The "Gibraltar Brigade" was a famed

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

within the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Recognizing its tenacity in combat at the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

, Brigadier General William French assigned the nickname as a comparison to the steadfastness of the

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabel-al-Tariq) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula, and near the entrance to the Mediterr ...

. At Antietam the

8th Ohio Infantry The 8th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater in a number of campaigns and battles, but perhaps is most noted for its actions in helping repulse Pickett's ...

, 14th Indiana Infantry, 7th West Virginia Infantry and 132nd Pennsylvania (a nine-month regiment) comprised the Brigade. The 4th Ohio Infantry Regiment was forced to miss the Maryland Campaign due to regiment-wide sickness but was otherwise a consistent member of the Brigade. It served in many of the major battles of the Eastern Theater. During the

Battle of East Cemetery Hill The battle of East Cemetery Hill during the American Civil War was a military engagement on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, in which an attack of the Confederacy's Louisiana Tigers Brigade and a brigade led by Colonel Robert Hoke ...

at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, nine cannons from Wiedrich's and Ricketts' Batteries had been silenced and remained in violently disputed possession. As the Union cannoneers and Confederate riflemen from Louisiana and North Carolina engaged hand-to-hand, both sides waited for decisive reinforcement. While none of the anticipated help arrived for the Confederates, six Union infantry regiments counterattacked across the Baltimore Pike to assist their artillery comrades. Three regiments from the Gibraltar Brigade marched in column at double-quick time from Zeigler's Grove across the length (west to east) of Evergreen Cemetery. The column split into two at the Gatehouse (with the 7th West Virginia on its left side and the 8th Ohio and the 14th Indiana on its right), crossed the Baltimore Pike, left-faced into line of battle, and attacked with bayonets. Among the three, the 14th Indiana arrived first to rescue Ricketts' Battery. Another portion of the brigade helped repulse

Pickett's Charge Pickett's Charge (July 3, 1863), also known as the Pickett–Pettigrew–Trimble Charge, was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee against Major General George G. Meade's Union positions on the last day of the B ...

the following day. Through much of the war, the Gibraltar Brigade was composed of the 4th Ohio Infantry,

, 14th Indiana Infantry, and the 7th West Virginia Infantry. The brigade was augmented by the 24th and 28th New Jersey before the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...

. Before the

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union ...

in early 1864, its ranks were bolstered by the addition of the 1st Delaware, 12th New Jersey, and the 10th New York Battalion. Its commanders included

Nathan Kimball Nathan Kimball (November 22, 1822 – January 21, 1898) was a physician, politician, postmaster, and military officer, serving as a general in the Union army during the American Civil War. He was the first statewide commander of the Grand Arm ...

Samuel S. Carroll Samuel Sprigg "Red" Carroll (September 21, 1832 – January 28, 1893) was a career officer in the United States Army who rose to the rank of brigadier general of the Union during the American Civil War. The Maryland native was most known for h ...

, and Thomas A. Smyth.

References

* Dyer, Frederick Henry, ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion.'' 3 volumes. New York: T. Yoseloff, 1908.

External links

The Civil War Archive

References

External links

Further reading