{{Infobox military unit , unit_name= 16th Michigan Infantry Regiment , image=Flag of Michigan.svg , image_size = 100 , caption=Michigan state flag , dates= July, 1861 to July 8, 1865 , country=

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Infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

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Battle of Second Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

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Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

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The 16th Michigan Infantry Regiment was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

that served in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Service

The 16th Michigan Infantry was organized as T.B.W. Stockton's Independent Regiment at

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and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

between July and September, 1861. Among the soldiers in the 16th was future Michigan state politician Henry H. Aplin. It was mustered into U.S. service as the 16th Regiment, Michigan Volunteer Infantry on Sept. 8, 1861 with an enrollment of 761 officers and men. The Regiment left Detroit for Washington, D.C., on Sept. 16, 1861 to join Butterfield's Brigade, Fitz John Porter's Division,

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

. It went into camp at Hall's Hill,

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, Defences of Washington, D.C., for the winter of 1861–62.

Gettysburg

At the

on the second day they defended

Little Round Top Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—the companion to the adjacent, taller hill named Big Round Top. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left ...

against a determined Confederate attack aimed at flanking the Union Army. They were one of four regiments, of the 3rd brigade, of the 1st Division of the

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

of the Union Army of the Potomac. The 3rd brigade was commanded by Col.

Strong Vincent Strong Vincent (June 17, 1837 – July 7, 1863) was a lawyer who became famous as a United States Army, U.S. Army officer during the American Civil War. He was mortally wounded while leading his brigade during the fighting at Little Round Top ...

. It consisted of the 16th Michigan, the 44th New York, the 83rd Pennsylvania, and the

20th Maine The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment was a volunteer regiment of the United States Army ( Union Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), most famous for its defense of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pennsylvan ...

, placed in that order right to left, with the 16th at the right end closest to the rest of the Union Army, and the 20th Maine at the left end, the actual end of the entire Union Army at Gettysburg. The 3rd brigade arrived at Little Round Top only minutes before the Confederate attack. The 16th Michigan bore repeated attacks from the 4th and 5th Texas. The 16th was the smallest regiment in the brigade, with only 263 men. Several times Vincent successfully rallied the 16th Michigan to repel the Texas charge. Vincent was mortally wounded during one Texas charge and died on July 7, after receiving a deathbed promotion to brigadier general. Before the Michiganders could be overrun, reinforcements arrived in the form of the 140th New York and a battery of four guns— Battery D, 5th U.S. Artillery. The 140th New York took position immediately to the right of the 16th Michigan. The 16th Michigan remained in position on Little Round Top for the rest of the Battle of Gettysburg.

End of Service

The regiment was mustered out of service on July 8, 1865.

Total strength and casualties

The regiment suffered 12 officers and 235 enlisted men who were killed in action or mortally wounded and 143 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 390 fatalities.http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unmiinf2.htm#16th The Civil War Archive website after Dyer, Frederick Henry. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 3 vols. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.

Original field staff

*Colonel Thomas B. Stockton of

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

, age not available *Lt. Colonel John V. Reuhle of Detroit, Michigan, age not available *Major Norval E. Welch of

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, 26 *Surgeon Isaac Wixam of Argentine, Michigan, 58 *Asst. Surgeon William H. Butler of

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, 36 *Adjutant Thomas E. Morris of

East Saginaw, Michigan East Saginaw was a city in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is now part of the city of Saginaw. History Much of the area that later became East Saginaw was granted by treaty to James Reilly, the Métis son of fur trader Stephen V. ...

, 26 *Quartermaster Miner S. Newell of

Flushing, Michigan Flushing is a city in Genesee County, Michigan, Genesee County, Michigan, United States. The population was 8,411 at the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census. Flushing is considered a suburb of Flint, Michigan, Flint. It is situated within the ...

, 32 *Chaplain William H. Brockway of Plymouth, Michigan, 48

Notes

References

The Civil War Archive
Units and formations of the Union army from Michigan 1865 disestablishments in Michigan 1861 establishments in Michigan Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865