CHAPTER XXIII.

THE IRON BRIGADE.

H

ISTORIES of the war make honorable mention of this celebrated Brigade, a name and record bought with blood. Fox, in his Book of Losses, ascribes to it a per centage of loss, in proportion to its numbers, the greatest of any of the Union brigades. It was composed of Western men who possessed the indomitable pluck of that section. Early in the war it won for itself a noble record for fortitude and bravery, and sustained its proud reputation to the end. Generals confidently relied upon it and gave it positions of danger and honor. Every soldier in it was proud to belong to his particular regiment and highly proud to be a member of this Brigade. Each of its five regiments was distinguished for some exceptional excellence and all combined to make a record second to

none.

In a recent letter to the author, General John B. Callis of Lancaster, Wis., thus explains the origin of its name by which its fame has become world-wide:

General McClellan told me at the Continental Hotel in Philadelphia, when his grand reception was given there, what he knew of the origin of the cognomen Iron Brigade. Said he: "During the battle of South Mountain my Headquarters were where I could see every move of the troops taking the gorge on the Pike [National Road]. With my glass I saw the men fighting against great odds, when General Hooker came in great haste for some orders. I asked him what troops were those fighting on the Pike. His answer was: 'General Gibbon's Brigade of Western men.' I said, 'They must be made of iron.' He replied, 'By the Eternal they are iron. If you had seen them at Second Bull Run as I did, you would know them to be iron.' I replied, 'Why, General Hooker, they fight equal to the best troops in the world.' This remark so elated Hooker that he mounted his horse and dashed away without his orders. After the battle, I saw Hooker at the Mountain House near where the Brigade fought. He sang out, 'Now General, what do you think of the Iron Brigade?' Ever since that time I gave them the cognomen of IRON BRIGADE." The Twenty-fourth Michigan did not join us until after all this, but I am proud to say they proved themselves to contain as much iron as any regiment in the Brigade.

Thus it received its honorable title on the field of battle from the Commander-in-Chief of the Army- a distinction it excusably may be

proud to boast and a heritage its posterity will highly prize. The Iron Brigade was composed of the Second, Sixth and Seventh Wisconsin, Nineteenth Indiana and Twenty-fourth Michigan regiments of Infantry Volunteers. From time to time some other troops were temporarily attached to it, but the above five regiments constituted.

the Iron Brigade of the West. Gladly would we give a full history of each of these regiments but such would be wholly beyond the scope of this volume. A brief reference to each must suffice.

The SECOND WISCONSIN was enrolled under President Lincoln's first call for 75,000 three months' troops. It rendezvoused at Madison, Wis., during the first week of May, 1861, where its organization was perfected under Colonel S. Park Coon. On May 16, the men all enlisted for three years except one company whose place was at once supplied by the "Wisconsin Rifles" of Milwaukee. The regiment was mustered June 11, 1861, and on the 20th of that month left for Washington, with the following roster:

Colonel S. Park Coon; Lieutenant-Colonel-Henry P. Peck; Major-Duncan McDonald; Adjutant—E. M. Hunter; Quartermaster—James D. Ruggles; Surgeon— James M. Lewis; Assistant Surgeons-Thomas D. Russell and P. S. Arndt; Chaplain -J. C. Richmond.

Captains-George H. Stevens, Wilson Colwell, David McKee, George B. Ely, Gabriel Bouck, William E. Strong, John Mansfield, J. F. Randolph, Thomas S. Allen, A. J. Langworthy. First Lieutenants-Edward H. Mann, Frank Hatch, C. K. Dean, A. B. McLean, John Hancock, A. O. Doolittle, A. S. Hill, A. A. Meredith, W. W. Lafleische, Caleb Hunt. Second Lieutenants-William W. Jones, Robert Hughes, William Booth, Dana D. Dodge, H. B. Jackson, Wm. L. Parsons, Samuel K. Vaughn, Nat. Rollins, Thomas B. Bishop and William A. Hopkins.

Soon after it was brigaded with three New York regiments under command of Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman, who afterwards became the celebrated Major-General. On July 16, in Tyler's Division, it moved out to Centerville, and four days later participated in the battle of Bull's Run, in which it lost twenty-three killed and mortally wounded, 109 other wounded, six of whom were officers and forty prisoners, besides thirty-two other prisoners. After the battle. it was placed in defense of Fort Corcoran. Soon after Edgar O'Connor of the regular army became its Colonel, Lucius Fairchild its Lieutenant-Colonel and Captain T. S. Allen its Major. It was transferred on August 25, to General Rufus King's brigade which then consisted of the Fifth and Sixth Wisconsin and Nineteenth Indiana. On December 9, 1861, Company K was organized as heavy artillery and its place filled on the 30th, by a new company. Its subsequent history was identified with the Iron Brigade until May, 1864. After the battle of Laurel Hill, it was permanently detached, May 11, 1864, from the Iron Brigade to whose reputation its valor had signally contributed. It had now less than 100 men left for duty, with both field officers wounded and in the hands of the enemy. It was engaged as provost guard of the Fourth Division, Fifth Army Corps and on June 11, left for home its term of service being done.

It was commanded in succession by Colonel S. Park Coon, Colonel Edgar O'Connor (killed), Colonel Lucius Fairchild and Colonel John Mansfield. Out of a total enrollment of 1,203 it sustained a death loss of 315 or 26.2 per cent. It had nearly 900 killed and wounded and according to Fox, "It sustained the greatest percentage of loss of any regiment in the entire Union Army." At Gettysburg, it lost 77 per cent. of those present, Colonel Fairchild lost an arm and its Lieutenant-Colonel George H. Stevens was killed. The recruits and re-enlisted men were organized into two companies and attached to the Sixth Wisconsin.