The men stood like iron

by Lance J. Herdegen

The Men Stood Like Iron is the dramatic story of how the backwoods frontier boys of Indiana and Wisconsin became soldiers of an "Iron Brigade," a unit so celebrated that General George McClellan called it "equal to the best troops in any army in the world." Created following the Union defeat at Bull Run, the brigade won immediate attention for being the only all-Western brigade of the Eastern armies and for the tall black hats issued to the soldiers. It was a year before the brigade saw any action, but when the fighting began, it was relentless. In four battles over three weeks - Brawner's Farm, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, and Antietam - the Iron Brigade earned its name at terrible cost. By Appomattox Court House, the brigade had suffered a proportionally greater number of battle deaths than any other Federal unit.