A Bit More on the 24th Michigan
Turns out I may have been a bit too flip in my last post about Garrett Garretson and his 24th Michigan Regiment Volunteer Infantry experience. It was definitely no camping trip!It turns out that the regiment fought at least ten major Civil War battles before even getting to Gettysburg on 01 July 1863. Four hundred ninety-six of them arrived that morning. "On the morning of July 2-3, 1863, 99 answered roll call." Those left went on to campaigns in The Wilderness, Spotsylvania and other places before being reassigned to garrison and guard duty in Springfield, IL in February of 1865. The 24th was also the regiment selected to escort Lincoln's body when it arrived for the funeral.
This gives me a whole new line of events to look at while I research by great-great grandfather. And to think his daughter was always talking to my own dad just about her family's connection to the American Revolution. Seems like the Civil War connection will prove even more striking, and perhaps more accessible for some in-depth research.
