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Michigan 16th Volunteer Infantry (Union)

8/09/61

Organized - Michigan 16th Volunteer Infantry - Michigan

27/05/62

Battle - Hanover Court House - Hanover County, Virginia

31/05/62

Battle - Seven Pines - Henrico County, Virginia

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Seven Pines

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston withdrew his army from the Virginia Peninsula toward the Confederate capital of Richmond as Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's army pursued him. By the end of May, Johnston held a defensive position seven miles east of the city on the Richmond and York River Railroad. McClellan's army facing Johnston straddled the Chickahominy River and stretched south. Capturing the initiative from his Union foe, Johnston attempted to overwhelm two Federal corps isolated south of the river. The Confed…READ MORE

27/06/62

Battle - Gaines' Mill - Hanover County, Virginia

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Gaines' Mill

Despite his victory over the Confederates at Beaver Dam Creek on June 26th, Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter's Fifth Corps abandoned its position early on June 27th and established a new defensive line along Boatswain's Creek, just north of the Chickahominy River.READ MORE

30/06/62

Battle - White Oak Swamp - Henrico County, Virginia

1/07/62

Battle - Malvern Hill - Henrico County, Virginia

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Malvern Hill

On June 30th, the retreating Federal Army of the Potomac finally stopped at the James River at the end of seven days of fighting outside of Richmond.READ MORE

28/08/62

Battle - Second Bull Run - Prince William County, Virginia

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Second Bull Run

After the early summer collapse of the Union Peninsula Campaign offensive to capture Richmond, Robert E. Lee sought to move his army north and threaten Washington DC before Union forces could regroup.READ MORE

17/09/62

Leadership Change - Regiment - Lieutenant Colonel Norval E. Welch

Lieutenant ColonelNorval E. Welch

17/09/62

Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel Thomas B. W. Stockton

17/09/62

Leadership Change - Division - Major General George W. Morell

Major GeneralGeorge W. Morell

17/09/62

Battle - Antietam - Sharpsburg, Maryland

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Antietam

The Army of the Potomac, under the command of Maj. Gen. George McClellan, mounted a series of powerful assaults against General Robert E. Lee's forces along Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 17th, 1862.READ MORE

13/12/62

Battle - Fredericksburg - Fredericksburg, Virginia

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Fredericksburg

In early November, Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside took command of the Army of the Potomac, and made immediate plans to move the army once again toward Richmond.READ MORE

30/04/63

Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General Charles Griffin

Brigadier GeneralCharles Griffin

30/04/63

Battle - Chancellorsville - Spotsylvania County, Virginia

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Chancellorsville

On April 27, 1863, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker launched a turning movement designed to pry Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia out of its lines at Fredericksburg.READ MORE

1/07/63

Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel James C. Rice, and Colonel Strong Vincent

1/07/63

Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General James Barnes

Brigadier GeneralJames Barnes

1/07/63

Leadership Change - Brigade - Colonel Strong Vincent

1/07/63

Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General James Barnes

Brigadier GeneralJames Barnes

1/07/63

Battle - Gettysburg - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

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Gettysburg

In the summer of 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee launched his second invasion of the Northern states. Lee sought to capitalize on recent Confederate victories and defeat the Union army on Northern soil, which he hoped would force the Lincoln administration to negotiate for peace. Lee also sought to take the war out of the ravaged Virginia farmland and gather supplies for his Army of Northern Virginia. Using the Shenandoah Valley as cover for his army, Lee was pursued first by Union Maj. Gen. Joseph Ho…READ MORE

27/11/63

Battle - Mine Run - Orange County, Virginia

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Mine Run

After the inconclusive Bristoe Campaign in the fall of 1863, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade planned one more offensive against Gen. Robert E. Lee in northern Virginia before winter weather ended military operations. In late November, Meade attempted to steal a march southeast from Culpeper Courthouse, turn south through the Wilderness and strike the right flank of the Confederate army south of the Rapidan River. On November 27th, Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early, in command of Ewell's Corps, marched east on the Orange…READ MORE

5/05/64

Battle - Wilderness - Spotsylvania County, Virginia; Orange County, Virginia

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Wilderness

The first battle between Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Robert E. Lee erupted late in the morning of May 5, 1864, as Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren's Union V Corps attacked Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps on the Orange Turnpike southwest of the old Chancellorsville battlefield. Although Federal infantry managed to break through at several points, the Confederate line held. Fighting shifted to the south as Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's Third Corps engaged Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock's II Corps and ele…READ MORE

8/05/64

Battle - Spotsylvania Court House - Spotsylvania County, Virginia

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Spotsylvania Court House

Following the Battle of the Wilderness, Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant marched the Union army south with the hope of capturing Spotsylvania Court House and preventing Robert E. Lee's army from retreating further. Lee's Confederates, however, managed to get ahead of the Federals and block the road. Fighting began on May 8th, when the Union Fifth Corps under Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren and the Sixth Corps under Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick engaged Confederate Maj. Gen. Richard Anderson's First Corps at Laurel Hi…READ MORE

28/05/64

Battle - Totopotomoy Creek - Hanover County, Virginia

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Totopotomoy Creek

Operations along Totopotomoy Creek northeast of Richmond opened with cavalry combat at the Pamunkey River crossing at Dabney's Ferry (near Hanovertown) and at Crump's Creek on May 27th. During the cavalry fight at Haw's Shop on May 28th, Union and Confederate infantry arrived in the vicinity and the Confederates entrenched behind Totopotomoy Creek. On the 29th, the Union army Second, Ninth, and Fifth Corps probed Lee's position along the creek, while the Sixth Corps felt its way toward Hanover Court House.…READ MORE

31/05/64

Battle - Cold Harbor - Hanover County; near Mechanicsville, Virginia

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Cold Harbor

After two days of inconclusive fighting along Totopotomoy Creek northeast of Richmond, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Gen. Robert E. Lee turned their sights on the crossroads of Cold Harbor. Roads emanating through this critical junction led to Richmond as well as supply and reinforcement sources for the Union army. On May 31, 1864, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's cavalry captured Cold Harbor. The next day, Sheridan held the crossroads against a Confederate attack. With reinforcements from both armies arriving…READ MORE

15/06/64

Battle - Second Petersburg - Petersburg, Virginia

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Second Petersburg

As the Overland Campaign concluded, the strategic goals of Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant shifted from the defeat of Robert E. Lee's army in the field to eliminating the supply and communication routes to the Confederate capital at Richmond. The city of Petersburg, 24 miles south of Richmond, was the junction point of five railroads that supplied the entire upper James River region. Grant knew Petersburg was the key to the capture of Richmond and that Lee would be forced to defend it. Marching south from Co…READ MORE

21/06/64

Battle - Jerusalem Plank Road - Petersburg, Virginia

18/08/64

Battle - Globe Tavern - Petersburg, Virginia

25/03/65

Leadership Change - Brigade - Brigadier General Joseph J. Bartlett

Brigadier GeneralJoseph J. Bartlett

25/03/65

Leadership Change - Division - Brigadier General Charles Griffin

Brigadier GeneralCharles Griffin

25/03/65

Battle - Fort Stedman - Petersburg, Virginia

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Fort Stedman

By March of 1865, Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's grip on the Confederate lines around Petersburg was having its desired effect. Outnumbered and weakened by disease, desertion and shortage of food and supplies, Gen. Robert E. Lee had few options. After careful study of the Union troops in his sector of the line, Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon suggested to Lee the possibility of a successful offensive strike against Grant. In front of Gordon's men, Union-held Fort Stedman seemed the best target for a Confederate a…READ MORE

1/04/65

Leadership Change - Regiment - undefined Bvt, and Colonel Benjamin F. Partridge

1/04/65

Leadership Change - Brigade - undefined Bvt BG Alfred L. Pearson, and undefined Bvt MG Joseph J. Bartlett

1/04/65

Leadership Change - Division - undefined 104th New York, undefined 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry :, undefined Bvt MG Charles Griffin, undefined Bvt MG Joseph J. Bartlett, and undefined Escort:

1/04/65

Battle - Five Forks - Five Forks, Virginia

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Five Forks

The Union victory along the White Oak Road on March 31st threatened to destabilize the entire Confederate line west of Petersburg. General Robert E. Lee ordered Maj. Gen. George Pickett with his infantry division and the cavalry divisions of Col. Thomas Munford, Maj. Gen. W.H.F. Lee, and Maj. Gen Thomas Rosser to hold the vital crossroads of Five Forks, along the White Oak Road five miles west of the previous fighting there. Pickett's defensive line was not well constructed, and much of his cavalry force w…READ MORE

9/04/65

Battle - Appomattox Court House - Appomattox Court House, Virginia

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Appomattox Court House

Between 26,000 and 28,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered and were paroled.READ MORE

8/07/65

Mustered Out - Michigan 16th Volunteer Infantry - Michigan

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