During the Civil War, the regiments of the Iron Brigade contributed the following numbers of men to Battery B:

General McClellan told General John B. Callis of Lancaster, Wis., at the Continental Hotel in Philadelphia when his grand reception was given there, what he knew of the origin of the cognomen "Iron Brigade." 

Major-General  George B.  McClellan.	Major-General  Joseph Hooker.

Said he: "During the battle of South Mountain my headquarters were where I could see every move of the troops taking the gorge on the Pike (National Road). With my glass I saw the men fighting against great odds, when General Hooker came in great haste for some orders. I ask him what troops were those fighting on the Pike? His answer was: 'General Gibbon's Brigade of Western men.' I said, 'They must be made of iron.' He replied, 'By the Eternal they are iron. If you had seen them at Second Bull Run as I did, you would know them to be iron.' I replied, 'Why, General Hooker, they fight equal to the best troops in the world.' This remark so elated Hooker that he mounted his horse and dashed away without his orders. After the battle, I saw Hooker at the Mountain House near where the Brigade fought. He sang out, 'Now General, what do you think of the Iron Brigade?' Ever since that time I gave them the cognomen of Iron Brigade."

Use of this Iron Brigade Emblem by Permission.

Initially composed of the 2^nd, 6^th, 7^th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and the 19^th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, the Iron Brigade was organized at Washington, D.C. in the fall of 1861. Brig. Gen. Rufus King, former editor of Milwaukee's Sentinel and Gazette served as its first commander until Brig. Gen. John Gibbon assumed command in May, 1862. A regular Army officer, Gibbon was keen on training and discipline and did much to improve the Brigade's efficiency. To bolster morale and foster a sense of esprit de corps, Gibbon outfitted them with the black felt Army Hat and canvas gaiters. The hats in particular became a source of pride and ultimately provided the distinctive sobriquet of the "Black Hat Brigade."

The Brigade saw its first serious action at August 28, 1862 at Groveton, VA where, along with Battery B, 4^th U.S. Light Artillery, it destroyed a third of the attacking Stonewall Brigade. Groveton (Second Bull Run) was costly for the Iron Brigade as well resulting in 751 casualties for the mid-westerners. A few weeks later, at South Mountain, the Brigade lost another 318 men. It was there that Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker referred to the hard-fighting Westerners as his "Iron Brigade."

A few days later at Antietam, as a part of Hooker's I Corps, the Iron Brigade saw fierce action in the West Woods and in Miller's cornfield. A determined charge momentarily displaced Jackson's surprised Confederates, but a blistering counterattack by Gen. Hood's division forced the Iron Brigade back through the cornfield and into the West Woods. Resultant losses for the Iron Brigade amounted to 348 men.

After Lee's failed Maryland Campaign, the Iron Brigade was strengthened with the addition of the 24^th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. It remained an all-western brigade amongst a sea of Eastern units, and no doubt served as another source of pride for its battle hardened veterans. The Brigade saw limited action at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville but it bore a heavy burden at Gettysburg.

On the first day's fighting, the Brigade was deployed on McPherson's and Seminary Ridge. In their dogged defense of that ground, the Iron Brigade suffered enormous casualties but managed to slow the Confederate advance thus enabling the timely deployment of fresh federal troops. Casualties for the Brigade numbered approximately 1,212 out of 1,883 effectives. The 24^th Michigan lost 80% of its number, while the 2^nd Wisconsin suffered 77% casualties. The battle at Gettysburg essentially destroyed the original Iron Brigade. Although the name continued in use the Brigade lost some of its original character. The 2^nd Wisconsin was disbanded in July 1864, and Eastern regiments were added to the Brigade, altering its formerly all-Western composition. However the 6^th and 7^th Wisconsin Infantry units served until the end of the war earning the honored "Veteran Infantry" designation.

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