Milford’s first physician, Dr. Henry Foote answered the call for volunteers in 1861. He entered the war with the 5th Michigan Calvary and served as the regiment’s surgeon. In 1863, he died of pneumonia. Dr. Foote was a Whig and thence a Republican and always an ardent anti-slavery man. His son Charles went on to become an active member in anti-slavery organizations in Michigan and New York.

Stone Rowe House • HighlandCopeland House • Orchard LakePine Grove-Moses Wisner House • PontiacHenry Foote House • MilfordHunter House • Birmingham

It was in the early morning hours and nearly 1,000 miles from Oakland County when the first shot of the Civil War was fired on April 12, 1861.

Yet the people of Oakland County were well aware of the clouds that had gathered over a divided nation. Many different causes for the War of the Rebellion have been put forth, but mostly it all comes down to a single issue – slavery. For years, much of Oakland County had active routes and “stations” along the Underground Railroad. “Station masters” would risk prison and loss of their property if caught harboring or aiding runaway slaves seeking freedom in Canada; yet these citizens defied the law to gain the freedom of others. When war did come, the residents of Oakland County continued to give above and beyond. They were among the first troops to reach Washington, D.C. prompting President Lincoln to say, “Thank God for Michigan!”

“To the sounds of musketry and tap of the drum.”

Local townsfolk and farmers fed an historic meal to 1,000 Civil War soldiers arriving to catch a train from Holly to Detroit.In 1864, a special town meeting

was held to vote on whether to raise

bonds to pay $100 to each Civil

War volunteer or drafted man from

Groveland Township. 150 votes

were cast. 126 Yes to 24 No.

When it became difficult for freedom seekers to cross the Detroit River in Wayne County, abolitionists and Underground Railroad conductors in Southeastern

Michigan utilized alternative routes through Oakland, Macomb, and St. Clair Counties to transport them to freedom in Canada. Oakland County’s Quaker Settlement and Nathan Power of Farmington, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church and Reverand James S.T. Milligan of Southfield extended helping hands to former enslaved African Americans.

Cap from 1st Michigan LightArtillery, Battery C

(reproduction)

This map is a work in progress and is by no means comprehensive. Please share with us your ideas by contacting us at planninggroup@oakgov.com.

Early Civil War cartridge box and Minié ball maker, circa 1861. Minié ball is a

type of muzzle-loading spin-stabilizing rifle bullet named after its codeveloper, Claude Etienne Minié, inventor of the Minié rifle. It came to prominence in the Crimean War and American Civil War.

Memorial Day reunion and celebration for the members of the GAR Frank Powell Post 187, Oxford. The post was named for Oxford’s Captain Frank Powell of the 14th Michigan Infantry Regiment.

Moses Wisner, Michigan’s 2nd republican governor and an ardent abolitionist, organized and then commanded Michigan’s 22nd Infantry Regiment. The 22nd was mostly Oakland County volunteers that enlisted in their own communities and traveled to the muster site at the Fairgrounds in Pontiac, a stone’s throw from Wisner’s famed abode, Pine Grove mansion. The 22nd Regiment would go down in history as having suffered some of the most significant losses in the battle at Chickamauga. Those who weren’t killed, suffered in southern prisons. Moses Wisner died of typhoid fever en route to the first battle. General Heber LeFavour took command for the remainder of the war. Milford’s GAR post is named for him.

Ivory handled utensils found at Gettysburg, PA

A Special Thank You To:

Melissa Luginski, Primary Field Researcher & EditorRochelle Danquah, Vice Chair-Michigan Freedom Trail Commission; Primary UGRR Research, Writer, & Editor Civil War Artifacts Courtesy of:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11~ Michael & Ellen Zehnder, Clarkston6 ~ Jerry Radloff, Bloomfield Hills7~ Marea Ehlers, Troy8, 9, 10, ~ Pine Grove Historical Museum, Pontiac12 ~ Thomas Richey, Sylvan Lake13 ~ Peter Glendinning & The Michigan Capitol Committee

65 Michigan soldiers received a Civil War Medal of Honor

Sgt. John Menter of Franklin, MI in the 5th Michigan Infantry Regiment,

Company D received one for his capture of flag at Sailor’s Creek, VA

on April 6, 1865.

1

2

6

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ElizaSeamanLeggett

5

May 1865Silas and George Bullard, 4th Michigan Cavalry Regiment, were among 14 men chosen for the squad sent to pursue Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy as he attempted his escape. Once captured, Silas rode up to Davis and asked “Mr. Davis, you won’t be needing this horse anymore, why not give him to me?” When an aide to Davis objected to Bullard speaking to the president in that manner, Bullard answered, “Heck, what’s he president of?” The Bullard brothers later shared in a large reward.

Sharp boot pistol

Boot pistol

3

T -124 RichmondConfederate spurs12

11

8

Contributions of Photographs, Letters and Information: Addison Township Library • Archives of Michigan • Auburn Hills Historical Society • Berkley Historical Commission • Birmingham Historical Society • Bloomfield Historical Society • Clarkston Historical Society • Kim Crawford, Clarkston • Al Eicher, Civil War in Michigan Lecturer • Ferndale Historical Society • Franklin Historical Society • Friends of the Banks-Dolbeer Farmhouse • John McGarry, Garner Descendant • Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society • Heritage and History Center in Farmington Hills • Highland Historical Society • Holly Township Library • Michigan Freedom Trail Commission • Milford Historical Society • Monroe County Historical Museum Archives • Orville G. Mumford, Detroit • Novi Historical Commission • Oak Grove Cemetery • Oakland Township Historical Society • Oakland County Historical Commission • Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society • Orion Historical Society • Ortonville Historical Society • Oxford American Legion • Oxford Historical Society • Donna Pauline • Rochester Historical Society • Rochester Historical Commission • Rose Township Historical Society • Royal Oak Public Library • Troy Museum • Waterford Historical Society • White Lake Historical Society • Dave Walls, Springfield • White Lake Public Library • Wixom Museum

Hardtack was a biscuit made of flour with other simple ingredients, and issued to

Union soldiers throughout the war. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HARDTACK RECIPE2 cups of flour½ to¾ cup water1 tablespoon of vegetable oil6 pinches of salt Mix the ingredients together into a stiff batter, knead several times, and spread the dough out flat to a thickness of ½ inch on a non-greased cookie sheet. Bake for one-half hour at 400o F. Remove from oven, cut dough into 3-inch squares, and punch four rows of holes, four holes per row into the dough. Turn dough over, return to the oven and bake another one-half hour. Turn oven off and leave the door closed. Leave the hardtack in the oven until cool.

Letter from 1864 - Orion

Husband I will write a few lines to let you no we air all

well, yet I don't get any letters from you so I have no news

to rite only to tell you of the snow here. the snow is two

or more feet deep so I can't see the woods from the house.

I tell you I have my hands full to tend to the chores and

wood. Got your letter but did not do as you wanted dun

with the calves. They are auful , I have got to doctor

them.

I can't tell you a thing for I dont know whair you air in

this world or in another. Oh what misery it dos give me

when I don't get any letters. I dream, I can't rest. Oh if

I could here that this awful war was dun. I no you have

dun your shar down thair. I wish we could trade places.

Rite if you can, tell the reason you don't.

- Saphronia to Martin At the time this letter was written, Martin Payne was in Andersonville Prison. He never made it home. Martin died of deplorable conditions at Andersonville Prison, as did many other Oakland County soldiers.

Oakland County Civil War

Civil War Medal of Honor

9

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Sarah Emma Edmonds had already decided to disguise herself as a man named Franklin Thompson when she showed up at the Pratt Farm in Rose Township selling bibles and offering to lend a hand with the farm chores. Pratt’s daughter later recalled ‘her features were almost too course to be those of a woman and too fine for a man’. With the outbreak of the Civil War, she (Franklin Thompson) announced her intention of enlisting in the Union Army and left the farm. Her service as a Union soldier, nurse, dispatch rider, and alleged spy constitute one of the most remarkable stories in the annals of U.S. military history.

Major Newcom Clark, Oxford resident and Lake Orion teacher, became the commander of the 102nd Regiment U.S. Colored Troops, which included the 1st Michigan Colored Infantry Regiment. It was formed in 1864 and was made up of freed men and escaped slaves from across the state. The 102nd joined with the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment and fought through out the south firmly establishing colored troops as skilled and reliable infantry men.

22nd Michigan Infantry Regiment Flag

Elizabeth Denison Forth (1780s-1866) was born into slavery in Macomb County, Michigan. She gained her freedom in Canada and returned in 1825. Investments in stocks and real estate allowed her to purchase 48.5 acres in Pontiac. Part of what was once Forth’s property became Oak Hill Cemetery.

L. Brooks Patterson, County Executive

1. Otto Berger House2. George Van Every House3. Robert C. Kyle House4. Civil War Era Church5. Christopher Klein House6. James Trott House7. William H. Clemmons House8. Henry Cox House9. Joseph Ferguson House10. Henry Cox Dispensary11. Monument at Franklin Cemetery12. John M. Brown House

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Romany Way

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Kinchen Artis, soldier

in the 102nd Regiment

U.S. Colored Troops

Johnny Clem, Drummer Boy for the 22nd Michigan Infantry Regiment, wouldn’t take no for an answer. At age 12 and living in Ohio, he tried to join the Michigan Regiment and was denied; he decided to tag along anyway. Eventually he was adopted as mascot and drummer boy and fellow soldiers pitched in to pay him a soldier’s wage. When he was captured in Georgia in 1863, the Confederate newspapers used his age and celebrity to show “what sore straits the Yankees are driven, when they have to send their babies out to fight us.”

Many believed the Birmingham Civil War Monument was erected by the citizens of Royal Oak, Bloomfield, Southfield, and Troy townships. However, records show only one man paid for the monument, which now sits near the Birmingham City Hall. Hugh Irving was the father of William Irving, the first to enlist and first to die. Sighting a cannon, William was struck in the forehead and killed instantly. Hugh went south to find his body and after a long and agonizing search he found his son’s remains. He brought his dead son home and buried him in the family plot at Greenwood Cemetery.

Major John Knox was gravely wounded and left for dead as a bullet passed through his neck and throat in Fair Oaks, VA. He opened the Knox School for Freedmen in Athens, GA and also served as a commissioner in Indian Affairs.

In 1861, citizens of

Troy Township gathered

at the Baptist church and

pledged to provide each

member of the Pontiac

Guard with a revolver.

In 1863, Jon Stevens of Pontiac stormed the Rebels at Fort Wagner with the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. He, along with 330 other colored Union soldiers, fell in the battle depicted in the closing scene of the movie Glory. Only 12 Confederate deaths were reported. In 1863, Reuben Chapman

of Waterford was taken

prisoner in the Battle of

Chickamauga. Due to

illness he was discharged

and returned home.

White Lake hosted an anti-slavery lecture by Henry Bibb, former freedom seeker.

Kensington hosted an anti-

slavery lecture by Henry Bibb,

former freedom seeker.

Novi hosted an anti-slavery lecture by Henry Bibb, former freedom seeker.

Pontiac hosted an anti-slavery lecture by Henry Bibb, former freedom seeker.

Brothers Hamlin and William Delling served with the Stanton Guards and were tasked with guarding Confederate officers at the Fort on Mackinac Island.

See Franklin Inset Map

Underground Railroad

Currency during the Civil War

Eliza Seaman Leggett, a well known abolitionist from Waterford, was friends with Sojourner Truth and Laura Haviland. Eliza’s home -“Willows”- once located on Walton Boulevard is a rumored stop on the Underground Railroad. In 2003, she was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

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Civil War Related CemeteryCivil War MonumentCivil War Related StructureUnderground Railroad Historical MarkerUnderground Railroad Site-DocumentedUnderground Railroad Site-LoreRailroad circa 1862Road circa 1872Modern Lakes & RiversGeographic Township

Map Created on March 17, 2011

Civil War Related Information or Notable Person

0 1 2 3

Mileso

James Rowe’s stately Greek Revival family

home made of stone still stands quietly on

Lone Tree Road in Highland Township. Its

possible use as a stop on the Underground

Railroad is the subject of local lore. Rowe

enlisted at the outbreak of the Civil War.

He was wounded twice in Virginia. Rowe

served under General George Custer at

Gettysburg and wrote home that Custer

was one of the finest cavalry officers.

Henry Howland Crapo owned lumberyards in

Holly, Fenton, and Flint and was instrumental

in the construction of the Flint and Holly

Railroad. He also served as a Michigan state

senator from 1863-1864 and governor of

Michigan from 1865-1868.

Legend

This map is not about the Civil War; rather it is about the people of Oakland County during the Civil War. It is the story of how the people

of Oakland County responded collectively and individually to one of the most perilous times in our nation’s history. It is about how 10 percent of its populous would volunteer to fight for the rights and freedom of others, but it is also about the 90 percent who supported this effort from the home front; the shared sacrifices collectively borne by the families of those who

enlisted. It is about how citizens collectively supported one another and their soldiers. These are but a few examples of the rich heritage of Oakland County and her people that awaits you. We encourage you to use the map to locate those special places that can connect you with this history and to embark on your own exploration of the Civil War and the history that is uniquely Oakland County.

1861•1865"Thank God for Michigan!"

-President Lincoln-

LegendUnderground Railroad Historical MarkerUnderground Railroad - LoreUnderground Railroad - Documented

This map of Underground Railroad sites in Oakland County is only a sampling and does not include all possible locations and individuals in the county involved in the movement. Further research should continue to consistently update the information. It should be used for educational purposes only.

To Canada

To Canada

To Detroit

The Grand Army of the Republic

(GAR) was a fraternal organization

composed of veterans of the Union Army

who had served in the American Civil War.

Draft Exemption Flyer

10

President A. Lincoln

Troy

West Bloomf eld

Captain A. Matthews Major E. Coates

Captain M. Elliot

Holly Clarkston

Major J. Knox

Oxford

Colonel N. Clark

Orchard Lake

General J. Copeland

Detroit

General H. LeFavour

Pontiac

Colonel M. Wisner

Pontiac

Brig. G

en. I. Richardson

Troy

Brig. Gen. S. Matthews

Troy

General L. Trowbridge

Pontiac

Colonel S. Beach

Orchard Lake

Colonel J. Rogers

Springf eld

Major M. Hickey

Highland

Captain T. Lockwood

Birmingham

Captain J. Bigelow

• Union Military Organization •• Army •

Named for the rivers near which they operated16 on the Union side and 23 on the Confederate side

i• Corps •

36,000 men commanded by a major generali

• Division •12,000 men commanded by a

brigadier general or a major generali

• Brigade • 4,000 men commanded by a brigadier general

i• Regiment •

1,000 men commanded by acolonel, lt. colonel, and major

i• Company •

100 men commanded by a captain

CavalryTroops trained

to fight on horseback

InfantrySoldiers whofight on foot

with small arms

ArtillerySoldiers who

fight with cannons

iii

These were the five main regiments of which Oakland County men belonged. However, a few Oakland County soldiers

enlisted in other regiments from Michigan.

1st

MichiganCavalry

Regiment

i4th

MichiganCavalry

Regiment

i5th

MichiganCavalry

Regiment

i22nd

MichiganInfantry Regiment

i102nd

Regiment U.S. Colored

Troops

i

Henry Bibb gave several lectures about anti-slavery throughout Oakland County.

Oakland County Civil War Officers

8th MI Battery 22nd MI Infantry 8th MI Cavalry 5th MI Infantry 102nd U.S. CT 5th MI Cavalry 22nd MI Infantry 22nd MI Infantry 2nd MI Infantry 5th MI Infantry 5th MI Cavalry 5th MI Infantry 5th MI Cavalry 5th MI Cavalry 9th MI Cavalry 5th MI Cavalry

Farmington Royal Oak

Pontiac

Springfield

Milford

OxfordHolly

Silas Bullard

Dominos from the time period

4

Union belt buckle

From the Letters of Harold J. Bartlett - Clarkston, Michigan1st Michigan Light Artillery, Battery D

13

Franklin Inset Map