In the quest of identifying Civil War soldiers and sailors buried in cemeteries in Macomb County, Michigan, the stories of several veterans aroused the interest of the authors. To that end, extensive research began and culminated in the stories of the six veterans noted in this work.

The stories begin with two cavalry sergeants, progress through the man widely credited with shooting Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart, then chronicling the prison experiences of an infantry officer, highlighting the career of the only Civil War general buried in Macomb County, and culminates with the military career of an 1812 soldier who served his country into the beginning of the Civil War.

The individuals presented in this book were not heroes. They were not much different than others who served in this conflict. They might be considered victims of the circumstances in which they found themselves. They certainly displayed fortitude and resolve in performing the duties given them and assumed responsibility for the actions they undertook. They should be viewed as examples of what many of the participants in this conflict did, however difficult their circumstances.

We salute them all.

Bob and Cherie Allen reside in Washington Township, Macomb County, Michigan. Their focus is researching Civil War veterans buried in cemeteries within their county. This research results in books that record the burials of veterans within this county, and copies are presented to local historical societies for future reference. Their work also consists of transcribing records from Washington Township's past and researching pioneer families of their township.

They are members of the Israel B. Richardson Civil War Roundtable and numerous local historical societies. They also make presentations about their Civil War research to local groups on a regular basis.

If you ask most students of Civil War history to name famous Michigan soldiers, you would be lucky to get one or two names – George Custer for sure and maybe Israel Richardson or Moses Wisner. Then ask them to name someone from Macomb County and you would probably get no response. In this, their third book honoring Macomb County soldiers who fought in the War of the Rebellion, the Allens are making sure that we know what our local men did to help the United States during the war. These are stories of hometown heroes whose bravery often goes unnoticed in the larger and more general volumes written about that era. The authors present for us the stories of six men and bring forth a depth of character and commitment representative of the over 90,000 Michigan men who served in the Union cause.

The documentation in this work is outstanding and the extensive research, most often from primary sources, includes pictures, maps, copies of pay records, pension records and regimental histories helps to provide a better understanding of the men and their role in the war.

Bill Grandstaff
Civil War Historian & Facilitator of the
Israel B. Richardson Civil War Roundtable

Robert D. & Cheryl J. Allen
7181 Riverbend Court
Washington, MI 48094
Phone: 586.781.4375
Email: rdallen1@att.net