Henry Fisher
3rd great-grandfather of Kimberly Rowell Sides
Private Co. D 6th MI Cavalry
Dates of Service: 1 Feb 1864 - 15 May 1865
Henry Fisher was born 28 Dec 1829 in Gorham, Ontario, New York, the oldest child of farmer Michael and Polly Buell Fisher. By 1850, Michael had resettled his large family in Tuscola, Livingston, Michigan on a farm valued at $1200. On Christmas day 1852, Henry married 19-year old Delia Bigalow, the daughter of a neighboring farmer. By 1860, Henry was farming in Cohoctah, Oak Grove, Livingston. He and Delia were the parents of 4 children ranging from 6 years to 5 months.
US Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 5th Congressional District,1863-1865, vol 1 of 3
In June 1863 Henry, as required by law, registered for the military draft along with his younger brothers James and Joseph.
Although Henry and Delia had 6 children by then, he enlisted 1 Feb 1864 at Cohoctah with the 6th MI Cavalry, mustering into Co D on 23 Feb 1864, only 3 days after the birth of his 7th child Sarah.
The 6th Regiment of Michigan Cavalry had been organized at Grand Rapids, Kent, MI, between 28 May -- 13 Oct 1862, and, after completing training left for Washington, D. C. in Dec 1862. The 6th had seen a lot of service between then and March, 1864, when Henry would have joined them in Richmond.
From the civilwartalk.com forum, historians discussed BG Philip St. George Cooke's ”Cavalry Tactics: or, Regulations for the Instruction, Formations, and Movements by the Cavalry of the Army and Volunteers of the United States”, page 58 of the 1864 edition reprinted from 1861:
“During the ‘Camp of Instruction’ and ‘School of the Troop’, most [recruits] who joined in 1861-1862 were trained in how to shoot mounted and dismounted as cavalry troopers. Included in this training was the firing of pistols, rifles and shotguns as well as the use of the sword ...”
Individual states set up training camps where men were mustered in and companies assigned to form regiments. “In peacetime, it takes about 3 years to fully train a cavalryman and his mount. Taking into account that the vast majority of Union recruits had to be taught simply to ride before they could do any complicated maneuvers of horsemanship, and most horses purchased didn’t have time to be really trained as cavalry mounts, you got a situation where a lot of boys and their mounts went off to war with only the rudiments of instruction ... One of the reasons American cavalry operated primarily as dragoons or mounted infantry was that there simply wasn’t time to raise a true cavalry force in the European sense and that was without a war going on requiring fresh reinforcements. As time went on the immediate needs of the War would have shortened training. When the regiments were dispatched to the front lines any new recruits were sent directly to their assigned units. Those who enlisted and joined a cavalry outfit in the field later in the war were not able to attend a ‘Camp of Instruction’ or a ‘School of Troop’ and had to learn those very important lessons as they served and fought and by listening to the veterans. There were no boot camps; it was on the job training.”
(NOTE: Excerpts are from the civilwartalk forum threads "Pistol training for cavalrymen" and "How long would it take to complete Cavalry Training?")
US Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles 1861-1865
Henry mustered out 15 May 1865 at Chester, PA, and returned home to Michigan. By 1870, he had moved his family to Holly in Oakland Co, MI, where he was working as a farm laborer. His family now included one more child, a 3-year old daughter, Anna.
Pension Index card
On 24 Feb 1879, Henry filed an application for a veteran’s pension and was approved, with Invalid Certificate No 263.941.
On the 1880 Federal Census, Henry was enumerated in Tyrone, Livingston, MI, living with Delia and 4 of their youngest children; Henry was a farmer.
Henry Fisher 1890 Veterans Census
The 1890 Veterans Schedule for Perry, Shiawassee, MI, yielded one additional detail to what little is known of his wartime experiences:
Line 39 details include “Disabilty Incurred”: Henry states “Chronic Diarrhea”; “Remarks” include “In Hospital 12 months”. Of his total “Length of Service” -- “1 Yr. 3 Mos. 14 Days”, he spent 12 months “in Hospital”.
A superficial outline of the service of the 6th MI Cavalry during the time of Henry’s enlistment commences with the “Fortifications of Richmond, VA, in Mar 1864; ... through the Wilderness Campaign in May; Yellow Tavern; Cold Harbor; ordered to Washington, D. C. Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign August 7-November 28; ... on to Sheridan's Raid from Winchester to James River February 27-March 25 1865; ... Five Forks on Apr 1... to Appomattox Court House and the Surrender of Lee and his army Apr 9.” And then the March to Washington, D. C., May 1865. (--condensed from: UNION MICHIGAN VOLUNTEERS, 6th Regiment, Michigan Cavalry)
The Grand Review in Washington, D. C. was May 23, but Henry had been mustered out in PA May 15 and was probably already home. (NOTE: Muster Roll Abstracts and Pension Applications have not yet been digitized by fold3. Without these records or any personal recollections left by Henry, it is impossible to speculate where and when he spent any amount of time with his regiment and company.)
Statistical Returns from the Census of the State of Michigan, 1894
Henry appeared again in the transcribed “Statistical Returns from the Census of the State of Michigan 1894, Vol III, United States soldiers of the Civil War residing in Michigan, June 1, 1894.” He was in Bennington Township, Shiawassee Co.
The Federal Census enumerator caught up with Henry once again on 8 Jun 1900, in Morrice Village, Perry, Shiawassee. No longer farming, Henry was working as a painter. He owned his own home, where he lived with wife Adelia, and two granddaughters. Henry and Delia had been married 47 years. She was the mother of 7 children, of whom 7 were still living (a very unusual fact).
Delia died two years later on 6 Aug 1902 in Morrice, just shy of her 69th birthday, and was buried in Rose Lawn Cemetery in Perry. Henry survived her by 6 years, passing away 3 Oct 1908 in Winn, Fremont Twp, Isabella Co, MI. Cause of death was “chronic dysentery of many years”. He was buried beside his wife.
United States Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933
Henry’s VA Pension Payment Card recorded his actual death as October 3, 1908.
"Henry Fisher, 1907-1933; citing NARA microfilm publication M850 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,634,770."
Henry Fisher Application for Veteran Headstone
Henry’s grave was still unmarked 21 years later when his daughter Flora applied for a veteran’s headstone on 1 Oct 1929.
Her application was approved, but sadly Flora herself passed away on 23 Feb 1930 a month before her father’s headstone was ordered. The stone was shipped 23 Jun 1930 to Henry’s son-in-law in Perry and erected at his gravesite. (NOTE: Henry's date of death was correctly recorded on the application. The 1907 death date on his family headstone, erected at a later date, is incorrect.)
GRAVESITE: Rose Lawn Cemetery, Perry, Shiawassee, Michigan
Written by Dorotha Simmons Piechocki, January 2023
ADDITIONAL SOURCES: ancestry; wikipedia; nps.gov; fold3; findagrave; familysearch