They can be taken for four college credits or to earn six units toward a Certificate in Civil War Studies. Students taking the classes for college credits automatically earn certificate units. Other courses will be offered in the near future.
Some financial aid is available for college credit students.
Originally called the Black Hat Brigade because its soldiers wore the regular army s black felt dress hats, the Iron Brigade was one of the most celebrated organizations of the Union Armies during the Civil War. Made up of the Second, Sixth and Seventh Wisconsin, Nineteenth Indiana and Twenty-fourth Michigan volunteer infantry regiments, it won fame for its fighting ability and gained the terrible distinction of leading all Federal brigades in percentage of deaths in battle. The Iron Brigade in the Wilderness addresses the large neglected after Gettysburg period when the unit is transformed by a number of profound changes and first comes under the command of U.S. Grant. This online course challenges students to apply a more contemporary framework of analysis to the battle and to interpret the Wilderness Campaign of 1864 and its impact from the prospective of the five Western regiments. The instructors for both courses are authors and Iron Brigade experts Dr. Sharon Eggleston Vipond and Lance J. Herdegen.