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BRIGADE NICKNAME The Iron Brigade initially consisted primarily of regiments raised in Wisconsin , which led it to be also nicknamed the ''Iron Brigade of the West''. Also, due to the black Hardee Hat s that the brigade wore (along with other units in I Corps ), they were known early in the war as the ''Black Hat Boys''. The all-Western brigade earned its famous nickname while under the command of Brigadier General John Gibbon , who led the brigade in its first fight at Brawner's Farm during the Second Battle Of Bull Run , where it stood up against Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson’s forces. The designation "Iron Brigade" originated at the battle for the gaps of South Mountain , the prelude to the Battle Of Antietam . Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker , commanding I Corps, approached Army Of The Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan , seeking orders. McClellan asked, "What troops are those fighting in the Pike?" Hooker replied, " {Link without Title} General Gibbon's brigade of Western men." McClellan stated, "They must be made of iron." Hooker said that the regiment 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" stuck. BRIGADE HISTORY The Iron brigade was activated on October 1 , 1861 , upon the arrival in Washington, D.C. , of the 7th Wisconsin Infantry regiment. The regiments in the original Iron Brigade were the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin Infantry, the 19th Indiana, and the 24th Michigan. The brigade fought under the I Corps starting in 1862 , when the Army Of The Potomac was reorganized under Major General George B. McClellan . The brigade commanders, disregarding temporary assignments, were:
The Iron Brigade lost its unofficial designation on July 16 , 1863 , following its crippling losses at Gettysburg , when a non-Western regiment (the 167th Pennsylvania) was incorporated into it. However, the brigade that succeeded it, which included the survivors of the Iron Brigade, was commanded by:
In June of 1865 , the units of the surviving brigade were separated and reassigned to the Army Of The Tennessee . The brigade fought in the Second Bull Run , Antietam , Fredericksburg , Chancellorsville , Gettysburg , Mine Run , Overland , Richmond-Petersburg , and Appomattox 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 , July 1 , 1863 . It repulsed the first Confederate offensive through Herbst’s Woods, capturing much of Brig. Gen. James Archer 's Confederate 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. OTHER IRON BRIGADES There were and are other brigades known to some extent by the same nickname:
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