Iron Brigade

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Iron Brigade

The Iron Brigade, also known as the Iron Brigade of the West or the Black Hat Brigade, was an infantry

Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who are primarily trained for the role of fighting on foot. A soldier in the infantry is known as an infantryman. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on fitness, physical strength and aggression....
brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army....
in the Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. Although it fought entirely in the Eastern Theater

Eastern Theater of the American Civil War

This article presents an overview of major military and naval operations in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
, it was composed of regiments from Western states (states that are today considered Midwestern

Midwestern United States

The Midwestern United States is one of the four geographic regions within the United States of America that are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau....
). Noted for its strong discipline, its unique uniform appearance, and its tenacious fighting ability, the Iron Brigade suffered the highest percentage of casualties of any brigade in the war.

The nickname "Iron Brigade", with its connotation of fighting men with iron dispositions, was applied formally or informally to a number of units in the Civil War and in later conflicts.

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Encyclopedia

The Iron Brigade, also known as the Iron Brigade of the West or the Black Hat Brigade, was an infantry

Infantry

Brigade

A brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army....
in the Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
during the American Civil War

American Civil War

Eastern Theater of the American Civil War

Midwestern United States

Brigade nickname

The Iron Brigade initially consisted of the 2nd

2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 2nd Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of the war as a member of the famous Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac....
, 6th

6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 6th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of the war as a member of the famous Iron Brigade in the Army of the Potomac....
, and 7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment

7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 7th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent most of the war as a member of the famous Iron Brigade in the Army of the Potomac....
s, along with the 19th Indiana

19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was one of the original regiments in the Army of the Potomac's Iron Brigade....
, and was later joined by the 24th Michigan. This composition of men from three Western states led it to be sometimes referred to as the Iron Brigade of the West. They were known early in the war as the Black Hats because of the black Hardee hat

Hardee hat

The Hardee hat, also known as the Model 1858 Dress Hat and sometimes nicknamed the "Jefferson Davis", was the Uniform of the Union Army for enlisted men in the U.S....
s worn by the soldiers, rather than the blue kepi

Kepi

The kepi is a cap with a flat circular top and a visor or peak . The word came into the English language from French , in which it is written with an acute accent: k?pi....
s worn in most other units.

The all-Western brigade earned its famous nickname while under the command of Brig. Gen.

Brigadier General

Brigadier General is the lowest ranking General Officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of Colonel and Major General.The rank can be traced back to the militaries of Europe where a brigadier general, or simply a brigadier, would command a brigade in the field....
John Gibbon

John Gibbon

John Gibbon was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars....
, who led the brigade in its first fight at Brawner's Farm during the Second Battle of Bull Run

Second Battle of Bull Run

The Second Battle of Bull Run, or, as it was called by the Confederate States of America, the Battle of Second Manassas, was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War....
(August 28, 1862), where it stood up against attacks from a superior force under Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson

Stonewall Jackson

Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E....
. The designation "Iron Brigade" originated at the battle for the gaps of South Mountain

Battle of South Mountain

The Battle of South Mountain was fought September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes: Crampton's Gap, Turner's Gap, and Fox's Gaps....
, the prelude to the Battle of Antietam

Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern United States soil....
in September 1862. Maj. Gen.

Major General

Major General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General....
Joseph Hooker

Joseph Hooker

Joseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, fought in the Mexican-American War, and was a Major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War....
, commanding I Corps

I Corps (ACW)

I Corps was the designation of three different corps-sized units in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The units served in the following armies:...
, approached Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan

George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a Major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army....
, seeking orders. 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." 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 became very elated and rode off with his orders; afterward, the name "Iron Brigade" received considerable press notice and it was widely used throughout the war.

Brigade history

The unit that became known as the Iron Brigade was activated on October 1, 1861, upon the arrival in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
, 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

Rufus King (Civil War General)

Rufus King was a newspaper editor, educator, U.S. diplomat, and a Union Brigadier general in the American Civil War....
. The governor of Wisconsin, Alexander Randall

Alexander Randall

Alexander Williams Randall was a lawyer, judge and politician from Wisconsin. He served as Governor of Wisconsin from 1858 until 1861. He was instrumental in raising and organizing the first Wisconsin volunteer troops for the Union Army during the American Civil War....
, had hoped to see the formation of an entirely Wisconsin brigade, but the Army unwittingly frustrated his plans by transferring the 5th Wisconsin

5th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 5th Wisconsin was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War....
from King's brigade and including the Indianans instead. This brigade was initially designated the 3rd Brigade of Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell

Irvin McDowell

Irvin McDowell was a career United States United States Army, famous for his defeat during the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War....
's division of the Army of the Potomac, and then the 3rd Brigade, I Corps.

McDowell's I Corps did not join the bulk of the Army of the Potomac in the Peninsula Campaign

Peninsula Campaign

The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
. In June 1862 it was redesignated the III Corps of Maj. Gen. John Pope's

John Pope (military officer)

John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union Army general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War....
Army of Virginia

Army of Virginia

The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E....
. Now under the command of John Gibbon, King's brigade was designated the 4th Brigade, 1st division, III Corps, and it saw its first combat in the Northern Virginia Campaign

Northern Virginia Campaign

}|-||}The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September 1862 in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
. 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 became the 4th Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps.

The 24th Michigan joined the brigade on October 8, 1862, prior to the Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, from December 11 to December 15, 1862, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate States Army Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major general Ambrose E....
in December. On February 27, 1863, the brigade, now under the command of Brig. Gen. Solomon Meredith

Solomon Meredith

Solomon Meredith was a prominent Indiana farmer, politician, and lawman who was a controversial Union Army general in the American Civil War. He gained fame as one of the commanders of the Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac, leading the brigade in the Battle of Gettysburg....
, was redesignated the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps.

The brigade commanders, disregarding temporary assignments, were:

Brig. Gen. Rufus King
Rufus King (Civil War General)

Rufus King was a newspaper editor, educator, U.S. diplomat, and a Union Brigadier general in the American Civil War....
: September 28, 1861 – May 7, 1862
Brig. Gen. John Gibbon
John Gibbon

John Gibbon was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars....
: May 7, 1862 – November 4, 1862
Brig. Gen. Solomon Meredith
Solomon Meredith

Solomon Meredith was a prominent Indiana farmer, politician, and lawman who was a controversial Union Army general in the American Civil War. He gained fame as one of the commanders of the Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac, leading the brigade in the Battle of Gettysburg....
: November 25, 1862 – July 1, 1863 (wounded at Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
)

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. 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
Lysander Cutler

Lysander Cutler was an United States businessman, educator, politician, and a Union Army General officer during the American Civil War....
(6th Wisconsin): March 25, 1864 – May 6, 1864
Col. William W. Robinson: May 6, 1864 – June 7, 1864
Brig. Gen. Edward S. Bragg
Edward S. Bragg

Edward Stuyvesant Bragg was a Democratic Party politician, lawyer and Union Army general from Wisconsin. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1877 to 1883 and from 1885 to 1887 and subsequently served as a foreign diplomat....
(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

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

Army of the Tennessee

The Army of the Tennessee was a Union Army army in the Western Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War, named for the Tennessee River....
.

The brigade fought in the Second Bull Run

Northern Virginia Campaign

Maryland Campaign

The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign, of September 1862 is widely considered one of the major Turning Point of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
, Fredericksburg

Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Chancellorsville

The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, fought near the village of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, from April 30 to May 6, 1863....
, Gettysburg

Gettysburg Campaign

File:Meade and Lee.jpgThe Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate States Army Full General Robert E....
, Mine Run

Battle of Mine Run

The Battle of Mine Run, also known as Payne's Farm, or New Hope Church, or the Mine Run Campaign , was conducted in Orange County, Virginia, in the American Civil War....
, Overland

Overland Campaign

The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War....
, Richmond-Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War....
, and Appomattox

Appomattox Campaign

The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate States Army General Robert E....
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

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
, July 1, 1863. It repulsed the first Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was a military organization whose primary mission was to provide the necessary forces and capabilities to support the National Security and defense of the Confederate States of America during its brief existence from 1861 to 1865....
offensive through Herbst's Woods, capturing much of Brig. Gen. James J. Archer

James J. Archer

James Jay Archer was a lawyer and an officer in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War, and he later served as a General officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War....
's 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.

The fearsome reputation of the brigade can be seen by the losses of its opponents. The top three losses by Confederate regiments in single engagements during the war were the 1st Texas at Antietam (82.3%), the 26th Georgia at Brawner's Farm (76%), and the 26th North Carolina at Gettysburg (71.7%). All three engagements were against regiments of the Iron Brigade.

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
Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War of the American Civil War....
had previously been known as the Iron Brigade (later the Iron Brigade of the East
Eastern Iron Brigade

The Eastern Iron Brigade or First Iron Brigade was a brigade of infantry that served in the Union Army Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War....
or First Iron Brigade to avoid confusion). This unit was the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps, prior to Meredith's brigade getting that designation. It consisted of the 22nd New York
22nd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 22nd New York Volunteer Infantry was a volunteer regiment of the Union Army in the American Civil War....
, 24th New York
24th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 24th New York Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War from the state of New York. It was a part of the famed Eastern Iron Brigade....
, 30th New York
30th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment

The 30th New York Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War from the state of New York. It was a part of the famed Eastern Iron Brigade in the Army of the Potomac....
, 14th Regiment (New York State Militia)
14th Regiment (New York State Militia)

The 14th Regiment New York State Militia was a volunteer militia regiment from the City of Brooklyn, New York. It is primarily known for its service in the American Civil War from April 1861 to May 1864, although it later served in the Spanish American War and World War I ....
, and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters
2nd United States Volunteer Sharpshooter Regiment

The 2nd United States Volunteer Sharpshooter Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. From 1861 to January 1863 they were members of the "Eastern Iron Brigade" also known as the "Iron Brigade of the East"....
. Although this Iron Brigade of the East served in the same infantry division as the Iron Brigade of the West, press attention focused primarily on the latter. Most of the Eastern regiments were mustered out before the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg , fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is frequently cited as the war's Turning point of the American Civil War....
, where the remaining Eastern Iron Brigade Regiments and the Iron Brigade of the West arguably achieved their greatest fame.

A Confederate cavalry
Cavalry

The Cavalry is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat, it represents the mobility and offensive power of the armed forces....
brigade was known as Shelby's Iron Brigade. It was in the division commanded by Brig. Gen. Joseph O. (Jo) Shelby
Joseph O. Shelby

Joseph Orville Shelby was a noted Confederate States Army cavalry General officer in the Trans-Mississippi Department of the American Civil War....
in the Army of Missouri
Army of Missouri

The Army of Missouri was an independent military command during the American Civil War within the Confederate States Army, created in late 1864 under the command of Major General Sterling Price to invade Missouri....
and fought in Maj. Gen. Sterling Price
Sterling Price

Sterling Price was a lawyer, politician, and militia General officer from the U.S. state of Missouri, an United States Army general during the Mexican-American War, and a Confederate States Army History of Confederate States Army Generals#major general during the American Civil War....
's Missouri Expedition in 1864.

Recent scholarship identifies two other brigades referred to by their members or others as "The Iron Brigade":

3rd Brigade, 1st Division, III Corps
III Corps (ACW)

There were four formations in the Union Army designated as III Corps during the American Civil War.Three were short-lived:*Army of Virginia:...
(17th Maine, 3rd Michigan, 5th Michigan, 1st, 37th, and 101st New York)
Reno's
Jesse L. Reno

Jesse Lee Reno was a career United States Army officer who served in the Mexican-American War, the western frontier, and as a Union Army General officer during the American Civil War....
Brigade from the North Carolina expedition (21st and 35th Massachusetts, 51st Pennsylvania, and 51st New York)

The 2nd Brigade of the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division
U.S. 1st Armored Division

The 1st Armored Division —nicknamed ?Old Ironsides?— is a standing armored division of the United States Army with base of operations in Wiesbaden, Germany....
has carried the Iron Brigade moniker since 1985.

The 3rd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division is also known as the Iron Brigade. Its unit crest is similar to the medals issued to veterans of the both Western and the Eastern Iron Brigades of the Army of the Potomac.

Iron Brigade

Brigade nickname

Brigade history

Other Iron Brigades

Further reading

External links