Daniel Powers enlisted in Co.B,6th Michigan Cavalry as First Sergeant on Sept.11,1862.Promoted to Captain on July 14,1863 after the Battle of Falling Waters,MD.He was discharged from service in July,1864.According to the United States Service Magazine of 1864,Powers was "dismissed to date,July 5,1864 for treachery and cowardice."The Battle of Trevilian Station,Virginia on June 11,1864 would change the life of Captain Powers forever.The Michigan Cavalry Brigade had captured 250 Confederate wagons,1000 horses and over 300 prisoners.They were placed with the Michigan Brigade's baggage train and Captain Powers and Co.B,6th Michigan Cavalry was ordered to escort it.Confederate cavalry attacked,splitting the Union cavalry and General George Custer found his troops surrounded.Powers moved the wagons to a wooded area looking for protection,but ran into Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry and was captured,along with the Union and Confederate trains.Custer lost his headquarters wagon,with his uniforms,commission as a general and intimate letters written by his wife,Libbie.General Custer would fight his way out of trouble,but Daniel Powers was taken to the first of many Confederate prisons.He was held in South Carolina in late July and transferred to a hospital in Columbia,South Carolina in October.On November 24,1864,a group of Union officers,including Captain Powers escaped,but were recaptured six days later at Edgefield,South Carolina.On December 11,Daniel Powers learned he had been dismissed from service on July 5.General Custer blamed Powers for the capture of his wagons and asked for his dismissal.Daniel Powers was released from prision in March,1865 and returned to Grand Rapids.He married Mary Bennett in July 1865,and worked as a bookkeeper and in the mercantile business.In 1899,Powers petitioned the Secretary of War Russell Alger for a reversal of his dismissal from service,but was ignored.He was given a pension and he remained a admired citizen of Grand Rapids until his death from "paralysis and senility"His remains were removed elsewhere and reinterred at Oakhill Cemetery on April 12,1924.He was 78 years old.What became of the contents of Custer's wagon? They were carried off by a Confederate cavalry officer from Texas,where they remained for over 130 years.As of July 2010,they are on loan to the Monroe Co.(Michigan) Museum by Sam Kennedy and partners of Coeur D'Alene,Idaho.The collection is for sale,with an asking price of several million dollars.
Daniel Powers enlisted in Co.B,6th Michigan Cavalry as First Sergeant on Sept.11,1862.Promoted to Captain on July 14,1863 after the Battle of Falling Waters,MD.He was discharged from service in July,1864.According to the United States Service Magazine of 1864,Powers was "dismissed to date,July 5,1864 for treachery and cowardice."The Battle of Trevilian Station,Virginia on June 11,1864 would change the life of Captain Powers forever.The Michigan Cavalry Brigade had captured 250 Confederate wagons,1000 horses and over 300 prisoners.They were placed with the Michigan Brigade's baggage train and Captain Powers and Co.B,6th Michigan Cavalry was ordered to escort it.Confederate cavalry attacked,splitting the Union cavalry and General George Custer found his troops surrounded.Powers moved the wagons to a wooded area looking for protection,but ran into Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry and was captured,along with the Union and Confederate trains.Custer lost his headquarters wagon,with his uniforms,commission as a general and intimate letters written by his wife,Libbie.General Custer would fight his way out of trouble,but Daniel Powers was taken to the first of many Confederate prisons.He was held in South Carolina in late July and transferred to a hospital in Columbia,South Carolina in October.On November 24,1864,a group of Union officers,including Captain Powers escaped,but were recaptured six days later at Edgefield,South Carolina.On December 11,Daniel Powers learned he had been dismissed from service on July 5.General Custer blamed Powers for the capture of his wagons and asked for his dismissal.Daniel Powers was released from prision in March,1865 and returned to Grand Rapids.He married Mary Bennett in July 1865,and worked as a bookkeeper and in the mercantile business.In 1899,Powers petitioned the Secretary of War Russell Alger for a reversal of his dismissal from service,but was ignored.He was given a pension and he remained a admired citizen of Grand Rapids until his death from "paralysis and senility"His remains were removed elsewhere and reinterred at Oakhill Cemetery on April 12,1924.He was 78 years old.What became of the contents of Custer's wagon? They were carried off by a Confederate cavalry officer from Texas,where they remained for over 130 years.As of July 2010,they are on loan to the Monroe Co.(Michigan) Museum by Sam Kennedy and partners of Coeur D'Alene,Idaho.The collection is for sale,with an asking price of several million dollars.
Family Members
Half Siblings
