Iron Brigade

The Iron Brigade initially consisted of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiments, the 19th Indiana, Battery B of the 4th U.S. Light Artillery, and was later joined by the 24th Michigan. This particular composition of men, from the three Western states, led it to be sometimes referred to as the "Iron Brigade of the West". They were known throughout the war as the "Black Hats" because of the black 1858 model Hardee hats issued to Army regulars, rather than the blue kepis worn by most other Union Army units.

The all-Western brigade, composed of Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana troops, earned their famous nickname, while under the command of Brig. Gen. John Gibbon, who led the brigade into its first battle. On August 28, 1862, during the preliminary phases of the Second Battle of Bull Run, it stood up against attacks from a superior force under Maj. Gen Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson at Brawner's Farm, during the waning hours of August 28th, 1862. The brigade lost 800 casualties, the 2nd Wisconsin losing 276 out of 430 who went into the fight, and at least half of their wounded being shot twice.[1]

The designation "Iron Brigade" is said to have originated during the brigade's action at Turners Gap, during the Battle of South Mountain, a prelude to the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, commanding I Corps, approached Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, seeking orders. As the Western men advanced up the National Road, forcing the Confederate line all the way back to the gap, McClellan asked, "What troops are those fighting in the Pike?" Hooker replied, "[Brigadier] General Gibbon's brigade of Western men."McClellan stated, "They must be made of iron."[2]

Hooker said that the brigade 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 supposedly was elated and rode off without his orders. There are a few stories related to the origin, but the men immediately adopted the name, which was quickly used in print after South Mountain.[3]

Soldiers in the 7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Company I, of the Iron Brigade, in Virginia, 1862

Rufus King, the founder and original commander of the Wisconsin Iron Brigade

John Gibbon, the commander of the combined three-state Western Iron Brigade

The unit that eventually became known as the Iron Brigade was activated on October 1, 1861, upon the arrival in Washington, D.C., of the 7th Wisconsin. It was combined into a brigade with the 2nd and 6th Wisconsin, and the 19th Indiana, under the command of Brig. Gen. Rufus King and were originally known as King's Wisconsin Brigade. The governor of Wisconsin, Alexander Randall, had hoped to see the formation of an entirely Wisconsin brigade, but the Army unwittingly frustrated his plans by transferring the 5th Wisconsin from King's brigade and including the Hoosiers instead.[4] This brigade was initially designated the 3rd Brigade of Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell's division of the Army of the Potomac, and then the 3rd Brigade, I Corps.[5]

McDowell's I Corps did not join the bulk of the Army of the Potomac in the Peninsula Campaign. In June 1862 it was reflagged the III Corps of Maj. Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia. Now under the command of John Gibbon, a regular Army officer from North Carolina who chose to stay with the Union,[6] King's brigade was reflagged the 4th Brigade, 1st Division, III Corps, and it saw its first combat in the Northern Virginia Campaign, fighting at Brawner's Farm, August 28th, 1862, where they received their deadly baptism of fire. Gibbon's brigade lost 725 men out of 1,900, the 2nd Wisconsin losing 276 out of 430 men. Almost immediately following the Union defeat in the Second Battle of Bull Run, the III Corps was transferred back to the Army of the Potomac and redesignated the I Corps, under the command of Joseph Hooker. Gibbon's brigade was reflagged yet again, becoming the 4th Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps.[7]

The brigade next went into action at The Battle Of South Mountain, September 14th, 1862, where they received their coveted nickname. Then again at the Battle Of Antietam, September 17th, 1862, where the brigade was heavily engaged in the cornfield. Of the 800 men of the Iron Brigade engaged at Antietam, 343 were killed or wounded. The 6th Wisconsin lost 150 out of the 280 men they brought into battle that day.

The 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment joined the brigade on October 8, 1862, prior to the Battle of Fredericksburg in December. The Iron Brigade was not heavily engaged in the battle of Fredericksburg, besides for some minor actions by the 24th Michigan. On February 27, 1863, the brigade, now under the command of Brig. Gen. Solomon Meredith, was redesignated the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps. The 6th Wisconsin and the 24th Michigan took part in the attacks at Fitzhugh's Crossing, April 29th, 1863, losing a combined total casualty list of 58.

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, led by the 2nd Wisconsin, capturing much of Brig. Gen. James J. Archer's brigade, and Archer himself. The 6th Wisconsin, along with 100 men of the brigade guard, are remembered for their famous charge on an unfinished railroad cut north and west of the town, where they captured the flag of the 2nd Mississippi and took hundreds of Confederate prisoners.[8]

The rest of the Iron Brigade were counterattacked in the early afternoon of July 1st. The Brigade initially held their ground against the rebel counterattack. The pressure was eventually too heavy, and the Brigade slowly fell back to Seminary Ridge. The Brigade survivors defended the north slope of Culp’s Hill on July 2,3, where the 6th Wisconsin made a night counterattack to restore Union positions previously lost to Confederate troops. Out of the 1,883 men the Brigade initially went to battle with, only 671 reported for duty at the battle's end.

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 third highest total throughout the war. It was third behind the 24th Michigan, also an Iron Brigade regiment, as well as the 1st Minnesota in total casualties at Gettysburg. The Michigan regiment lost 397 out of 496 soldiers, an 80% casualty rate. The 1st Minnesota suffered the highest casualty percentage of any Union regiment in a single Civil War engagement during the battle of Gettysburg, losing 216 out of 262 men (82%).

The brigade fought in the bloody Overland campaign of 1864, and took part in the siege of Petersburg for the rest of the war.

The 19th Indiana was eventually transferred to the 20th Indiana Infantry Regiment in October, 1864. The 2nd Wisconsin left the brigade once they mustered out in 1864. The 24th Michigan was transferred up north for guard duty. The 6th Wisconsin and 7th Wisconsin fought together until the end of the war.

In June 1865, the units of the surviving brigade were separated and reassigned to the Army of the Tennessee.

The last surviving member of the Iron Brigade, Josiah E. Cass of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, died on 2 December 1947, from a fractured hip suffered in a fall. He was 100 years old.[9]

• 
  24th Michigan Monument, Gettysburg National Military Park
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  The Iron Brigade prepared for battle, at Gettysburg, by anchoring the Union Army's southern flank, 10:00–10:45 a.m., on Day 1.
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  Death of General John F. Reynolds as he supervised the deployment of the Iron Brigade early on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg

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 (wounded at Gettysburg)

The Iron Brigade lost its all-Western status on July 16, 1863, following its crippling losses at Gettysburg, when the 167th Pennsylvania was incorporated into it, and a company of New York sharpshooters. 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
Col. John A. Kellogg (6th Wisconsin): February 28, 1865 – April 27, 1865
Col. Henry A. Morrow (24th Michigan): April 27, 1865 – June 5, 1865

The black wool hardee hat was most famously worn and easily identified as the hat worn by the Union Army's "Iron Brigade of the West", which became their trademark. They were popularly known by the nickname "The Black Hats".

Union Army soldiers, from the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Company C, of the Iron Brigade, wearing a mix of blue and gray uniforms and the distinctive hardee hats. The state militia uniforms were eventually replaced to avoid being mistaken as Confederate soldiers. From a rare, degraded, tintype photograph, circa 1861.

The Iron Brigade was noted for consistently wearing the dress uniform of the US Army. While many Union regiments were issued the dress uniform and wore it from time to time, much of the Iron Brigade wore it on campaign and in combat.[10] It consisted of:

A Hardee black hat: A tall blocked, brimmed black hat, featuring a brass infantry bugle, a red I Corps circle patch and brass numbers/letters of the front to indicate units and companies. A brass eagle badge on the side used to hold the brim up in a slouch, and finally an ostrich feather plume.[10]

Union Frock coat.: A long, dark blue coat that came down to the mid thighs, resembling that of an officers coat. Fitted with a single breasted row of nine brass buttons, each with the federal eagle on them. The cuffs and collars had light blue trimming and two smaller brass buttons on the cuffs. The inside of the coat was lined with cotton to make a better fit.

Light/dark blue trousers: depending on the period of the war and unit, trousers versed from light, sky blue to a dark blue the same colour as the coat. The trouser extended from the mid waist down to the ankles and had a pocket on either side.

White canvas gaiter: white canvas leggings with leather straps to prevent stones and dirt getting into the shoes whilst in the field.

All other equipment not mentioned included standard field equipment of the Union army consisting of canteens, belts, cartridge box, bayonet and scabbard, haversack and other various items of kit.

The Springfield Model 1861 rifled musket, firing the .58 caliber projectile, was issued to the 6th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana, and 24th Michigan regiments. This single-shot, muzzle loading, percussion cap rifle weighed nine pounds with a barrel length of forty inches. It was the most widely issued infantry weapon used by Federal troops. The Second and Seventh Wisconsin used the Lorenz Rifle.

"On the Union side, continental European firearms were mostly distributed to the Western armies--as such, the Lorenz Rifle was relatively uncommon in the Army of the Potomac (although two regiments of the famous Iron Brigade carried them) but heavily used by the Army of the Cumberland and Army of Tennessee.

• Beaudot, William J. K., and Herdegen, Lance J., In the Bloody Railroad Cut at Gettysburg, Morningside, 1990, ISBN 978-0-89029-535-9.
• Dorsey, Chris "Of Iron and Stone: A Comparison of the Iron and Stonewall Brigades," The Journal of America's Military Past, (Winter, 2001); 48-67.
• Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Fox, William F., Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, reprinted by Morningside Bookshop, Dayton, Ohio, 1993, ISBN 0-685-72194-9.
• Herdegen, Lance J., The Men Stood Like Iron: How the Iron Brigade Won Its Name, Indiana University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-253-33221-4.
• Nolan, Alan T., The Iron Brigade, A Military History, Indiana University Press, 1961, ISBN 0-253-34102-7.

• Herdegen, Lance J., Those Damned Black Hats! The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign. Savas, 2008. ISBN 978-1-932714-48-7
• Magnusen, Steven R., “To My Best Girl - The Inspiring Life Stories of Rufus Dawes (Iron Brigade) and Mary Gates“, GoToPublish 2020. ISBN 978-1-64749-092-8.
• Madaus, Howard Michael & Richard Zeitlin. "The Flags of the Iron Brigade". Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 69, no. 1 (Autumn 1985):3-35.
• Wert, Jeffry D., A Brotherhood of Valor: The Common Soldiers of the Stonewall Brigade, C.S.A., and the Iron Brigade, U.S.A.. Touchstone, 1999. ISBN 978-0-684-86244-6
• Zeitlin, Richard. "Beyond the Battle: The Flags of the Iron Brigade, 1863-1918". Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 69, no. 1 (Autumn 1985):36-66.

• Iron Brigade website
• Flags of the First Day: An Online Exhibit of Iron Brigade and Confederate battle flags from July 1, 1863 Archived March 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine: (Civil War Trust)