books
those damned black hats the iron brigade in the gettysburg campaign
the iron brigade an all western outfit famously branded as the iron brigade of the west served out their enlistments entirely in the eastern theater . hardy men were these soldiers from indiana wisconsin and michigan who waged war beneath their unique black hardee hats on many fields from brawners farm during the second bull run campaign all the way to appomattox . in between were memorable combats at south mountain antietam chancellorsville mine run the overland campaign and the grueling fighting around petersburg . none of these battles compared with the four long hours of july 1 1863 at gettysburg where the iron brigade was all but wrecked.returncharacterreturncharacterlance herdegens those damned black hats the iron brigade in the gettysburg campaign is the first book length account of their remarkable experiences in pennsylvania during that fateful summer of 1863 . drawing upon a wealth of sources including dozens of previously unpublished or unused accounts herdegen details for the first time the exploits of the 2nd 6th 7th wisconsin 19th indiana and 24th michigan regiments during the entire campaign . on july 1 the western troops stood line to line and often face to face with their confederate adversaries who later referred to them as those damned black hats . with the help of other stalwart comrades the hoosiers badgers and wolverines shed copious amounts of blood to save the army of the potomacs defensive position west of town . their heroics above willoughby run along the chambersburg pike and at the railroad cut helped define the opposing lines for the rest of the battle and perhaps won the battle that helped preserve the union.returncharacterreturncharacterherdegens account is much more than a battle study . the story of the fighting at the bloody railroad cut is well known but the attack and defense of mcphersons ridge the final stand at seminary ridge the occupation of culps hill and the final pursuit of the confederate army has never been explored in sufficient depth or with such story telling ability . herdegen completes the journey of the black hats with an account of the reconciliation at the 50th anniversary reunion and the iron brigades place in civil war history.returncharacterreturncharacterwhere has the firmness of the iron brigade at gettysburg been surpassed in history asked rufus dawes of the 6th wisconsin . indeed it was a fair question . the brigade marched to gettysburg with 1 883 men in ranks and by nightfall on july 1 only 671 men were still to be counted . it would fight on to the end of the civil war and do so without its all western makeup but never again was it a major force in battle.returncharacterreturncharactersome 150 years after the last member of the iron brigade laid down his life for his country the complete story of what the black hats did at gettysburg and how they remembered it is finally available.returncharacterreturncharacterwinner the army historical foundation distinguished writing award for operational battle history 2008returncharacterreturncharacter returncharacterreturncharacter reviews returncharacterreturncharacter ... brings to life the story of the men who sacrificed so much ... herdegen is able to weave all of the letters and personal accounts into a seamless that is hard to put down . ... a great tribute to the men who served in one of the most famous units in the civil war.collected miscellany 1 2009
hardcover savas beatie 2008 isbn13 9781932714487 isbn10 1932714480
abridged n isbn 13 9781932714487 number in series 1 number of pages 323 publisher savas beatie release date 62135769600000