Monroe County History / 46 Monroe County men served in the Civil War's 9th Calvary, Company D They were: Alexander Anteau, age 22; J
Editor’s note: Roger D. Evans of Maricopa, Ariz., formerly of Monroe, uncovered some information about Monroe’s Civil War soldiers while researching his family and that of his wife, Cindy Mae Dicks Evans. He has been interested in geology since 1977.
The American Civil War was the bloodiest war in American history. A rough estimate of 620,000 soldiers died. Over 142,000 soldiers from Michigan served in the Civil War. Of these, 14,790 would perish of wounds received or die of disease. Also, authorities classified an added 279 men from Michigan as missing.
Comparing the number of Michigan soldiers who served to various other states revealed that New York had the highest count of soldiers in the Civil War: 509,636, followed by Pennsylvania at 508,102, Ohio at 464,175, Indiana at 277,183, United States colored troops had 227,885, Missouri at 195,059, and Massachusetts 164,403. Louisiana had the least number of soldiers in the Union army at 14,671.
My wife’s family's connection to the Civil War is the Union Army Volunteer 9th Michigan Cavalry Regiment. The regiment carried a total of 2,057 men on its muster rolls. The 9th Michigan lost two officers and 22 soldiers killed in action or mortally wounded and four officers and 281 soldiers who died of disease, for a total of 309 fatalities.
Cindy’s mother, Theresa LaBelle (1939 - 1982), comes from a family line familiar to many within the Monroe County area, as the family has been in the Berlin Township area since the early 1800s. Cindy’s second great-grandfather on her mother’s side, Antoine LaBelle (1831 - 1913), had a brother, Cindy’s second great-uncle, Charles LaBelle Jr., (1829 - 1917).
Charles served in the Civil War, and although a resident of Monguagon County (Trenton, Michigan), and born in Sandwich, Ontario, Canada, he immigrated to the US in the early 1850s. He volunteered in the Union Army and was assigned to the 9th Michigan Cavalry, Company D.
The 9th Cavalry, Company D, organized out of Coldwater, Michigan in 1862, was commanded by a 19- year-old Captain, James G. McBride of Monroe, and a 26-year-old 2nd Lieutenant, William Neff of Monguagon, Michigan. Company D, a total of 244 members, included 46 Monroe County area members ranging in age from 16 to 45.
They were: Alexander Anteau, age 22; Joseph Anteau, 19 (or 16); Moses Anteau, 45; Patrick Anteau, 19; Louis Arpontineau, 18; Michael Beauchamp, 44; Frederick P. Beidler of LaSalle, 38; Luther S. Bevier, 44; James Burns, 28; Columbus Campbell, 18; William Campeau, 27; Daniel Carmell, 20; Nelson J. Carney, 21; James C. Darragh, 19; Antoine Dubrie/Dubry, 22; Alexander Duvall, 27; Hilary Duvall, 33; Nicholas Gregory, 18; Paul Gregory, 45; Henry M. Hall, 36; Asahel Hamlin, 44; Henry Hartfelden, 18; Joseph Labeau, 23; Charles Labell of Trenton, 33; Henry P. Lawson, 19; Evans Lyons, 55; George McKarrigan, 18; Fred Mainard, 17; Henry J. Marvin, 17; Gilbert Menard/Manard, 28; Eli Metty, 40; Isaac Metty, 18; Frederick Miller, 22; Gilbert Navarre, 41; Stephen Navarre, 19; Peter Plumb, 27; Alexander Roberts, 24; Dennis Roberts, 26; Joseph Sargeant, 18; Peter Shovar, 35; Alexander Soleau, 25; Eli Soleau, 26; George W. Thompson, 45; John B. Trombley, 44; James Turner, 45; Joseph Varin/Variant, 18; Newell P. Vincent, 18, and William A. Wickham, 21.
Included in the list is a father, Moses Anteau, age 45, and his sons, Joseph, age 16, (according to the 1860 Census of Monroe), and Patrick, age 19, who served in Company D. All three safely returned to Monroe after the war.
A Company D 1 st Lieutenant, James I. Christiancy, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery at Hawes Shops, Virginia on May 28, 1864. While acting as aide, he voluntarily led a part of the line into the fight and was twice wounded. He was awarded the award on October 10, 1892. Born in 1844, he died on December 18, 1899, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC. His name does not appear on the list of Company D names as records indicate he was initially a member of Company C.
Charles LaBelle enlisted on November 10, 1862. His unit mustered on January 22, 1863. At the time Charles LaBelle volunteered, he was a 33-year-old day laborer, father of three children, who was working at a stone quarry in Monguagon County, Michigan. In June of 1862, the same year of his enlistment, he lost a four-year-old daughter, Julia, the cause of death unknown.
A cook for the regiment, his unit saw action that included skirmishes in Tennessee at Knoxville, Morristown, Russellville, Bean’s Station, and Rutledge. The regiment also took part in the siege of Atlanta. Charles was discharged from the Union Army at St. Louis, Missouri, on March 17, 1864. He died in 1917 and was buried in Wyandotte, Michigan. In total, Charles would father seven children. Widowed in 1876, he remarried and remained in the Wayne County area as did his children.
Cindy’s 2nd great-grandfather, Antoine LaBelle, the brother of the Civil War soldier above, was also from the Wayne County area, however, Antoine’s son, another Charles LaBelle (1866 - 1939), settled in Berlin Township during the early 1900s.
Roger D. Evans of Maricopa, Ariz., a former Monroe County resident, has family members in Monroe, Ottawa Lake, Rockwood, South Rockwood and surrounding areas. He retired from the National Transportation Safety Board as a senior pipeline accident investigator.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe County History / 46 Monroe County men served in the Civil War's 9th Calvary, Company D
