Michigan Brigade
Two days later, on July 2, the brigade participated in the Battle of Hunterstown, where one of the Wolverines, Norville Churchill, rescued a fallen Custer, who was pinned in the road under his slain horse.
On the third day, the brigade fought in piecemeal fashion, with the 5th and 6th serving as dismounted skirmishers near the John Rummel farm on the left of the battlefield, while first the 7th and then the 1st Michigan charged into a growing mounted melee in the center.
In February 1864, the Michigan Brigade participated in Judson Kilpatrick's large 5,000-man cavalry raid on the Confederacy's capital city, Richmond, Virginia.
Kilpatrick's objectives for the daring raid were to free Federal prisoners of war, cut supply lines, and create panic among the Confederate civilians and government officials.
The brigade spent the rest of the year in the Valley, engaging in a series of running fights with Confederate cavalry, including the decisive victory over Jubal Early at the Battle of Cedar Creek.
The Michigan Brigade participated in an engagement at Louisa Court House against enemy cavalry under Thomas L. Rosser, routing the Confederates and capturing the village and its important stores of military supplies.
The Michigan Brigade arrived at White House, landing in time to participate in some of the final engagements of the Army of the Potomac, including the Battle of Five Forks on April 1.
They were among the troops that finally blocked Lee's planned escape route, precipitating the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House.
Despite the fact that their term of enlistment had expired, the remaining men were kept in the service until March 10, 1866, when they were finally mustered out and allowed to return home to Michigan.
Some men elected to stay on the frontier and enlist in Custer's 7th U.S. Cavalry; a few former members of the Michigan Brigade fought at the Battle of Little Big Horn in June 1876.
[6] Most veterans of the Michigan Brigade were active in various fraternal organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic, and many men returned to Gettysburg for the 25th Anniversary commemorations.
