Colonel Charles E. Stuart, formerly a United States Senator from Michigan was authorized to organize the Thirteenth Michigan Infantry with its rendezvous at Kalamazoo.

The regiment was mustered into service on January 17 with an aggregate of 925 strong and it left Kalamazoo on the twelfth of February in command of Colonel Michael Shoemaker of Jackson who had been commissioned Colonel in place of Colonel Stuart, resigned, and took its route through Kentucky and Tennessee, via Bowling Green, to Nashville.

The Thirteenth formed part of General Wood’s division of General Buell’s army and was on the forced march from Ashville to reinforce General Grant at Shiloh. It reached the battlefield of Pittsburg Landing near the close of the second days fighting and until the evacuation of Corinth was engaged in picket and other duty with the forces that captured that post. Of the number who went forth to battle, seventy one died of disease, six were wounded and ten were made prisoners. November 10, the regiment marched from Silver Springs, Tennessee and formed par of the force that drove the enemy from Lebanon. Proceeding to Nashville, it was then engaged in guarding forage trains and on picket duty from the twenty fifth of November to the twenty sixth of December when it marched with the army under General Roscrans on Murfreesboro and belonged to the third brigade, first division, Thomas’s corps. It was deployed as skirmishers on the twenty ninth, in the advance and suffered some loss. It took part in the bloody engagements on Stone River on the thirtieth and thirty first of December and January 1-3. The command going into action with 224 men, losing out of this number twenty five killed or died of wounds, sixty two wounded and eight missing. After the occupation of Murfreesboro, the regiment was engaged in building fortifications at that place and scouting until June 24, seen it advanced with the army under Bragg, followed in pursuit as far as Pelham, at the base of Cumberland Mountains, whence it returned to Hillsboro on the sixteenth of August, when the army advanced into Georgia. On the 20^th the regiment with its division, arrived in the valley of the Sequacheo, after a march of the summit of the mountains which here rise to the height of three thousand feet, the road being so steep and difficult that the guns, baggage and ammunition trains had to be hauled up by hand. The division having crossed the Tennessee at Shell Mound; move on the Chattanooga, and on the eighth of September, the town was taken, the thirteenth being to the city. It participated in the engagements September 19&20 AT Chickamaugia, where, going into action with 217 officers and men , losing fourteen killed, sixty eight wounded and twenty five missing. During the month of October, the regiment was engaged in trench duty before Chattanooga. During the year 1863, 118 deaths occurred among the men.

During the year, 1864, the regiment served with the army of the Cumberland, losing in battle two and thirty eight died.

The command entered its closing campaign, January 17, 1865 when it moved into Carolina, taking part in the affairs of Catawba river; February 9, Averysboro and Bentonville, March 16 to 19. At the latter place it lost 110 men killed, wounded and missing. It mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, July 25 and received its discharge at Jackson, July 27.