags, in regimental order, in vertical cases of novel construction in the
center of the apartment, reaching almost to the ceiling and of heavy plate
glass. Other cases ranged about the walls contain many interesting relics,
including Confederate flags captured by the regiments. A Roll of Honor was
prepared under a resolution of the state legislature in 1869. It was completed
in 1872 and contains the names of all citizens of Michigan who had fallen in
battle, or died in consequence of wounds received during the war, or who had
died in southern prisons or hospitals. The roll shows 14,855 names, engrossed on
English parchment and required two years time on the part of John Radiger. It is
in two volumes, bound in Russia leather, with ornamental brass trimmings and
fastenings.
Michigan's timber and mining industries were
expanded under the control of large Eastern corporations and their output rose
dramatically during Reconstruction.
After the war, the local economy
became more varied and began to prosper. The Upper Peninsula proved to be a rich
source of lumber, iron, and copper. Michigan led the nation in lumber production
from the 1850s to the 1880s. Railroads became a major engine of growth from the
1850s onward, with Detroit the chief hub. During the 1870s, the lumber industry,
dairy farming and diversified industry grew rapidly in the state. Michigan's
population, consequently, doubled between 1870 and
1890.
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