Edward E . Cross Edward Ephraim Cross ( April 22 , 1832 – July 3 , 1863 ) was a newspaperman and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War . Journalist . Cross was born in Lancaster , New Hampshire . When he was fifteen years old , he began writing as a printer for a local newspaper , the " Coos Democrat " . He later moved from New Hampshire to Cincinnati , Ohio , where he worked as a printer for the " Cincinnati Times " . He demonstrated writing skills and became a reporter for the newspaper , serving for a while as the paper ' s Washington correspondent . On July 27 , 1858 , he left Cincinnati for Tubac , Arizona Territory , with the last contingent of the Santa Rita Silver Mining Company . Cross invested in a series of mines and then established the territory ' s first newspaper , the " Weekly Arizonian " . He also served at times in the United States Army as a scout during occasional expeditions against the Apache . In 1860 , he crossed the border into Mexico to command a Sonoran army garrison supporting the insurgency of Benito Juárez . On August 5 , 1860 , Colonel Cross , assigned to Fort Buchanan , presided a meeting of irate miners , at the ranch of Henry Theodore Titus , who demanded protection from depredations committed by Sonoran bandits . Cross enumerated the atrocities committed and paid a tribute of respect to the victims . Civil War service . At the outset of the Civil War , he was commissioned as colonel of the 5th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry . He led his regiment in the first division II Corps , establishing a reputation as one of the hardest - fighting , toughest officers in the army . Serving with distinction in the Battle of Seven Pines ( where he fell wounded ) and the Seven Days Battles , he again was wounded at the Battle of Antietam . Cross also led his regiment at the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Chancellorsville . At Chancellorsville he briefly led an ad hoc fifth brigade in the 1st Division , II Corps . During the Battle of Gettysburg , he led a brigade in 1st Division , II Corps . On July 2 , 1863 , the division was sent to the left flank to help stabilize it after the Confederates had begun attacking the salient formed by III Corps . Cross ' s brigade was formed on the left of the division ' s battle line as it entered the Wheatfield . During the fighting , Cross was mortally wounded while at the left of his line near the Rose Woods . He died the next day at a field hospital . His body was shipped home to Lancaster , New Hampshire , for burial in the town ' s cemetery . Col . H . Boyd McKean of the 81st Pennsylvania Regiment succeeded to command of the brigade . Reputation . Cross was an impulsive and colorful officer . He is reported to have struck non - commissioned officers with the flat of his sword when angry . When leading his regiment into action at Seven Pines , he told the troops " Charge like hell ! Show them you " are " damn Yankees ! " Cross was notable for always wearing a red bandanna on his head rather than the traditional officer ' s hat . This was Cross ' s way of making it easier for his men to locate him quickly on the battlefield . However , on July 2 , 1863 , Maj . Gen . Winfield S . Hancock noticed that his bandanna was black rather than red . Col . Cross indicated that he had foreseen his own death this day and that black was more appropriate . That morning , he had also looked over some ambulances behind the lines and remarked " We shan ' t want any of your death wagons today . "