How old and how tall?

Of the 1,374 men who actually served in the Third Michigan it is fairly certain that all were white males, and their ages ranged from 11-year-old Jacob Rebhun (son of Band-master Valentine Rebhun) to 62-year-old Regimental Chaplain Rev. Francis Cuming, with more than three-quarters of the total enrolled born after 1830 and one in five born after 1842. (photo: Theodore Castor with his father; source: Rod Castor.)

Of the 1,374 men who served in the Third Michigan it is fairly certain that all were white males, and their ages ranged from 11-year-old Jacob Rebhun (son of Band-master Valentine Rebhun) to 62-year-old Regimental Chaplain Rev. Francis Cuming. The regiment was composed of 287 “men” who were 19 or younger, 30 of which were 16 or under; 826 in their 20s; 202 between 30 and 40; 76 were over 40; 10 men more were over 50 and 3 over 60.

If we combine the numbers of all those men under 30 (1128), that group comprised nearly 80% of the total enrolled (1411) in the Regiment and some 82% of the total who actually servied in the Regiment (1374).

Height

Of the 915 reported physical measurements, we know that four men were five feet tall or under while two men were only five feet one inch tall and four men were five feet two inches tall. Some 233 men stood between five feet three and five feet six inches. Nine men stood five feet three inches, 38 stood five feet four, another 71 were five feet five and 107 were five feet six inches. 104 men were five feet seven, 158 were five feet eight inches tall, 109 stood five nine inches, 122 men stood five feet ten inches and another 74 were five feet eleven.

At the other end of the spectrum George Korten stood six feet ten inches tall, George Randall and Robert Swart were six feet six inches, Sam Aldrich and Ben Waite stood six feet four inches, and Alexander French, Calvin Wilsey, William Denny and Aaron Durfee stood six feet three inches. Another 12 men stood six feet two inches and 31 men six one and 45 soldiers stood at least six feet. Altogether some 94 men stood six feet or over.

It would seem that no single company in the Third Michigan infantry consisted solely of men over six feet tall.

Next: prewar occupations