The Battle of Gettysburg 150th - The Last March of the Iron Brigade
Вставка
- Опубліковано 24 сер 2024
- On July 1, 2013, more than 1,300 visitors joined Park Rangers Scott Hartwig and Dan Welch for the opening tour of the sesquicentennial: "The Last March of the Iron Brigade." This video chronicles that tour and story of the Iron Brigade and their approach march to the battlefield on the morning of July 1, 1863.
Read more about the tour on our blog:
npsgnmp.wordpre...
Excellant program.My great grandmothers older brother,Eugene Rose, was a Seargent in Company K of the 6th Wisconsin Volunteers of the Iron Brigade.
He was wounded at the Railroad cut,facing a North Carolina regiment on July 1,1863.
He laid on the battlefield for 3 days and eventually lost a leg.
He was from Mauston,Wisconsin.Were our family cementary is located.
Thank you.God bless.
My Great great Grandfather fought in the Civil War in the Iron brigade 19th Indiana
Your great great grandfather was probably a goddamn badass
Check with the National Archives. If he had a pension, they're usually good reads that sometimes tell about the Soldier. On some occasions, they even have letters.
Buying TIME with LIVES.....these men didn't lose the first days battle, they won the high ground and saved our country.
On that first day at Gettysburg, the men of the Old Northwest sacrificed themselves to buy precious time for their brothers in the Army of the Potomac, who in turn would finish the work for which they paid so dearly. As the Black Hats and the Iron Brigade passed into legend, so did the Old Northwest of the pre-war era. As the old familiar names of so many small farm and frontier towns appeared on the casualty rolls, they would be replaced by many of newer origins, giving way to the character of the Midwest we know today.
The cost to the small farm and frontier towns of the west was profound. Although the chances of dying, from all causes, on average was around 11% in the Union Army, in Wisconsin alone this jumped to almost 14% and in a number of the heavily recruited and primarily rural western counties, rates exceeded 20-25%. The human toll in lost fathers and sons became transformative, emptying some communities of not only the present generation but all those to come.
It is historical coincidence, if not irony, the role of the Old Northwesterners from Ohio to Wisconsin as not only some of the Union's finest soldiers, but as its top leaders including Grant, Sherman and by adoptive home, Lincoln. By boat, foot and train, they left their homes, some for the last time, and showed their country a special determination that inspired their brothers-in-arms and earned begrudging admiration from their foes. Texas Governor Sam Houston, in predicting the chances of Southern success, described all Northerners for his audience, but offered a sound assessment of those sons of the founders; farmers, lumberjacks, miners and rough tradesmen of all types who lived and died by the American Dream on the edge of the old frontier:
"Let me tell you what is coming. After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives, you may win Southern independence if God be not against you, but I doubt it. I tell you that, while I believe with you in the doctrine of states rights, the North is determined to preserve this Union. They are not a fiery, impulsive people as you are, for they live in colder climates. But when they begin to move in a given direction, they move with the steady momentum and perseverance of a mighty avalanche; and what I fear is, they will overwhelm the South."
Grant was NOT a good Union commander. Sherman was though.
@@SoulKiller7Eternal Grant's Vicksburg campaign was a master class in operational art, still taught in the US Army curriculum at the Command and General Staff College. Few American commanders have shown the capacity for operating behind enemy lines, defeating multiple armies in succession and accomplishing a goal of strategic significance as part of a larger plan. It was without precedent in 1863 and is the exemplar for American commanders since that time.
Grant is the quintessential 'big-picture' American commander, during the Civil War and for all time. The fact Grant continued translating that understanding, let alone maintaining his own personal perseverance and persistence, in the headwinds of political opposition, personality in-fighting and many who simply did not and never did get the 'big picture' is remarkable testament to a man of humble origins by any standard, let alone American.
@@dalezempel5271 Im not taking away his victories - he did great. However, he still was a horrible commander for his men.
Sending men into whole-sale-slaughter time & time again, taking losses and pressing on - thats a horrible commander.
Lee was superior to Grant - and had it been equal numbers & supplies, Lee would've crushed Grant. Especially if he still had Jackson.
Jackson was THE best general of the war for the South.
Union commanders were Hancock, Kimball, Gibbon, Sherman, Sheridan. I wouldn't rate Grant in the top 5 of Union commanders...I'll place McDowell above Grant.
McDowell's command suffered due to incompetent underlings - his plan however was solid. Sweep the enemies line and crush them.
THATS the mark of a good commander. Bull Run would've ended much differently had the diversion force actually made an advance.
@@SoulKiller7Eternal Lee showed an early and unfortunate predilection for futile frontal assaults as early as 1862 at Malvern Hill, an unfortunate precedent repeated to his troops detriment at Gettysburg and thereafter. Considering desperation had not yet sunk in makes the circumstances that much more puzzling. Lee sets the bar for all Confederate generals, exceeding Braxton Bragg and even John Bell Hood, in getting 134,602 troops of his own field army killed or wounded. This amounts to 20.2% of his army, while inflicting only 15.4% on his adversaries. Grant never came close to those appalling statistics while commanding a field army. By 1864, Lee would never have the chance to test Grant's tactics at an equivalent level since Grant assumed control of all U.S. troops, while George Meade remained commander of the Army of the Potomac.
Jackson likewise was no stainless saint in the realm of tactics. 'Leading' his wing at Brawner Farm, including his own exalted Stonewall Brigade, Jackson repeatedly made slow and inexplicable, piecemeal commitments ensuring his superior force was fought to a standstill by a smaller formation and for no gain. Bear in mind, Jackson is the same man mortally wounded by his own troops. Even today we say link-ups and passage of lines are some of the most dangerous tactical efforts on battlefield. Perhaps Jackson eschewed the small stuff for the big things, hence not surviving the war long enough to see the outcome.
And still Lee nor Jackson never won the war. That's the mark of great generals as Dale points out. You want a general with career long achievements in tactics? Seek A.J. Smith's XVI Corps at Nashville, where his Midwesterners own the lion's share for destroying Hood's force. Smith would humbly point out however his troops tactical brilliance went less to him as a general, but rather to their own initiative and problem solving built up over a short time through experience. The things they as young citizen Soldiers could not understand is the reason we have generals like Grant in the first place. You want coordinated campaigns marking brilliance at an operational level that wins wars? Look to Grant.
@@ladybegood64 Grant had more men to lose...Lee did not. His failure at Gettysburg was due to not listening to his fellow generals and disengaging.
Jackson was much more brilliant then you give him credit for. I wouldve loved to see him whip Grant and crush him.
The generals who beat Jackson?
Kimball and Gibbons.
Kimball held the high ground and tossed in reserves to counter Jackson then more men to outflank him and trashed the Stonewall Brigade.
Gibbons (2nd Bull Run start) countered each of Stonewall's attempts to out flank him, even made him desperate according to reports.
Grant never had that capability. He was a cold fool who, did have some tactical brilliance...but Sherman was superior to him by all accounts as well as The Rock of Chickamauga.
Lee tried one massive attack of 15000 men. Burnside piecemealed the AotP at Fredricksburg...which destroyed The Irish Brigade.
Had that idiot not even done that...Longstreets attack that day wouldve been futile as The Irish Brigade...under Meagher...never would've retreated and wouldve held back a division with some support.
The entire brigade was only 500 strong due to Burnsides incompetence.
Grant would dig in and bring up supply lines...he has basically a McClellan without the indecisiveness. McClellan was a coward who was to afraid to fight, the best general the South had.
I do not credit Grant as the best...just the one who got noticed when there were superior generals.
Hancock, Gibbons, Kimball, Sherman, Sheridan. Any of them wouldve done better...Hancock being liked by his men and a damn amazing commander.
Hooked was superior if it wasnt the 'i lost faith in myself'. He had Lee's army split, he had superior forces and positioning...and could've crushed Lee.
McDowell, it was failure of subordinates. Skirmishes kept half of the army engaged instead of them sweeping forward and removing them.
Then again...burnside fucking up piecemealed regiments against 2 instead of the entire brigade...superior force numbers wouldve broken the rebels quickly and gotten them the Hill at Bull Run...bring in the rest of the army...and Jackson wouldve never came to fame. He wouldnt have been able to dislodge McDowell at that point.
I salute the Iron Brigade -- and I had ten ancestors (Yes, 10) who served in the Army of Northern Virginia.........
Nice
Last full measure of devotion
My great grandmothers older brother was Eugene Rose.
Eugene was a Sargeant in Company K of the 6th Wisconsin Volunteers of the Iron Brigade.
Eugene lost a leg on 7/1/1863 in the Battle at Gettysburg.
We believe he heard Abraham Lincoln deliver the "Gettysburg Address" at the Service at the Cementary.
I know it wasnt the iron Brigade, but I had a relative that was part of the 8th ohio volunteer Infantry Regiment and died at antietam. That Regiment was part of the brigade that became known as the gibralter brigade for their part at the sunken road
"Push off into destiny." ....The best words to describe the soldiers of the Armed Forces. Their boots will never leave that battlefield.
God bless the reenactors too! Thanks.
some of them were iron miners from upper Michigan and Wisconsin which made the name even more apt...
The elements of the Iron Brigade from Indiana represenst the western edge of the population that served with the Army of the Potomac. The next town over from Cambridge City, where Solomon Meredith is buried, is the leading edge of the western population that campaigned with Grant, Sherman and Thomas.
enjoyed the recap LIKED and SUBSCRIBED. I was there in 2013 as private in the Union infantry and will be back again this year as a private in the Union artillery. Looking forward to meeting new friends in 2018 on both sides of the battle line. yourpard - LT 1st Minn Sharpshooters.
Thank God for Michigan.
Michigander history buffs thank you for the upload!
Im proud to have reenacted with some men from the 19th... im honored to have had that experience. Everyone should try it in my opinion!
I would but I'm in Cali and Gettysburg is like 3 or 4 States away from me
Leonardo Mendez Well don't count it out yet... also I'm sure there has to be reenactments there right? just different regiments and all?
+John Asher in california NOOOOOOOOOO
theirs no reenactments here
not that i know of
probably the only reenactment i see is the air show in the naval base where they do stunts are do reenactments with WW2 plane fighting each other once a year
FYI only the air force fly's the plane just to let you know
but that's WW2 i'm talking about gunpowder wars but no none here that has reenactments with shooting muskets
Leonardo Mendez Maybe someday you can come further east then and join us for one event. Still aside from that... you could be the man that starts some reenactments in California. I know you have the population over there in the west and that state in general. Nothing is impossible to overcome but that is an obstacle.
John Asher well it is very hard to start a reenactment because 1 it cost money 2 not everybody is historical here or loves history or knows it 3 its very hot and very cold there's no such thing as medium or middle temperature and 4 we have earthquakes here that can cancel reenactments or that can damage the reenactment supplies if building is not stable but that's more like a 50 50 chance
so starting a reenactment is possible but not obstacle but very very complicated
You haven't seen the nature and its power here in California
Check online 7.2 earthquake California it fucked up my life and i guess i got PTSD that every time somebody will try to wake me or a car passes by that makes a noise of an earthquake i jump up all scared a frighten
This must have been a sight to see in the real war.
The South had its famous units as well. Among them the Stonewall Brigrade and the Louisiana Tigers. These units served in Stonewall Jackson's Valley Army and developed such a fearsome reputation on the battlefield as to strike fear in Northern soldiers upon their appearance on the field. The Texas Brigade or also refereed to as Hoods Texans or the 1st Texas was another fearsome Southern fighting force that wrecked havoc on the federals on many a battlefield!
@@mikesuggs1642 the iron and Stonewall brigade fought each other at second bull run
Percy, my friend. Trust me when I say, yes, it was good that the Union armies won that war. Because of the courage and valor of those heroes, a loose conglomeration of states became THE UNITED STATES of AMERICA. Of course there were still problems. Men (and women) of integrity still have weaknesses and failings. But we went on to become a great united nation in large part. Scores of other nations across the globe were benefited by our struggle to fight for and maintain a republic form of democracy. Do not, I repeat, do not give heed to those who cast aspersion upon a form of government that values the individual while also conceding that we as a people have flaws in our human nature. Thus the inherent genius of separate branches of government and checks and balances built in to prevent the tyranny of the majority. Boy, did I get going. Sorry. But many of those civil war veterans felt this way. Though they may not have been able to put into words. Your Obedient Servant- Corporal William LaConte Co.B 19th Indiana 1st Brigade 1st Division 1st Corps Army of the Potomac.
Hurrah for the 2nd 6th 7th Wisconsins the 19th Indiana and the 24th Michigan form the brigade who fought as if they were made of iron who wore the hardee hat proud rifles on their shoulders and bayonets fixed ready to restore our country and if necessary die for it men who wanted to live but put their lives on the line for this country to remain free land for all. Three cheers for the westerners who made the famous iron brigade of the army of the Potomac. Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!
24th Michigan...On Wolverines!!
@GettysburgNPS do you know where I can find the music in the background?
As someone who has spent my entire life in michigan's upper peninsula and north eastern wisconsin I love my boys in the black hats.
I love this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was wondering why I couldn’t find any civil war hardee hats.. this is why..
Private Edwin Atkinson, he was wounded at Gettysburg my great great uncle William B Winn Jr, his son William B Winn married Bunton Brown Winn, her father was also in the Union army. Henry E Brown his fathers sister is Adan B Peckham and her daughter is Polly R P Atkinson, her brother in-law was in the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry Company D. Her brothers was in the Union Army one of them is Joshua S Peckham 3rd Wisconsin Infantry Company F
its to see the iron brigade didn't survive after gettysburg and they where the strongest men the union had they charged bayonet fear in the rebel's eyes as these men fought and their legend just dissappered
good except most of them are not wearing the white canvas gaitors or the frock coat. Before you say it yes I am a reenactor and yes I do the 19th indiana
Look at the regimental returns of the 2nd Wisconsin and get your facts straight. Most of the gaiters were long gone and the majority were wearing the 4 button fatigue blouse by the summer of ‘63 . This group did their homework based on the facts, not popular history
Go Wisconsin
Hate to tell you guy's this but the Iron Brigade is part of the 2d Infantry division...
Hate to say the Army throws around terms and unit monikers with abandon these days and perpetuate lineages where there is no connection. While there were in fact other "Iron Brigades" even during the war, the Iron Brigade of the West, the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana, and 24th Michigan could only ever be those Westerners in their tall black hats, from Brawner's Farm to Gettysburg and beyond. In a roundabout way, the 101st by way of their geographic origins perpetuates the lineage of the Wisconsin regiments, but there is no connection between today's 2nd Infantry Divison and the Black Hats. My ancestors, in Wisconsin and Michigan regiments, including the 6th Wisconsin, may have no direct heirs by unit designation, but they were not far from my thoughts while I was off to "see the elephant" for myself. While I jumped out of planes and dealt with insurgents, I cannot imagine the likes of Marye's Heights, a direct assault at Vicksburg, or staring down the Confederate works at Spotsylvania, being wounded and surviving. They were hard men in a hard time and they handed off a tremendous legacy to be safeguarded by their descendants.
+ladybegood64 Obviously, you know the history of the Iron Brigade. What the three Wisconsin regiments did at Antietam probably turned that battle into at last a tie and from a strategic sense, a victory for the North and they put up a great delaying action against the Confederate thrust on the 1st day of the Gettysburg Battle. The 24th Michigan, the newcomers, were on Chamberlain's (20th Maine) right flank at Little Round Top and suffered 83% casualties including the mortal wounding of their commanding officer. The 101st Airborne (I was assigned to that unit for 2 1/2 years) is as you suggest, origin was from its geographic location in Wisconsin during WWI. The black background of the Screaming Eagle patch comes from the Black Hats worn by the three Wisconsin Regiments (2nd, 6th, and 7th) assigned to the Iron Brigade during the Civil War. The Screaming Eagle patch is derived from the famous Bald Eagle mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Regiment, known as "Ole Abe", which fought up and down the Mississippi during the Civil War. For the Iron Brigade to continue to be combat effective for as long as they did while seeing such violent combat action over a 2 year period is pretty remarkable. Antietam, Fredericksburg, and finally Gettysburg simply attrited the Brigade to where they were combat ineffective. Same thing happened to the South's best fighting unit, the Texas Brigade, but it seems in that case. General Hood's war wounds may have affected his mental capacities so much so that they may have become diminished to appoint where he ordered his men to attach the earthworks and strongpoint at Franklin, Tennessee over and over which caused them to be simply decimated by fresh troops from many fresh Illinois regiments. Born and raised a Hoosier, I often go by my parent's grave yard where I see men buried near a simulated artillery battery earthwork from various Indiana Regiments. Today, I live in Texas and have no doubt where the power of America lives. You certainly are right about that legacy left by hard men who lived, fought, and died 150 years ago - something never to be forgotten.....Texas Hoosier
My connections run deep in both Wisconsin and Michigan. The cost in human terms ended with a great grandfather to wounds at the war's close in Louisiana with a Wisconsin regiment. His two brothers were already lost at Fredericksburg in 1862. One was a member of the 16th Michigan, the regiment that fought to Chamberlain's right at Little Round Top in Vincent's Brigade, not the 24th. Chamberlain's account of the cold night below Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg would have been an experience shared with my uncle and his fellow Soldiers.
At home, the local Civil War memorial records over 750 names of those lost, among them many Iron Brigade Soldiers and other fellow Wisconsinites from lesser known, but equally tough regiments. Their reputation was hard earned, but well deserved. I recommend Rufus Dawes book, which provides personal recollections of their story in the words of a leader who knew them well. One of his Soldiers, also a relation, was fortunate to survive three wounds during the Overland Campaign and earned a special mention in the Dawes comments toward the end. Unlike many of Dawes' young Soldiers, he returned to the family homestead to enjoy the fruits of his labors and build a new future.
+ladybegood64 Thank you for the correction of the 16th Michigan being on Chamberlain's right flank at Little Round Top; actually from the battlefield maps I have looked at as a result of your comment, it looks like the 83rd Pennsylvania was on the right flank of the 20th Maine and the 16th Michigan was on the extreme right flank of Vincent's Brigade on Little Round Top. What Wisconsin Regiment was your Great-Grandfather in when he perished in Louisiana? I know the 8th Wisconsin "Ole Abe" was operating along the Mississippi but does not appear to have crossed into Louisiana during the Civil War. I have heard about Dawes book and will endeavor to find a copy of it. Who did you jump with when you were on Active Duty? - Texas Hoosier
Uh no...by Gettysburg, they were the 1st Div of the 1st Corps.
Only the Irish Brigade was better, tougher and fiercer in the heat of bloody, desperate combat (the deadliest and most savage shock troops that the Union had).
Hats off to The Iron Brigade, men who endured Hell, fought like heroes undaunted, wrought much devastation and death within the ranks of their Southern adversaries, withstood many furious and fearsome onslaughts in a stoic, unfazed manner, and bled as profusely as any Brigade ever did all throughout that seminal and horrific conflict (one of the finest and most highly decorated fighting units in American History).
God bless, and thank you🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸.
Apples and oranges, look at the numbers from Fox's Regimental Casualties, the Iron Brigade answered the call and no other unit in the AoP can say they were better, fought harder, or gave more.
Uh, no. The Irish Brigade were elite as well - but the Iron Brigade fought Stonewall's brigade and won against them at 2nd Bull Run. (Losses that each side endured, Stonewall's men suffered more)
The Irish Brigade, was not even 600 strong at Gettysburg, and no longer under their fabled leader, Meahger but under the command of Kelly.
Now, they still did great Gettysburg, charging against superior numbers, but even the Fightin' 69th...didn't even have 100 men when they started that day...the brigade was literally destroyed.
The Iron Brigade WAS the elite of the AoP. No other could match them, not even the crack units of AoNV. Yes, even Stonewall's men. Stonewall himself was outmatched by Gibbons...every attempt he made to flank Gibbon, Gibbon countered.
Confederates "we have a stonewall"
Union " laughs in black hats
There was a reason why the union armies in the west, like the Army Of The Tennessee and the Army of The Cumberland were so much better on the battlefield. It was because they were made up western farm boys who were use to living outdoors and using firearms. Whereas the Army Of The Potomac was made up mainly of boys from New York and New England and lived a more urban and domesticated life before the Army, and had next to no knowledge of firearms. In fact the ignorance of firearms displayed by Easterners in The Army of the Potomac so disgusted the Union high command that a few years after the war several Union Generals including Winfield Scott Hancock and Ambrose Burnside founded the National Rifle Association to better educate the public about the use of firearms. Though there were other midwestern regiments in the Army of The Potomac, the Iron Brigade was the only brigade made up exclusively of Midwesterners.
Steve Cochrane That they fought under better Commanders against lesser ones didn't hurt either.
Bidimus1 Or maybe the western commanders had better stock to work with.
Steve Cochrane Explain why the Irish Brigade was just as tough as, and even more fearsome than the Iron Brigade?
Steve Cochrane That is an interesting idea....I'm more familiar with WW2, people who were more used to firing their guns achieved more....something as simple as flinching at a shot could make a differece
GeneralKenobiSIYE
The Irish Brigade was an outstanding outfit, but few historians would place them above pr even on par with the Iron Brigade of the West. No other Union Brigade took as many casualties or faced the odds the Iron Brigade faced.
BTW there were Irishmen with the Iron Brigade, read up on James Patrick Sullivan.
shut up, i saw ghost adventures and the episode on Gettysburg, i know its haunted!
Makes me wonder if it was actually good that the unions won the war...
It was absolutely good that the union won the war as it freed the slaves and held the country together.