[Civil War]. Christiancy Family in the Civil War. This small archive is comprised of twelve documents, ribbons, and photographs spanning the years 1852 through 1925. The bulk of the material is from James I. Christiancy, the son of Isaac P. Christiancy, chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court (1872-1874) and U.S. Senator from Michigan (1875-1879).

James enlisted in the Union Army in May 1862. By August he had been promoted to sergeant major in the 17th Michigan Infantry. On September 2, 1862, just days after the Battles of Second Manassas and Chantilly, he found himself and his regiment posted just outside of Washington, D.C. It was here that he wrote home to his father, "I was in the city [Washington] yesterday and saw them bringing in the wounded from the battle field. Every Hack & omnibus was required for that purpose. . . . I saw about a thousand wounded come in. Some were badly wounded and could never recover and others but very slightly." Just two weeks later, he would find himself engaged at the Battle of Antietam.

A little over a month later, he wrote to his mother and grandmother [October 9, 1862], now near Harpers Ferry where he has just met Gen. Ambrose Burnside, "He is one of the most pleasant looking men I ever saw and is as brave as he is good looking. But [George B.] McClellan is the Idol of all the soldiers but some of the officers are always growling about him as they do all over the country." A year and a half later, now a lieutenant on the staff of Gen. George Armstrong Custer, James was camped in a cemetery near Culpepper, Virginia, ("On the Head stones you may read the names of soldiers from every state in the dominions of Jefferson D[avis] who died of wounds received at Bull Run") from where he wrote to his father about another run-in with a famous face: "I have had the pleasure of twice riding in the train car with General Grant between here & Washington. He is an extremely ordinary looking man."

With a 2.5" x 4" carte de visite of young Lt. Christiancy in uniform, holding his saber in his right hand and his hat in his left. Christiancy received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Hawes Shops in May 1864.

Also included are orders and a memorial sheet for Isaac Christiancy's other son, Henry C. Christiancy, who served on the staff of Gen. Humphrey. His daughter, Ida, married the son of Confederate Gen. George E. Pickett. With two souvenir ribbons commemorating Gen. Robert E. Lee and the laying of the corner stone of the Lee Monument.