The Iron Brigade: A Military History

by Alan T. Nolan

"I am immensely impressed... this particular Brigade needed a book of its own and now it has one which is definitely first-rate.... A fine book." — Bruce Catton

"One of the '100 best books ever written on the Civil War.'" — Civil War Times Illustrated

"... remains one of the best unit histories of the Union Army during the Civil War." — Southern Historian

"... The Iron Brigade is the title for anyone desiring complete information on this military unit..." — Spring Creek Packet, Chuck Hamsa

This is the story of the most famous unit in the Union Army, the only all-Western brigade in the Eastern armies of the Union — made up of troops from Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War, Nonfiction, Military History, 19th Century, American

412 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

He was born in Evansville, IN to Val and Jeannette Covert Nolan. When his father was appointed U.S. District Attorney in 1933, the family moved to Indianapolis. He graduated from Shortridge High School and from Indiana University, a Phi Beta Kappa. After graduation from Harvard Law School, he clerked for Sherman Minton at the United States Court of Appeals. In 1948 he returned to Indianapolis to practice law for 45 years with the firm that is now Ice Miller where he served as chairman of the management committee. For seven years, he was Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Indiana Supreme Court.
Mr. Nolan was also an author. In 1961, Macmillan published The Iron Brigade, a military history, which has been named by Civil War Times Illustrated as one of the 100 best books ever written on the Civil War. It remained in print 47 years. He also wrote Lee Considered: General Robert E. Lee and Civil War History, UNC Press, 1991; Rally Round the Flag Boys; Rally Once Again; Giants in their Tall Black Hats: Essays on the Iron Brigade, with Sharon Vipond, and As Sounding Brass, a contemporary novel. He was a regular contributor to numerous Civil War publications, the Indiana Magazine of History, Traces and other periodicals. His last article appeared in Traces in 2008. He lectured widely on Civil War topics at various colleges, universities, round tables and the Smithsonian Institution. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Indiana University in 1993. In 1994, he was given the Nivens-Freeman award by the Chicago Civil War Roundtable. He was a Fellow of the Company of Military Historians.
His deep interest in history led to an active role at the Indiana Historical Society where he served on the board and was Chairman for twelve years during the planning and construction of the present facility. He was named a Living Legend in 2003.
Mr. Nolan had wide ranging community interests. He was a founder of the ICLU, the Civil War Round Table and a member of the Catholic Interracial Council. He held a position on the board of the NAACP in 1948 and received the National Council of Christians and Jews Brotherhood Award in 1968. He was instrumental in the successful effort to save the Meridian Street corridor from commercial encroachment in the mid-1960s. He served on the board of the Ensemble Music Society. Two governors named him a Sagamore of the Wabash. He was a member of the Indianapolis Literary Club.

Reviews

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a excellent account of the Iron Brigade, the "Black Hat Brigade", the only all western brigade in the Eastern army. This Federal unit fought at 2nd Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg and they fought well. This book was a delight to read and is one of my favourite books on the American Civil War. The book is well written and the narrative of the battles is assisted by easy to understand maps. One of the best unit histories to be printed for some time.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive history of one of the most renowned Union Army brigades in the Civil War, especially meaningful as part of the the history of the Old Northwest, as its regiments were from Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan.

[S.L. Wilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy to read, detailed history of the famous civil war brigade. Being told mostly from official reports and soldiers' correspondence, the narrative rings authentic and informative.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic of American Civil War history writing, publ in 1961. Things change over time, and something I like about modern history writing is that more of the original source documents are included in the text, but here, as was normal for the mid 20th century, source document quotes are reserved for the extensive Notes section at the back of the book. In many ways the Notes section was my favorite part of this book. A particular strength of this book was the maps, which were all clear, well cross referenced, and a better aid to understanding the campaigns than any modern history book (post 1980) I know of. The story and writing style were superlative. The Iron Brigade, from my home state, was the fightingest unit in the Army of the Potomac during the war. They were the only unit that could fight Stonewall Jackson's division to a dead stop time & time again. At Gettysburg (153 years ago this weekend), the Black Hats were the first Federal Infantry unit to arrive, they fought like demons for the whole first day, and held the high ground against vastly superior odds until the rest of USA Gen'l Meade's Army arrived, and CSA Gen'l Lee lost the vitally important opportunity for a great victory on Northern soil that was necessary to bring Britain in on the side of the Confederates. The Iron Brigade in this battle lost 80% casualties, including more than 90% of the officers. Of the two remaining officers fit for duty, the senior Captain was a 22 year old former student who had left University of Michigan to fight for the Union in 1862, and his speech to the surviving troops on assuming command on the evening of July 1, 1863, was a genuine classic of inspiring military oratory. I almost wish I could repeat it here in full. It is given in full in the Gettysburg chapter of the book. Well worth a read for any military history buff.

[Bill Tyroler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Iron Brigade was, according to one account, "the most famous brigade in the entire Union Army" during the Civil War (as approvingly cited by Robert Nesbit in his seminal history of Wisconsin). Alan T. Nolan's brisk study of the Brigade shows why this accolade is deserved.

Comprised largely of Wisconsin regiments, along with regiments from Indiana and Michigan, the Brigade slogged up and down the Peninsula for over a year, before becoming, at Gettysburg, the anvil on which A.P. Hill's Confederate hammer pounded. The Brigade's losses, between McPherson's and Seminary Ridges, were horrific: 2/3 loss of manpower, including 80% of the Michigan regiment. But the Brigade maintained discipline throughout, retreated in orderly fashion, and inflicted massive losses on the enemy. Though the Brigade suffered a tactical defeat, it not only took the fight to the Confederates, it, in Nolan's words, "determined the matter, by their dogged, desperate fighting, which had permitted Federal possession of the key ground and had purchased the time for the Army of the Potomac to concentrate." Gettysburg may have been won as much by the the Iron Brigade as by the later, more storied repulse of Pickett's Charge.

Nolan doesn't quite explain -- perhaps it's simply inexplicable -- just why the Brigade managed such fearless devotion to a very bloody cause. It's probably not irrelevant that the soldiers were all from the Western frontier (at least, by the geography of the day). Draw from that whatever conclusions one will -- regional solidarity probably counted for something, along with acquaintance with physical hardship. John Gibbon, it should be noted, took early command and shaped the Brigade into an indomitable fighting force. An artillerist by training, Gibbon proved an adept motivator, to which the Brigade's esprit de corps owed much; Nolan thus portrays as Gibbon as a highly competent commander. Gibbon subsequently found himself truly in the West, and commanded one of the columns chasing down Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse at Little Big Horn. Whatever skills served Gibbon well in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War may not have translated intact to the Plains. In any event, his desultory efforts to track down the Sioux after Custer's defeat came to naught, and the successful completion of that task fell to the more heterodox Nelson Miles.

[Binston Birchill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read for anyone interested in a closer look at this famous brigade. In this book you meet the leaders (lots of them because of the constant casualties), you follow them on the march and then into battle. Nolan provides an overview of what the Army as a whole is doing and trying to accomplish then goes into detail about the movements and battles of the Iron Brigade. Using published sources of the soldiers from the brigade, as well as high ranking officer quotes and the Official Records, Nolan blends the narrative to encompass both the war as a whole in general terms and the experiences of the brigade in specific. A basic understanding of the war would be useful before approaching this book as the troop movements are described in detail, the maps provided are sufficient but do require lots of flipping back and forth if you're not intimately familiar with civil war era northern Virginia. Highly recommended!

[Gary Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

The prologue and first chapter are a bit dry (first 42 pages) but otherwise, this is a great story about an amazing unit throughout the American Civil War. The book covers the "Iron Brigade" portion of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. As someone from Michigan, this book was particularly interesting because the story is about a rare "Western Brigade" from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana. I've had the pleasure of serving in the 2nd Armored Brigade, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, TX - a modern "Iron Brigade" - as well.

[Iain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A narrative history that is stylistically well ahead of its time. Nolan does more than cover the specific actions of the Iron Brigade, he covers the entire theater from the brigade's perspective, with an eye on both the strategic and the anecdotal.

Recommended for those interested in this pivotal unit as well as the Army of the Potomac in general.

[WKOCH · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dated in some ways (see for instance, the notes in the appendix regarding more recent scholarship) but still an excellent unit history. The maps are great; I wish more recently published books would contain maps of that quality.

[John Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent brigade history.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic military history. It has been expanded by other's writing more social history.

[Fred Grogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Premiere book on the Iron Brigade.
Will need to revisit it.

[John VanDusen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right till the very end!
What a great tribute to the Black Hats!

[Monte Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Iron Brigade was the only all western brigade in the Army of the Potomac and probably the most famous. This is a good book that covers the Iron Brigade from when the regiments were enrolled through the Battle of Gettysburg where the brigade was decimated. It does a good job of keeping track of all the officers and does follow the individual regiments until the end of the war. You see how it developed its reputation with very good, detailed descriptions of its earlier battles like Brawner's Farm, South Mountain, and Antietam. This was probably the most famous brigade in the Army of The Potomac and deservedly so.

[David Elkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very solid book detailing a great American Military Unit. The author personalized it and you began to care about the unit and what happened to the men that were the officers and soldiers who made it up. The author also did a great job of making sure you knew what was going on, both the military aspect and the political aspect of the Army of the Potomac. His description of the great stand at Gettysburg was superb, and deserves a movie about them. In many ways, just as important as the 20th Maine on Little Round Top or the stopping of Pickett et al. on the last day. Nolan hits a homerun with this brigade history

[Christian Herro · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent review of the Iron Brigade's history, colored by many anecdotes an quotes from personal correspondence. The reader can become confused by the references to commands that continually shift, especially at the regimental & company level, where Nolan prefers to use the current comnander's name, rather than, say, Company H of the 6th Wisconsin. While this tends to add humanity to the tale, it can be distracting as well.

Overall, though, a fine history of one of the most memorable Union units.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book for the true Civil War history buff. This review of one of the Union's Army's most famous units is awesome. As a retired veteran and heavy history reader, I was shocked to read of both the exploits and staggering loses from inception to Gettysburgh; a unit literally "shot into extinction". Also loved the coverage of their famed mascot.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the first non-fiction books that I read about the Civil War. I was immediately interested by the Iron Brigade and found this book on Amazon.

This is a great, engaging book about the brigade and the men that made up the brigade. Thankfully this was not dry, boring book, because I may have never picked up the many other books on the Civil War that I have since.

[Les Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan T. Nolan is the consummate scholar and historian, telling the epic story of the second, sixth, and seventh Wisconsin, the nineteenth Indiana and the twenty-fourth Michigan with a flowing narrative well supported with first-hand accounts and careful research.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

In preparation for a trip to Gettysburg I was given this book to read about this famous brigade from Wisconsin including Indiana and Michigan. I found it interesting, but had trouble at times keeping up with the various reference points. It's a classic!

[William Oneill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Mr. Nolan at a history book signing.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic work on the Iron Brigade. Been in my library for 30 years.

[Kendrick Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. I particularly enjoyed the details concerning the politics at the brigade level. I highly recommend.

[Brad Taylor]

A different look at one of the hardest fighting units in the civil war. instead of focusing on the names of generals and familiar battles, the author instead takes you through the lives of men fighting on behalf of the the Western States.

You are able to see the Iron Brigade as it is formed, trained, and shipped off to battle. Alan provides the trace of this unit throughout it's service to the Army of the Potomac. He focuses on the men and their letters home. You get to see their struggles and triumphs, their promotions through the ranks and the deaths of comrades and their pain.

This is a unique look at the daily lives of those brave men who fought so hard to preserve the Union.