“To the sounds of musketry and tap of the drum.” From the Letters of Harold J.

Bartlett - Clarkston, Michigan

1st Michigan Light Artillery, Battery D

C ivil War Medal of Honor
Oakland County
I t 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 "Thank God for Michigan!"
Rebellion have been put forth, but mostly it all comes down to a single
-President Lincoln-
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
65 Michigan soldiers received a
in Canada; yet these citizens defied the law to gain the freedom of others. When war did come,
Civil War Medal of Honor
the residents of Oakland County continued to give above and beyond. They were among the first
Sgt. John Menter of Franklin, MI in
the 5th Michigan Infantry Regiment,
Company D received one for his
troops to reach Washington, D.C. prompting President Lincoln to say, “Thank God for Michigan!”
in
th
e Civil War
1861•1865 T
his 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 8
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.

9 capture of flag at Sailor’s Creek, VA Oakland County Civil War Officers

on April 6, 1865. M
tain . Ellio A. Matth r E. Coate jor J. Knox el N. Cla .C
ral J opelan H. LeFav el M. Wisn . Ri
en. I chard . S. Mat L. Trowb el S. Bea el J. Roge r M. Hicke T. Lockw J. Bige
ain ajo Ma lon rk ral on Gen th ral lon ch olo
n
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ap t pt e M s
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Major Newcom Clark, Oxford resident and

Br

e
Lake Orion teacher, became the commander

• Union Military Organization • of the 102nd Regiment U.S. Colored Troops,

which included the 1st Michigan Colored
Infantry Regiment. It was formed in 1864
• Army • and was made up of freed men and escaped
Named for the rivers near which they operated
Or Or Kinchen Artis, soldier slaves from across the state. The 102nd
est e es Bi nt

ld

ln
co

Pr
16 on the Union side and 23 on the Confederate side C la chard Lake chard Lake Spr in the 102 Regime
nd

W
Holly Troy Bloomf rkston Oxford Detroit Pontiac id e
nt A. Lin
Pontiac Troy Troy Pontiac ingfeld Hig nd
h la rmingham joined with the 54th Massachusetts Infantry
i U.S. Colored Troops Regiment and fought through out the south
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 firmly establishing colored troops as skilled
• Corps • and reliable infantry men.
36,000 men commanded by a major general
i
• Division •
12,000 men commanded by a
brigadier general or a major general
i
• Brigade • 13
4,000 men commanded by a brigadier general 10
i Local townsfolk
and 22nd Michigan Infantry Regiment Flag
• Regiment • farmers fed an histor
D raft Exemption Flyer ic meal
1,000 men commanded by a to 1,000 Civil War
colonel, lt. colonel, and major soldiers
arriving to catch
i a train eting
from Holly to Detro l town me raise
• Company • These were the five main regiments of which Oakland County it. a specia
100 men commanded by a captain men belonged. However, a few Oakland County soldiers In 1864, e on whether to il
d to vot each Civ
i i i enlisted in other regiments from Michigan. was hel to pay $100 to n from
Cavalry Infantry Artillery i i i i i bonds dra fted ma
untee r or votes
Troops trained Soldiers who Soldiers who 1st 4th 5th 22nd 102nd War vol d Townsh
ip. 150
24 No.
11
Grovelan t. 126 Yes to
to fight on fight on foot fight with Michigan Michigan Michigan Michigan Regiment

S
horseback with small arms cannons Cavalry Cavalry Cavalry Infantry U.S. Colored
re cas harp boot pistol
Regiment Regiment Regiment Regiment Troops we

Major John
Kno
wounded and x was gravely
left for dead
bullet passed as a we air all
through his - Orion let you no e no news
and throat in neck m 1864 lines to so I hav two
May 1865
He opened the
Fair Oaks, VA. Letter fro will write a few from you w is
I ers sno
Silas and George Bullard, 4th Michigan
Freedmen in
Knox School Husband don't get any lett snow here. the the house. 6
Cavalry Regiment, were among 14 for I the m
Athens, GA well, yet to tell you of woods fro and
men chosen for the squad sent to also served as and y 't see the d to the chores
pursue Jefferson Davis, president of a commissio to rite onl t deep so I can ten d dun
ds full to you wante
C
in Indian Affa ner fee
the Confederacy as he attempted his
irs. or more e my han did not do as ap from 1st Michigan Light
escape. Once captured, Silas rode up I hav to doctor Artillery, Battery C
to Davis and asked “Mr. Davis, you I tell you t your letter but ul , I have got (reproduction)
Go are auf
won’t be needing this horse anymore, wood. They you air
in
why not give him to me?” When calves. w whair give me
an aide to Davis objected to Bullard with the dont kno
them. ng for I ery it dos t. Oh if
speaking to the president in that
you a thi what mis 't res
manner, Bullard answered, “Heck, I can't tell or in another. Oh I dream, I can have
what’s he president of?” The Bullard
brothers later shared in a large reward.
Elizabeth Denison Forth (1780s-1866)
was born into slavery in Macomb
County, Michigan. She gained her
U nion belt buckle In 1863, Jon Stevens of
Pontiac stormed the Rebels don
.
this world 't get any letters war was dun.
when I e that this awful wish we could
I
I no you
tra de pla ces.
Johnny Clem, Drummer Boy for the 22nd
Michigan Infantry Regiment, wouldn’t take no
for an answer. At age 12 and living in Ohio,
her n thair.
freedom in Canada and returned in at Fort Wagner with the 54th I could don't. he tried to join the Michigan Regiment and
1825. Investments in stocks and real Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. you r shar dow the reason you was denied; he decided to tag along anyway.
dun can, tell Eventually he was adopted as mascot and
estate allowed her to purchase 48.5 acres At the time this letter was written, Martin
in Pontiac. Part of what was once Forth’s
He, along with 330 other colored Rite if you to Martin Payne was in Andersonville Prison. He never drummer boy and fellow soldiers pitched in
nia
property became Oak Hill Cemetery. Union soldiers, fell in the battle - Saphro made it home. Martin died of deplorable to pay him a soldier’s wage. When he was
apman conditions at Andersonville Prison, as did captured in Georgia in 1863, the Confederate
depicted in the closing scene of the
n Ch many other Oakland County soldiers. newspapers used his age and celebrity to show
eube taken movie Glory. Only 12 Confederate “what sore straits the Yankees are driven, when
63, R as
In 18 erford w attle of deaths were reported.
they have to send their babies out to fight us.”
at B
of W er in the ue to
D
prison mauga. scharged

Fra
W 14 Mile Rd Franklin Inset Map
Chic he was di me.
ka

nk
lin
illness turned ho
Â
1 2
Silas Bullard Â

Bra
re ly n Ct 1. Otto Berger House
and ve

nch
E
Norman
2. George Van Every House
dy
Rd 3. Robert C. Kyle House
Pontiac host 4. Civil War Era Church
ed an Many believed the Birmingham Civil War
lecture by Hen anti-slavery
T he Grand Army Rd Â
3
German Mill
Rd 5. Christopher Klein House Monument was erected by the citizens of Royal
Moses Wisner, Michigan’s 2nd republican ry Bibb, form on Â
4 Â5
governor and an ardent abolitionist, of the Republic er lin
gt
Â
6 Carol Ave 6. James Trott House Oak, Bloomfield, Southfield, and Troy townships.
White Lake freedom seek el 7
However, records show only one man paid
organized and then commanded Michigan’s (GAR) was a fraternal hosted an anti er. W Â8 Â
9 7. William H. Clemmons House for the monument, which now sits near the
22nd Infantry Regiment. The 22nd was mostly organization slavery lectu - Â
Â
10
8. Henry Cox House
re by Henry Birmingham City Hall. Hugh Irving was the
Oakland County volunteers that enlisted in

C
composed of veterans former freed Bibb, 9. Joseph Ferguson House father of William Irving, the first to enlist and
their own communities and traveled to the urrency during the

Franklin Rd
of the Union Army om seeker. first to die. Sighting a cannon, William was
muster site at the Fairgrounds in Pontiac, a Civil War Romany Way 10. Henry Cox Dispensary struck in the forehead and killed instantly. Hugh
who had served in the
stone’s throw from Wisner’s famed abode,
Pine Grove mansion. The 22nd Regiment American Civil War.
Dr u
m mond Ct Â
¢Â æ 11
11. Monument at Franklin Cemetery went south to find his body and after a long and
7 agonizing search he found his son’s remains. He
Franklin
would go down in history as having suffered Cemetery 12. John M. Brown House brought his dead son home and buried him in
some of the most significant losses in the Scenic Â
12 the family plot at Greenwood Cemetery.
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.
of
tizens thered
61, ci
Hardtack was a biscuit made of flour with
ga d
In 18 Township urch an other simple ingredients, and issued to Sarah Emma Edmonds had already decided
ch Union soldiers throughout the war.
Troy Baptist ide each ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
to disguise herself as a man named Franklin
e Thompson when she showed up at the Pratt Farm
at th d to prov ontiac HARDTACK RECIPE
in Rose Township selling bibles and offering to
ge e P
pled r of th volver. 2 cups of flour lend a hand with the farm chores. Pratt’s daughter
em be h a re ½ to¾ cup water later recalled ‘her features were almost too course
m wit 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Guard 6 pinches of salt
to be those of a woman and too fine for a man’.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, she (Franklin
y Mix the ingredients together into a stiff Thompson) announced her intention of enlisting
k Revival famil batter, knead several times, and spread the
’s stately Gree quietly on in the Union Army and left the farm. Her service
James Rowe of stone still stands ship. Its dough out flat to a thickness of ½ inch on
as a Union soldier, nurse, dispatch rider, and
home made land Town Memorial Day reunion and celebration for the - a non-greased cookie sheet. Bake for one-
hosted an anti
Road in High rground half hour at 400o F. Remove from oven, alleged spy constitute one of the most remarkable
Lone Tree as a stop on the Unde Rowe members of the GAR Frank Powell Post 187, Oxford.
Kensington stories in the annals of U.S. military history.
possible use of local lore. War. Bibb, cut dough into 3-inch squares, and punch
subje ct The post was named for Oxford’s Captain Frank
re by Henry
slavery lectu
the four rows of holes, four holes per row into
Railroad is of the Civil Powell of the 14th Michigan Infantry Regiment.
om seeker.
the outbreak in Virginia. Rowe the dough. Turn dough over, return to
enlisted at ded twice er at Henry Bibb gave several former freed the oven and bake another one-half hour.
He was wounr General George Cust er lectures about anti-slavery Turn oven off and leave the door closed.
Cust
served unde home that rs.
and wrote throughout Oakland County. Leave the hardtack in the oven until cool.
Gettysburg ry office
the finest caval Brothers Ham
was one of

I
See
Franklin Delling serve lin and William vory handled utensils found at
Inset Map d with the Stan Gettysburg, PA
Guards and ton
guarding Conf were tasked
with
5
Novi hosted ederate offic
Fort on Mac ers at the
Eliza Seaman Leggett, a well known an
abolitionist from Waterford, was lecture by Hen anti-slavery kinac Island. Milford’s first physician, Dr. Henry Foote
friends with Sojourner Truth and Laura ry Bibb, answered the call for volunteers in 1861.
former freed eryards in
Haviland. Eliza’s home -“Willows”- om seeker. owned lumb umental He entered the war with the 5th Michigan
once located on Walton Boulevard is
a rumored stop on the Underground
Eliza land Crapo instr
Henry How n, and Flint and was Holly
Holly, Fento ion of the Flint and igan state
Calvary and served as the regiment’s
surgeon. In 1863, he died of pneumonia.

Seaman B
Railroad. In 2003, she was inducted into truct Dr. Foote was a Whig and thence a
oot pistol in the cons also served as a Mich
the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. Railroad.
He and governor of Republican and always an ardent anti-
1863-1864 slavery man. His son Charles went on to
senator from 1865-1868.
Leggett Michigan from become an active member in anti-slavery
organizations in Michigan and New York.
3

Underground Railroad
12 TC -124 Richmond
onfederate spurs

W hen 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 Â
¢
Legend
Civil War Related Cemetery
to transport them to freedom in Canada. Oakland County’s Quaker Settlement Âj Civil War Monument
and Nathan Power of Farmington, and the Reformed Presbyterian Church ;
 Civil War Related Structure
and Reverand James S.T. Milligan of Southfield extended helping hands to
former enslaved African Americans. Â
E
F Underground Railroad Historical Marker
Â
ÐÂ Underground Railroad Site-Documented
 Underground Railroad Site-Lore

:
Holly
Oxford Â
Railroad circa 1862
ada Road circa 1872 Civil War
Springfield Can Modern Lakes & Rivers Related Information
To
Geographic Township or Notable Person

Pontiac
Hunter House • Birmingham Henry Foote House • Milford Pine Grove-Moses Wisner House • Pontiac Copeland House • Orchard Lake Stone Rowe House • Highland

o
To Canada Map Created on March 17, 2011
Miles
1
Milford 0 1 2 3

Royal
This map of
Underground
A Special Thank You To: # Contributions of Photographs, Letters and Information: 2
Farmington Railroad sites Melissa Luginski, Primary Field Researcher & Editor
Oak in Oakland Rochelle Danquah, Vice Chair-Michigan Freedom Trail Addison Township Library • Archives of Michigan • Auburn Hills Historical Society • Berkley Historical Commission • Birmingham Historical Society • Bloomfield

E
County is only Commission; Primary UGRR Research, Writer, & Editor Historical Society • Clarkston Historical Society • Kim Crawford, Clarkston • Al Eicher, Civil War in Michigan Lecturer • Ferndale Historical Society • Franklin Historical arly Civil War cartridge box and Minié
a sampling Society • Friends of the Banks-Dolbeer Farmhouse • John McGarry, Garner Descendant • Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society • Heritage and History Center in
Civil War Artifacts Courtesy of: ball maker, circa 1861. Minié ball is a
To

and does
Farmington Hills • Highland Historical Society • Holly Township Library • Michigan Freedom Trail Commission • Milford Historical Society • Monroe County Historical type of muzzle-loading spin-stabilizing rifle
Legend not include all 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 11~ Michael & Ellen Zehnder, Clarkston
Det

possible locations Museum Archives • Orville G. Mumford, Detroit • Novi Historical Commission • Oak Grove Cemetery • Oakland Township Historical Society • Oakland County Historical bullet named after its codeveloper, Claude
4
6 ~ Jerry Radloff, Bloomfield Hills
Underground Railroad Historical Marker and individuals in
roit

the county involved in

7~ Marea Ehlers, Troy Commission • Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society • Orion Historical Society • Ortonville Historical Society • Oxford American Legion • Oxford Historical Etienne Minié, inventor of the Minié rifle.
Underground Railroad - Lore the movement. Further
8, 9, 10, ~ Pine Grove Historical Museum, Pontiac Society • Donna Pauline • Rochester Historical Society • Rochester Historical Commission • Rose Township Historical Society • Royal Oak Public Library • Troy Museum • L. Brooks Patterson, County Executive It came to prominence in the Crimean War
12 ~ Thomas Richey, Sylvan Lake

D
Underground Railroad - Documented research should continue to Waterford Historical Society • White Lake Historical Society • Dave Walls, Springfield • White Lake Public Library • Wixom Museum and American Civil War.
consistently update the information. It should 13 ~ Peter Glendinning & The Michigan Capitol Committee ominos from the
be used for educational purposes only. time period

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.