Michigan in the Mexican War 1846-1848

This book is the second in a series of three books which cover the State of Michigan's role in the war between Mexico and the United States from 1846 to 1848. This book is called "Volunteers" because it follows the largest contingent of Michigan soldiers, nearly one thousand, as they traveled to Mexico and back again in 1848. The casualties they suffered were nearly all from disease and approximately forty percent of the regiment fell to El Vomito, also known as yellow fever. What started out as a way for a Michigan farmer to receive 160 acres of land from the government and steady pay soon turned into a life and death struggle with the environment and the people of Mexico. Death seemed to stalk them whether they were coming or going. In the end, the survivors tried to put the war behind them and move on with their lives. This was not to be. Thirteen years later the Civil War began, and people of the State of Michigan looked to the only veterans they knew of, the men from the 1st Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment that had survived Mexico.