The Iron Brigade in Civil War and Memory

by Herdegen, Lance J.

• ISBN13: 9781611211061
• ISBN10: 1611211069
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-09-19
• Publisher: Savas Beatie

Summary

The Iron Brigade is one of the most celebrated military organizations of the American Civil War. Although it is primarily known (and studied) because of its remarkable stand on the first bloody day at Gettysburg, its stellar service from the earliest days of the war all the way to Appomattox Court House is routinely ignored. That stunning oversight is finally rectified by award-winning author Lance J. Herdegen's The Iron Brigade in the Civil War, the first book-length account of this legendary combat unit from Bull Run to the grand march up Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.Composed originally of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana, and Battery B of the 4th U.S. Artillery, the brigade first attracted attention as the only all-Western organization serving in the Eastern Theater. The Regular Army's distinctive felt dress hat earned them the nickname "Black Hat Brigade." The Westerners took part in the storied fighting at Gainesville, Second Bull Run, South Mountain (where George B. McClellan claimed he gave them their famous "Iron Brigade" moniker), and Antietam. Reinforced by the 24th Michigan, the Black Hats fought well at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. But it was at Gettysburg on July 1 where the brigade immortalized a railroad cut and saved the high ground west of town that proved decisive in the Union victory, but was nearly destroyed for its brave stand. Reorganizations, expired enlistments, and different duties split up the famous outfit, but some of the regiments fought on through the Wilderness to Petersburg and finally, Appomattox. Only when the war was ended did the Western boys finally go home.Herdegen's magnificent The Iron Brigade in the Civil War, sure to be looked upon as his magnum opus, is based on decades of archival research and includes scores of previously unpublished letters, photos, journals, and other primary accounts. This well researched and written tour de force, which includes reunion and memorial coverage until the final expiration of the last surviving member, will be the last word on the Iron Brigade for the foreseeable future. When we were young, explained one Black Hat veteran many years after the war, we hardly realized that we "had fought on more fields of battle than the Old Guard of Napoleon, and have stood fire in far greater firmness." Here, at long last, is the full story of how young farm boys, shopkeepers, river men, and piney camp boys in a brigade forged with iron helped save the Union.