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The Iron Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army during the American Civil War, consisting primarily of Western regiments, that was noted for its ability to withstand almost any fire, and its regiments combined took the highest casualty percentage of the war.
Brigade nickname
The Iron Brigade initially consisted of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin, along with the 19th Indiana. This led it to be sometimes referred to as the Iron Brigade of the West. Also, due to the black Hardee hats that the brigade wore (along with other units in I Corps), they were known early in the war as the Black Hats.
The all-Western brigade earned its famous nickname while under the command of Brigadier General John Gibbon, who led the brigade in its first fight at Brawner's Farm during the Second Battle of Bull Run, where it stood up against Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson’s forces. The designation "Iron Brigade" originated at the battle for the gaps of South Mountain, the prelude to the Battle of Antietam. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, commanding I Corps, approached Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, seeking orders. McClellan asked, "What troops are those fighting in the Pike?" Hooker replied, "* General Gibbon's brigade of Western men." McClellan stated, "They must be made of iron." Hooker said that the regiment had performed even more superbly at Second Bull Run; to this, McClellan said that the brigade consisted of the "best troops in the world." Hooker became very elated and rode off with his orders; afterward, the name "Iron Brigade" stuck.
Brigade history
The Iron brigade was activated on October 1, 1861, upon the arrival in Washington, D.C., of the 7th Wisconsin Infantry regiment. The regiments in the original Iron Brigade were the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin Infantry, and the 19th Indiana. The brigade fought under the I Corps starting in 1862, when the Army of the Potomac was reorganized under Major General George B. McClellan. The 24th Michigan joined the brigade prior to the Battle of Fredericksburg. The brigade commanders, disregarding temporary assignments, were:
- Brig. Gen. Rufus King: September 28, 1861 – May 7, 1862
- Brig. Gen. John Gibbon: May 7, 1862 – November 4, 1862
- Brig. Gen. Solomon Meredith: November 25, 1862 – July 1, 1863
The Iron Brigade lost its unofficial designation on July 16, 1863, following its crippling losses at Gettysburg, when a non-Western regiment (the 167th Pennsylvania) was incorporated into it. However, the brigade that succeeded it, which included the survivors of the Iron Brigade, was commanded by:
- Col. William W. Robinson (of the 7th Wisconsin): July 1, 1863 – March 25, 1864
- Brig. Gen. Lysander Cutler (6th Wisconsin): March 25, 1864 – May 6, 1864
- Col. William W. Robinson: May 6, 1864 – June 7, 1864
- Brig. Gen. Edward S. Bragg (6th Wisconsin): June 7, 1864 – February 10, 1865
- Brig. Gen. John A. Kellogg (6th Wisconsin): February 28, 1865 – April 27, 1865
- Brig. Gen. Henry A. Morrow (24th Michigan): April 27, 1865 – June 5, 1865
In June of 1865, the units of the surviving brigade were separated and reassigned to the Army of the Tennessee.
The brigade fought in the Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Overland, Richmond-Petersburg, and Appomattox campaigns.
The brigade took pride in its designation, "1st Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps", under which it played a prominent role in the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. It repulsed the first Confederate offensive through Herbst’s Woods, capturing much of Brig. Gen. James J. Archer's Confederate brigade, and Archer himself. It suffered tremendous losses in the second, larger Confederate assault that afternoon.
The Iron Brigade, proportionately, suffered the most casualties of any brigade in the Civil War. For example, 61% (1,153 out of 1,885) were casualties at Gettysburg. Similarly, the 2nd Wisconsin, which suffered 77% casualties at Gettysburg, suffered the most throughout the war; it was second only to the 24th Michigan (also an Iron Brigade regiment) in total casualties at Gettysburg. The latter regiment lost 397 out of 496 soldiers, an 80% casualty rate.
Other Iron Brigades
There were and are other brigades known to some extent by the same nickname:
- Another brigade in the Army of the Potomac had previously been known as the Iron Brigade (later the Iron Brigade of the East or First Iron Brigade to avoid confusion). This was the original 1st Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps, and consisted of the 22nd, 24th, 30th, and 84th New York (14th Brooklyn) Infantry regiments.
- A Confederate cavalry brigade was also known as the Iron Brigade, or Shelby’s Iron Brigade. It was in the division commanded by Brig. Gen. Joseph O. (Jo) Shelby in the Army of Missouri and fought in Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition in 1864.
- Recent scholarship identifies two other brigades referred to by their members or others as "The Iron Brigade":
- The Second Brigade of the US Army's First Armored Division has carried the Iron Brigade moniker since 1985.
Notes
- Clemens, Tom, Will the Real Iron Brigade Please Stand Up?
References
- Nolan, Alan T., The Iron Brigade, A Military History, Indiana University Press, 1961, ISBN 0-253-34102-7.
External links
"Iron Brigade"