What do you think?
Rate this book
Michigan and the Civil War: A Great and Bloody Sacrifice
Michigan undertook a rapid and robust response to Lincoln's call to arms during the Civil War and in many of its great battles. Read the much overlooked history in this volume.
With lively narration, telling anecdotes, and vivid battlefield accounts, Michigan and the Civil War tells the story as never before of Michigan's heroic contributions to saving the Union. Beginning with Michigan's antebellum period and anti-slavery heritage, the book proceeds through Michigan's rapid response to President Lincoln's call to arms, its participation in each of the War's greatest battles, portrayal of its most interesting personalities, and the concluding triumph as Custer corners Lee at Appomattox and the 4th Michigan Cavalry apprehends the fleeing Jeff Davis. Based on thorough and up-to-date research, the result is surprising in its breadth, sometimes awe-inspiring, and always a revelation given how contributions by the Great Lake State in the Civil War are too often overlooked, even by its own citizens.
With lively narration, telling anecdotes, and vivid battlefield accounts, Michigan and the Civil War tells the story as never before of Michigan's heroic contributions to saving the Union. Beginning with Michigan's antebellum period and anti-slavery heritage, the book proceeds through Michigan's rapid response to President Lincoln's call to arms, its participation in each of the War's greatest battles, portrayal of its most interesting personalities, and the concluding triumph as Custer corners Lee at Appomattox and the 4th Michigan Cavalry apprehends the fleeing Jeff Davis. Based on thorough and up-to-date research, the result is surprising in its breadth, sometimes awe-inspiring, and always a revelation given how contributions by the Great Lake State in the Civil War are too often overlooked, even by its own citizens.
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2011
31 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Jack Dempsey
7 books1 followerI am an avid historian, former President of the Michigan Historical Commission and Michigan Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee, and award-winning author. My writing focuses on the Civil War, the history of Michigan, and its cultural heritage. My book presentations have been featured at The Henry Ford, the Historical Society of Michigan, the Kerrytown Book Fest, historical museums, public libraries, Civil War Round Tables, in schools, and on public television and radio. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Michigan State University and a law degree from George Washington University. My wife, Suzzanne, and I live in Plymouth Township, Michigan.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 29, 2024
If you're looking for stories about Michigan veterans
I am fascinated by the Civil War era, in part because of my career as a journalist covering religious and cultural diversity. The American Civil War is as crucial as World War II and the Holocaust in understanding America's complex history of wrestling with our nation's defining diversity. Plus, my own family members served in the Union army. In addition, I worked for 35 years as a writer and editor for The Detroit Free Press, which played a tragic role in the years leading up to the Civil War. And, now, as the co-founder of a publishing house myself, we created the popular book, Thirty Days with Abraham Lincoln—because Lincoln's wisdom in that era remains as timely as ever.
So, I've been invested in learning about and reporting on aspects of the civil war all my life.
When I learned about this 2011 illustrated paperback by Jack Dempsey (through a mention by a Goodreads friend), I was eager to read the book. Dempsey is a noted Michigan political and historical leader with a lifelong interest in the Civil War—but he is not an academic. That means he is focused on general readers and is not touching all the bases that scholars would expect to cover in peer-reviewed journals or university presses.
Why is that relevant? Well, this is, indeed, a fun-to-read collection of brief magazine-style anecdotes about lots of Michigan veterans from the infamous George Custer to the too-little-known Black veterans of "the 102nd U.S. Colored Infantry." This would be an entertaining book to choose, for example, before a summer vacation traveling around Michigan, if you're interested in taking a look at some of the remaining historical sites related to Civil War figures.
However—I'm giving this book 3 stars overall because it lacks the larger context of its title: Michigan and the Civil War. One big gap is this book's scant mention of the newspaper where I worked myself in the 1980s through 2007. I was involved in the historical effort to atone for the Free Press's roots in a virulently racist campaign before and during the Civil War, supporting the then-Democratic cause rather than Lincoln's Republican Party. In that era, the Free Press played a horrific role in fueling racial tensions and spreading the worst racist stereotypes of the era.
That part of the story is entirely missing here—perhaps because the main goal of Dempsey's book seems to be that Michigan residents should feel pride in their ancestors' involvement in the war. No one today can feel proud of what the Free Press staff did for decades in the mid-1800s.
Dempsey also cuts corners, making this an odd mix of quick summaries and missed opportunities. For example, he devotes little more than a page to one of the most fascinating of all Michigan-related Civil War stories: the case of Sarah E. Edmondson, who enlisted as a man under the name "Franklin Thompson" from Flint, Michigan. This is a complex story worthy of its own book-length treatment with multiple sources of information about her very unusual life—but Dempsey makes the odd choice of quoting a pretty much clueless passage about her from a general history of the Civil War published in 1882. Even if he had only one page that he could reserve for her story, Edmondson deserves far better treatment than that sexist quote. Here in Michigan, Edmondson now is a part of our state's Women's Hall of Fame. She was inducted in 1992, the same year the Hall of Fame inducted Gilda Radner. And, I will admit: I'm clearly annoyed at the flip way Dempsey handled Edmondson's story.
So, if you are looking for a well-researched exploration of Michigan's involvement in the Civil War, this book deserves 1 or 2 stars. But I do think—in all fairness—it's a fun book for casual reading and most of the material is accurate, if quickly skimmed by the author. So, I'm giving it 3 stars overall.
I am fascinated by the Civil War era, in part because of my career as a journalist covering religious and cultural diversity. The American Civil War is as crucial as World War II and the Holocaust in understanding America's complex history of wrestling with our nation's defining diversity. Plus, my own family members served in the Union army. In addition, I worked for 35 years as a writer and editor for The Detroit Free Press, which played a tragic role in the years leading up to the Civil War. And, now, as the co-founder of a publishing house myself, we created the popular book, Thirty Days with Abraham Lincoln—because Lincoln's wisdom in that era remains as timely as ever.
So, I've been invested in learning about and reporting on aspects of the civil war all my life.
When I learned about this 2011 illustrated paperback by Jack Dempsey (through a mention by a Goodreads friend), I was eager to read the book. Dempsey is a noted Michigan political and historical leader with a lifelong interest in the Civil War—but he is not an academic. That means he is focused on general readers and is not touching all the bases that scholars would expect to cover in peer-reviewed journals or university presses.
Why is that relevant? Well, this is, indeed, a fun-to-read collection of brief magazine-style anecdotes about lots of Michigan veterans from the infamous George Custer to the too-little-known Black veterans of "the 102nd U.S. Colored Infantry." This would be an entertaining book to choose, for example, before a summer vacation traveling around Michigan, if you're interested in taking a look at some of the remaining historical sites related to Civil War figures.
However—I'm giving this book 3 stars overall because it lacks the larger context of its title: Michigan and the Civil War. One big gap is this book's scant mention of the newspaper where I worked myself in the 1980s through 2007. I was involved in the historical effort to atone for the Free Press's roots in a virulently racist campaign before and during the Civil War, supporting the then-Democratic cause rather than Lincoln's Republican Party. In that era, the Free Press played a horrific role in fueling racial tensions and spreading the worst racist stereotypes of the era.
That part of the story is entirely missing here—perhaps because the main goal of Dempsey's book seems to be that Michigan residents should feel pride in their ancestors' involvement in the war. No one today can feel proud of what the Free Press staff did for decades in the mid-1800s.
Dempsey also cuts corners, making this an odd mix of quick summaries and missed opportunities. For example, he devotes little more than a page to one of the most fascinating of all Michigan-related Civil War stories: the case of Sarah E. Edmondson, who enlisted as a man under the name "Franklin Thompson" from Flint, Michigan. This is a complex story worthy of its own book-length treatment with multiple sources of information about her very unusual life—but Dempsey makes the odd choice of quoting a pretty much clueless passage about her from a general history of the Civil War published in 1882. Even if he had only one page that he could reserve for her story, Edmondson deserves far better treatment than that sexist quote. Here in Michigan, Edmondson now is a part of our state's Women's Hall of Fame. She was inducted in 1992, the same year the Hall of Fame inducted Gilda Radner. And, I will admit: I'm clearly annoyed at the flip way Dempsey handled Edmondson's story.
So, if you are looking for a well-researched exploration of Michigan's involvement in the Civil War, this book deserves 1 or 2 stars. But I do think—in all fairness—it's a fun book for casual reading and most of the material is accurate, if quickly skimmed by the author. So, I'm giving it 3 stars overall.
July 16, 2017
This is a book of less than 200 pages, but in those pages it tells more about the Civil War than other CW books of more than 3x the pages. I enjoyed the descriptions of the soldier's personnel life as well as their heroics. The main point in my opinion was how much Michigan gave to preserve the union.
May 25, 2017
This is a very interesting look into a lot of little known facts and tidbits about the Civil War and Michigan's role in it. It covers the time period from the antebellum days, when Michigan was an abolitionist - and eventually Republican hotbed - to the solemn and somber "furling of the flags" into the archival and historical memory of Michigan in 1866.
The highlights of the book are interesting. The contributions of Michigan and it's populace to the anti-slavery furor, pro-Union volunteerism, and defense of Lincoln and the program of eliminating slavery shows a populace that was relatively unified in the war effort. Histories of many other states, even Northern ones, show states that were either indifferent to the matter - as even Massachusetts were at times - to states with all out civil wars of their own (Illinois, Indiana, parts of Ohio, Maryland). Michigan's social and political classes were unified in the war, and the books shows this by pointing out recruitment levels, a not insignificant piece of evidence. Michigan does stand out. As a social history, this book is strong.
It is also strong as a military history of Michigan units. The details of battles are crisp and exciting. Some figures are prominent, like George Armstrong Custer, but others - like defenders of Fort Sumter and many less famous generals, officers and enlisted men. The history of the Michigan brigades themselves - all of which are neatly listed in the appendix of the book - show's Michigan's impressive military contributions. 90,000 service men, and 14,500 of those who gave their lives. The book identifies their memories, and their various travails. Not just in battle, but also in the prison's of the South, on ships, in brush and field fighting guerrilla warfare, and as spies. This is a solid and concise military history of Michigan.
There were some neat highlights of stuff that I learned about the Civil War, from this book, that I simply did not know. One of them was that there were women, who dressed up as men, and went to serve in the Union Army (and I would imagine, perhaps the Confederate Army even). Some of these women were found out, and sent away or even jailed. Some even had to fight for pensions for their service. One of them one.
Another highlight was the role of Canadians in the war. This was mentioned in passing, but honestly, I did not know that. I read other articles about it (Canadian Encyclopedia has a good one), and they mentioned that Canadians were sympathetic to the South, but enlisted mainly to fight for the Union, and sold weapons to both sides. Canadian Encyclopedia said 40,000 Canadians served in the American Civil War, and the book mentioned that 5,000 of these died. This casts a whole new light on the war for me.
A last interesting highlight was the role of the Southern Unionists. These were Southerners who stayed Loyal to the Union and even joined the Union Army. I read other online articles, as well as the book, and there could have been as many as 100,000 Southern Unionists in the Union Army - among these were about 40,000 Tennesseans by some estimates. The Tennesseans were featured in this book because they fought alongside Michiganders as the cream of the Union Cavalry. People forget that this war between the North and South also saw civil unrest and insurgency within the borders of Union and Confederacy - the Confederacy had some of the worst (Free State of Jones for instance). Again, casts an interesting light on the Civil, which is the value of this book.
After all these glowing reviews, you may wonder, why did he give this only 3 stars? Because I feel that while the brevity and conciseness of the book is fascinating, I would have liked to see a more general history - and at times the stories felt like endless anecdotes of specific person's, who happened to be from Michigan. Some of the middle chapters - that were more sequential - had very disjointed narratives, and a lot of exemplary tales. But it got lost in the bigger picture. The threads of the narration were disjointed and very lose - and it felt jarring, for instance to read about the Custer's and Noah H. Henry's cavalry actions at Gettysburg several chapters before another account of the battle of Gettysburg. The jumping to the different theaters of war also jarring, again, theme and thread of the narrative could have been better done. My favorite chapters were the specialty chapters of the war (Chapter 5 Women in War, Chapter 6 Women at Sea, Chapter 7 Special Forces, Chapter 11 War Politicians, and Chapter 12: Hard Life at Andersonville. Along with the opening and closing chapters, these were written with a specific focus, and how Michiganders in the war experienced these. The opening and closing chapters framed the story, really well. But there was a lot of stumbling and cramming in the middle chapters that made me lose interest many times. The stories didn't seem to fit into a larger narrative other than "Michigan played a role in such and such." Perhaps the story would get more justice from a longer and more detailed book - one where a narrative can be better had.
The other aspect of the book that I feel is overlooked is how blacks lived and were treated during the antebellum and Civil War time period. We saw, very prominently that Michigan was unified in it's opposition to slavery, and many were even supportive of going beyond that by enshrining civil rights of all Americans, including blacks, as seen in the radical Republicans of the War Politicians chapter. And many blacks, like Frederick Douglass, were openly welcome here. However, Chapter 9 mentioned a race riot in Detroit in March 1863 over a black man accused of a crime. This narrative contrasts the seemingly strong anti-slavery and pro-Union sentiment of the state. Did it mean that, like many other states in the North, that whites in the North were afraid or looked down their noses at blacks? Or saw them as dangerous and racially inferior? They white Michiganders not want blacks around, and would they subject them to discrimination if they were? It isn't entirely clear. We know in the other states of the North, the sentiment was far from friendly - as when in New York City, a draft riot resulted in burning of an African-American orphanage. Blacks were being killed and attacked even in the North, at the height of the Civil War. Was the case the same for Michigan? Were there black codes? Did this discrimination persist after?
Perhaps this book may not be the place for such a discussion, and fact that it is an overview wouldn't do justice to such a complex and controversial topic. However, if I could advise the author, I would in future editions include a chapters that cover - What is was like for blacks to live in Michigan during the Civil War. Not just as soldiers, but every day men and women that worked on farms, in factories, in ships, domestic work and also how they lived. I think this would answer a lot of questions and add a layer of complexity and insight to the story. Additionally, related, I feel chapter on the Underground Railroad prior and during the Civil War would also tie together the narrative much neater. Again, given Michigan's staunch anti-slavery history as well as it's dedication to the Union - it would be very interesting to highlight how people in the State actually treated free blacks and escaped slaves and what that says about their beliefs and ideology.
The highlights of the book are interesting. The contributions of Michigan and it's populace to the anti-slavery furor, pro-Union volunteerism, and defense of Lincoln and the program of eliminating slavery shows a populace that was relatively unified in the war effort. Histories of many other states, even Northern ones, show states that were either indifferent to the matter - as even Massachusetts were at times - to states with all out civil wars of their own (Illinois, Indiana, parts of Ohio, Maryland). Michigan's social and political classes were unified in the war, and the books shows this by pointing out recruitment levels, a not insignificant piece of evidence. Michigan does stand out. As a social history, this book is strong.
It is also strong as a military history of Michigan units. The details of battles are crisp and exciting. Some figures are prominent, like George Armstrong Custer, but others - like defenders of Fort Sumter and many less famous generals, officers and enlisted men. The history of the Michigan brigades themselves - all of which are neatly listed in the appendix of the book - show's Michigan's impressive military contributions. 90,000 service men, and 14,500 of those who gave their lives. The book identifies their memories, and their various travails. Not just in battle, but also in the prison's of the South, on ships, in brush and field fighting guerrilla warfare, and as spies. This is a solid and concise military history of Michigan.
There were some neat highlights of stuff that I learned about the Civil War, from this book, that I simply did not know. One of them was that there were women, who dressed up as men, and went to serve in the Union Army (and I would imagine, perhaps the Confederate Army even). Some of these women were found out, and sent away or even jailed. Some even had to fight for pensions for their service. One of them one.
Another highlight was the role of Canadians in the war. This was mentioned in passing, but honestly, I did not know that. I read other articles about it (Canadian Encyclopedia has a good one), and they mentioned that Canadians were sympathetic to the South, but enlisted mainly to fight for the Union, and sold weapons to both sides. Canadian Encyclopedia said 40,000 Canadians served in the American Civil War, and the book mentioned that 5,000 of these died. This casts a whole new light on the war for me.
A last interesting highlight was the role of the Southern Unionists. These were Southerners who stayed Loyal to the Union and even joined the Union Army. I read other online articles, as well as the book, and there could have been as many as 100,000 Southern Unionists in the Union Army - among these were about 40,000 Tennesseans by some estimates. The Tennesseans were featured in this book because they fought alongside Michiganders as the cream of the Union Cavalry. People forget that this war between the North and South also saw civil unrest and insurgency within the borders of Union and Confederacy - the Confederacy had some of the worst (Free State of Jones for instance). Again, casts an interesting light on the Civil, which is the value of this book.
After all these glowing reviews, you may wonder, why did he give this only 3 stars? Because I feel that while the brevity and conciseness of the book is fascinating, I would have liked to see a more general history - and at times the stories felt like endless anecdotes of specific person's, who happened to be from Michigan. Some of the middle chapters - that were more sequential - had very disjointed narratives, and a lot of exemplary tales. But it got lost in the bigger picture. The threads of the narration were disjointed and very lose - and it felt jarring, for instance to read about the Custer's and Noah H. Henry's cavalry actions at Gettysburg several chapters before another account of the battle of Gettysburg. The jumping to the different theaters of war also jarring, again, theme and thread of the narrative could have been better done. My favorite chapters were the specialty chapters of the war (Chapter 5 Women in War, Chapter 6 Women at Sea, Chapter 7 Special Forces, Chapter 11 War Politicians, and Chapter 12: Hard Life at Andersonville. Along with the opening and closing chapters, these were written with a specific focus, and how Michiganders in the war experienced these. The opening and closing chapters framed the story, really well. But there was a lot of stumbling and cramming in the middle chapters that made me lose interest many times. The stories didn't seem to fit into a larger narrative other than "Michigan played a role in such and such." Perhaps the story would get more justice from a longer and more detailed book - one where a narrative can be better had.
The other aspect of the book that I feel is overlooked is how blacks lived and were treated during the antebellum and Civil War time period. We saw, very prominently that Michigan was unified in it's opposition to slavery, and many were even supportive of going beyond that by enshrining civil rights of all Americans, including blacks, as seen in the radical Republicans of the War Politicians chapter. And many blacks, like Frederick Douglass, were openly welcome here. However, Chapter 9 mentioned a race riot in Detroit in March 1863 over a black man accused of a crime. This narrative contrasts the seemingly strong anti-slavery and pro-Union sentiment of the state. Did it mean that, like many other states in the North, that whites in the North were afraid or looked down their noses at blacks? Or saw them as dangerous and racially inferior? They white Michiganders not want blacks around, and would they subject them to discrimination if they were? It isn't entirely clear. We know in the other states of the North, the sentiment was far from friendly - as when in New York City, a draft riot resulted in burning of an African-American orphanage. Blacks were being killed and attacked even in the North, at the height of the Civil War. Was the case the same for Michigan? Were there black codes? Did this discrimination persist after?
Perhaps this book may not be the place for such a discussion, and fact that it is an overview wouldn't do justice to such a complex and controversial topic. However, if I could advise the author, I would in future editions include a chapters that cover - What is was like for blacks to live in Michigan during the Civil War. Not just as soldiers, but every day men and women that worked on farms, in factories, in ships, domestic work and also how they lived. I think this would answer a lot of questions and add a layer of complexity and insight to the story. Additionally, related, I feel chapter on the Underground Railroad prior and during the Civil War would also tie together the narrative much neater. Again, given Michigan's staunch anti-slavery history as well as it's dedication to the Union - it would be very interesting to highlight how people in the State actually treated free blacks and escaped slaves and what that says about their beliefs and ideology.
July 10, 2014
A well written and valuable source on Michigan's contribution to winning the civil war.
February 14, 2019
I'm really not all that into war histories. But I don't really know much about the civil war (though even that is a great deal more than our current president knows), and I liked the Michigan connection here. This was a well done, very readable text. From my general Michigan knowledge, there are many many familiar names here. I don't read many "war" histories, because I could care less when it comes to the chapters were groups shot at each other, and moved on flanks, used artillery, etc. And, I did sort of skim the battle descriptions here. I was, as always, impressed by the levels of death -- and not just on the battlefield itself. The simple disease that we take for granted as curable today that wiped out so many, or the many that died due to fire and transportation disasters. The tale of the soldiers on their way home after the Apomattox surrender, when the boiler blew up on the steam ship, sinking and killing most passengers? How awful. And, somehow, it never came home to me until reading this that Lincoln was assassinated so quickly after the end of the war.
Other fun things I learned: the Odd Fellows buidling which still stands in Detroit is indeed a pre-civil war building. I'd always heard that, but have now seen photographic proof. And finally, that Indians were important to the war effort. The fun fact, they weren't native americans, they were Indians. in the 1860's the term 'native american' meant someone born in within the United States, as opposed to immigrating there. Indians were simply Indians.
I will go check out the civil war section at Elmwood in the spring.
Other fun things I learned: the Odd Fellows buidling which still stands in Detroit is indeed a pre-civil war building. I'd always heard that, but have now seen photographic proof. And finally, that Indians were important to the war effort. The fun fact, they weren't native americans, they were Indians. in the 1860's the term 'native american' meant someone born in within the United States, as opposed to immigrating there. Indians were simply Indians.
I will go check out the civil war section at Elmwood in the spring.
January 23, 2022
I purchased this book hoping to finding more info ancestors were in for Michigan regiments. This book gave a view of multiple companies from Michigan not a specific group. There are not a lot of books on Civil War regiments from Michigan.
May 27, 2025
Thorough. Well crafted narratives, while being dense enough to be substantial. sources are listed at the ends of the chapters instead of one long bibliography.
Well worth the addition to a civil war history collection or if you're a Michigan history buff.
Well worth the addition to a civil war history collection or if you're a Michigan history buff.
January 20, 2021
I didn't think that this was such an easy read. I am a non-fiction, history, and biography reader, but to me this seemed to read more like a textbook.
November 18, 2014
A fun collection of vignettes and stories from the Civil War from a Michigan-centric point of view. As a person with a great interest in the Civil War, and one who has read dozens of memoirs and diaries of troops from that war, this collection of all Michigan related things was very interesting. I've left my state more than once, but I always come back, and hearing of the sacrifices and trials of my fellow citizens in that great war upped the interest level for me. I am going to look for more books like this.
March 24, 2013
This book is a short history of the Civil War and the part that Michigan's soldiers, politicians, and citizens played in that conflict. The book doesn't go into a lot of detail on the topics that it covers, but it does highlight the roles and events that people from Michigan were involved with during the war.
couldn-t-get-into
April 4, 2012I skipped through the book reading bits and pieces but it was a bit dry for the mood I was in when I was trying to read it.
January 22, 2015
I normally don't stay up all night reading, but I did with this book. Very well written from both sides of the war. Very telling account in my book.
July 6, 2017
This book is, at best, an introduction. There are a lot of pictures which makes the 149 pages even more inflated. Look for Richard Bak's "A Distant Thunder" to accomplish the story of Michigan in the Civil War in a more complete way.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews