5fish
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Well @Leftyhunter and @diane may want to know this unless you already do...
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Company K was made up of 139 enlisted Anishnaabe men and one officer from the lower and upper peninsulas. The company tried to muster at the beginning of the Civil War and were denied, Hemenway said.
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But by 1863, as the Union forces suffered mounting losses, the Army reversed its stance and decided to allow native peoples to enter the armed forces. The Anishnaabe in the First Michigan Sharpshooters were much better marksmen than their white comrades and used unconventional tactics for the era learned from their ancestors, Ostrander said
Here is this...
Company K[edit]
Of note, Company K was composed primarily of Native Americans of the United States, especially members of the Ojibwa, Odawa, and Potawatomi nations. In their first action at Although some members were armed with repeaters and breech-loaders, and despite Colonel Deland's attempts to requisition 700 Henrys for the regiment, the majority remained armed with Springfield Model 1861 rifled muskets.[3] The unit distinguished itself in its skirmishing ability, infiltration ability, and marksmanship.
The regiment was highly trained in its combat skills, and the First Nations men in Company K were recognized as the most accomplished.[4] In their first combat at The Wilderness,
The story of Company K: Native Americans from Michigan who saw tough action in the Civil War
Thousands of Michiganders fought for the Union during the American Civil War, but one group of soldiers in particular stood out: Company K of the First
www.michiganradio.org
snip...
Company K was made up of 139 enlisted Anishnaabe men and one officer from the lower and upper peninsulas. The company tried to muster at the beginning of the Civil War and were denied, Hemenway said.
snip...
But by 1863, as the Union forces suffered mounting losses, the Army reversed its stance and decided to allow native peoples to enter the armed forces. The Anishnaabe in the First Michigan Sharpshooters were much better marksmen than their white comrades and used unconventional tactics for the era learned from their ancestors, Ostrander said
Here is this...
1st Michigan Sharpshooters Regiment - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Company K[edit]
Of note, Company K was composed primarily of Native Americans of the United States, especially members of the Ojibwa, Odawa, and Potawatomi nations. In their first action at Although some members were armed with repeaters and breech-loaders, and despite Colonel Deland's attempts to requisition 700 Henrys for the regiment, the majority remained armed with Springfield Model 1861 rifled muskets.[3] The unit distinguished itself in its skirmishing ability, infiltration ability, and marksmanship.
The regiment was highly trained in its combat skills, and the First Nations men in Company K were recognized as the most accomplished.[4] In their first combat at The Wilderness,
Through its service, the regiment was esteemed for its solid, dependable, and effective conduct. It provided valuable sniping, counter-sniping, and harassment fire during the Siege of Petersburg. It was noted for its "splendid work" in the debacle of the Battle of the Crater on 30 July 1864. Many other Union soldiers noticed mortally wounded Native American members of Company K, "... drawing their blouses over their faces, they chanted a death song and died — four of them a group.[6]They, on the very first day at the front, caught on to the great advantage our enemy employed over us in the color of uniform. Ours was blue, and could be seen at a long distance; while the "Johnny" (as we called them) could not be spotted at a comparatively short distance, even when lying in an open field.
This disadvantage to us was appreciated almost immediately that these Indians got in the field, and they would go out and find a dry spot of earth and roll in it until their uniform was the complete color of the ground before going out on the skirmish line; and if the day was wet, they would not hesitate to take mud and rub it over their clothes, for as soon as this dried a little they would have what they were after—the color of the earth. This custom was adopted by my whole Regiment; and it was often remarked that our Regiment could do the closest skirmishing at the least cost of any Regiment in the Division.
Sgt. Thomas Ke-chi-ti-go, called "Big Tom" by the white Sharpshooters, further "ordered each brave to cover his breast and head with twigs and leaves to prevent contrast of color with their surroundings.[5]