Using materials from the National Archives, the State Archives of Michigan, university collections, and private holdings, Raymond Herek weaves together a full account of the First Michigan Sharpshooters, complete with nearly 100 photographs.

Beyond presenting numerous anecdotes about the men and officers and their contributions during the war, he provides insight into the medical community of the time, the draft, other commands in the same division, the politics endemic in raising a regiment, and Michigan's Native American contingent. The extensive appendices will be of particular use to genealogists, Civil War enthusiasts, and historians, because they list the men in the regiment, and also battle and camp casualties.