Michael Shuler was born in 1844, the son of John and Mary Ann Kite Shuler. Prior to the opening of the war, young Michael attended Roanoke College, perhaps for only a semester. When Virginia seceded Shuler returned to Page County and enlisted in Company H, 33rd Virginia Infantry at Luray on June 1, 1861. Initially elected to the post of junior 2nd lieutenant, fate held more for Shuler, eventually elevating him to the post of captain on April 21, 1862.

The absence of a diary until mid-summer 1862 leaves a great deal to the imagination. However, following the Battle of Fredericksburg, Shuler left scant traces of information pertaining to his activities. Wounded slightly in the head (probably a graze) at Gettysburg in the attempt upon Culp's Hill, Shuler would not come up again in reports, diaries, or records until the following winter.

Following the return from Gettysburg and the activities of the Mine Run Campaign, the 19 year-old captain found himself under arrest in December 1863 for having discharged a firearm while on march. In an apparent attempt to shoot an opposum, Shuler had brought himself under severe review. Remaining under arrest until January 30, 1864, the charges against Shuler were ultimately dropped allowing his return to duty.

By the spring of 1864, the armies were again on the move. On May 5, 1864, in the heat of battle near the edge of Saunder's Field at the Wilderness, Captain Shuler apparently met his demise. Killed sometime in the early afternoon between 12:30 and 3 p.m., the disposition of Shuler's body remains a mystery.

Though his sword and sword belt with belt plate were returned to the family it is believed that he was not buried at the St. Peter's Church cemetery in Page County but rather his body may have been swallowed by the horrible fire following the battle in the area of Saunder's Field. Then too, he may have been buried in a mass grave following the battle.