The 6th Wisconsin Volunteers was recruited from counties in the southern third of the state in the spring of 1861, and after training at
Camp
Randall
in
Madison
the unit was mustered into service in July, 1861. Assigned to the East, in October of that year, and brigaded with two other
Wisconsin
regiments, the 2nd and 7th, and the 19th
Indiana
to form the only all-Western brigade in the Army of the
Potomac
. The history of the 6th is tied with that of the brigade. Under its second commander, John Gibbon, a regular army artillery officer from
North Carolina
, the brigade was forged from a collection of farmers, loggers and common workers into a fine-edged fighting force. With his leadership, and the brigade's distinctive uniform -- nine-button regular army wool frock and sky blue trousers, set off, at least initially, with white leggings and the tall Hardee black hat with plume and brass trimmings – the brigade was set to show what western men where made of
The Brigade's first test in battle was at Brawner farm when the four regiments confronted a superior force of Stonewall Jackson's men. In the late afternoon of
August 28, 1862
, the Western men traded vicious vollys with the Rebel veterans. Only darkness brought an end to the bloody confrontation. When Robert E. Lee pointed his army into
Maryland
in September, the Big Hat Brigade, as it was now being called, marched with the First Corps. At
Cumberland Gap
in
South
Mountain
,
September 14, 1862
, the unit earned its famous name, when Army Commander George B. McClellan observed the men of
Wisconsin
and
Indiana
, under fire from Rebel defenders, relentlessly pushing forward up the
National Road
. He is said to have remarked, "They stand like iron." The Big Hat became the Iron Brigade. Just three days later, the newly named Iron Brigade fought in the bloodiest day of the war,
Antietam
, sustaining horendous losses during the opening hours of the battle.
To compensate for the demising numbers in it ranks; the Western men were reinforced
by the addition of a new regiment, the 24th
Michigan the month following the battle of Antietam
. The latter unit earned its membership into the brigade and its Black Hats with valor at
Fredericksburg
,
the 6th
Wisconsin
's finest hour of the war occurred on the first day at
Gettysburg
. While its sister regiments battled the Rebel’s along Willoughby Run and in McPherson's Woods west of town, the 6th Wisconsin were ordered to the right where the enemy swept aside another Union brigade. Charging across a stubble field and onto the Chambersburg Pike, the 6th
Wisconsin
briefly reset its line, before storming the defenders in an unfinished railroad cut. Several hundred prisoners from two rebel regiments were taken along with the flag of the 2nd
Mississippi
. Sgt. Francis A. Wallar of Company I won the Medal of Honor for the flag’s capture.
The distinctive all-Western character of the Iron Brigade was changed with the infusion of Eastern regiments into its ranks later in 1863. However, the 6th
Wisconsin
subsequently marched every mile and fought in every major battle until the end of the war.
Onto the stripes of its battle flag after
Gettysburg
were painted Mine Run, Wilderness,
Spotsylvania
, Laurel Hill, North Anna,
Cold Harbor
,
Petersburg
, Weldon Railroad, 1st Hatcher's Run and 2nd Hatcher's Run (Gravelly Run and
Five Forks
). The regiment's honors were gained at great cost for its name stands among the foremost units in the number of men killed in battle or died of wounds during the entire war, according to William Fox's study, Regimental Losses of the Civil War. With the 7th
Wisconsin
, the 6th was present for duty at Appomattox Court House in April, 1865.
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