The semi-weekly messenger., 1900-05-15
PETTIGREw'S BRIGADE ON FIRST
DAY.


of southern defence and independence,
it is in order to give glimpse
now of how North Carolina SOL
diers suffered in the war. Pet
tigrew's brigade is immortal If the
true history is ever written Lying
accounts have concealed the facts and
given utterly false bias and coloring TO
the splendid valor of North Carolin-
ians at Gettysburg, as in other great
battles Colonel W. H. 5. Burgwyn,
of Henderson, a brother of the late
Colonel Harry Burgwyn, of the illustri-
Gus Twenty-sixth North Carolina,
(Vance's old brigade,) who was
brave officer, and fell in the charge or
Pettigrew's brigade in his young man
hood, has published in the Raleigh
Post an interesting article upon Pet
tigrew's Brigade and the Iron Brigade
at Gettysburg" We will make few
extracts that will be both gratifying
and edifying to many who may read
this editorial The Iron Brigade was
composed of the Nineteenth Indiana,
Twenty-fourth Michigan, Second, Sixth
and Seventh Wisconsin regiments. The
cognomen, Iron Brigade" was given
it by General Mcclellan for its intrep-
idity at the battle of South Mountain,
September II, 1862. 1t has acquired
the reputation of never having sustain
ed a defeat. Its most noted regiment
was the Twenty-fourth Michigan. Its
colonel was Henry A. Morrow, native
of Warrenton, Va, born in 1929.
Colonel Burgwyn says:
"A member of the regiment-O: B.
Curtis, A. NJ, of Detroit, Mich, has
written its history-a book of some five
hundred pages. 1 quote briefly from
the authors account of the battle of
Gettysburg:
For many years Pickett's charge on
the third day was considered the chief
feature of the battle of Gettysburg, and
the fighting on the second and third
days, when all of both armies were in
line, had attracted most attention.
But a close study of the whole field
shows that the first days struggle was
the greatest, the losses on this first
day exceeding those of either of the
next two days fight.
That is absolutely correct as all stu
dents of the three days fight can at
test. He states that when the Michi
.ganders met the Twenty-sixth North
Carolina, believing the militia they
expected a very easy victory. But they
learned better soon. He says the
North Carolinians LAY quite as num-
erous as our own over among the trees
. dead and wounded. He states that the
Michiganders were driven back sue
cessiveIy to the second, third. fourth,
fifth and sixth lines of battle, contest
ing every foot of ground, step by step,
frequently almost surrounded, through
and out of the woods and over the open
field, until what was left had been
forced back to the friendly rail fence,
barricade just west of the seminary.
AT this place it's sixth line of battle
was attempted to be formed. 1t fought
for a time, during which Colonel Nor
row, holding aloft bullet-riddled flag,
received a wound in his head and was
forced to leave the field. This was the
last stand made by the Union troops
on that part of the field
His regiment lost fearfully from the
pertinacious, continued onset of the
North Carolina brigade. He tells that
nine 'color-bearers and guards of the
regiment lost their lives or received
mortal wounds in the defence of its
flag this first day of the great battle
a bloody but most glorious record. OF
the twenty-eight regimental officers,
eight were killed, fourteen were
wounded, three captured and three es-
capped without wounds. The total kill
ed and died of wounds was ninety;
total wounded. 232; prisoners paroled,
thirty-eight; missing, six; total casu-
aIities and losses, 422; entering battle,
1856
Remember that the same North Car
olinians who made that splendid. at
tack were the men, those surviving, who
made the splendid charge at Gettys-
burg on the Third Day, that has been
so lied upon by unscrupulous Virginian
writers. Colonel Burgwyn says that
''it is a coincidence that the Iron Br1-
gade lost the heaviest of any brigade,
on the Union side, at Gettysburg. 1t
lost 1,15S men out of 1883 engaged, or
sixty-one per cent; and that the two
sOpPOSAAS ACSILlSulS WIlCI SoSee-AAASN
the greatest loss at Gettysburg belong
ed. the one (Twenty-fourth Michigan)
to the Iron Brigade, and the other
(Twenty-sixth North Carolina) to Pet
tigrew's confederate brigade
The Michigan Twenty-fourth lost in
killed and wounded GA per cent. The
Twenty-sixth North Carolina lost 1876.
Total per cent of loss, Twenty-fourth
Michigan so; Twenty-sixth North Car
oIina Ss.5. In all the war the highest
Der cent of loss, is given as follows:
Twenty-sixth North Carolina, confed-
crate, sS.5: First Minnesota, union, Se;
Twenty-fourth Michigan, union. 80;
and each of the regiments above more
than 20. Remember that in the war
there were over 5000 regiments includ-
ing, south and north. The Twenty