Shelby's Iron Brigade, also known as the Missouri Iron Brigade, was a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, 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 ...

, led by Brigadier General Joseph O. Shelby, in the

Trans-Mississippi Theater The trans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War was the scene of the major military operations west of the Mississippi River. The area is often thought of as excluding the states and territories bordering the Pacific Ocean, which formed ...

of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Brigade nickname

The Iron Brigade nickname was created by Joseph O. Shelby's former adjutant,

John Newman Edwards Major John Newman Edwards (January 4, 1839 – May 4, 1889) was General Joseph O. Shelby's adjutant during the American Civil War, an author, and a pro-Confederate journalist who founded the ''Kansas City Times''. He is perhaps best known ...

, in his 1867 account, ''Shelby and His Men''.

Brigade formed

Shelby's Iron Brigade was originally formed in 1863, under orders from Major General

Thomas C. Hindman Thomas Carmichael Hindman Jr. (January 28, 1828September 28, 1868) was an American lawyer, politician, and a senior officer of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, he later moved to Mississip ...

, following a successful recruiting expedition into

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

by Joseph O. Shelby,

Upton Hays Upton Hays, sometimes spelled Hayes, (March 29, 1832 – September 15, 1862) was a colonel of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Early life, career, and border warfare Upton Hays was born in Caldwell County, Kentucky. ...

and John T. Coffee, who each recruited a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

. These new regiments - Shelby's 5th, Hays's 11th and Coffee's 6th (redesignated as 12th), were brigaded under the command of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Shelby.

Campaigns

Shelby's Iron Brigade based themselves in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and participated in four major raids into Missouri during the war, earning a reputation as the most formidable brigade in the theater. Shelby was promoted to Brigadier General, following his successful raid of 1863. When Shelby later assumed division command, he was replaced by M. Jeff Thompson. The brigade remained in Shelby's Division in the

Army of Missouri The Army of Missouri was a Confederate field army during the American Civil War that served as part of the Trans-Mississippi Department. It was established in September 1864 under the command of Major General Sterling Price to invade Missouri. ...

and fought in Maj. Gen.

Sterling Price Sterling Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was an American politician and military officer who was a senior General officers in the Confederate States Army, officer of the Confederate States Army, fighting in both the Weste ...

's Missouri Expedition in 1864—saving Price's army from destruction several times, including the retreat at the

Battle of Marmiton River The Battle of Marmiton River, also known as Shiloh Creek or Charlot's Farm, occurred on October 25, 1864, in Vernon County, Missouri during the American Civil War. Major General (United States), Major General Sterling Price of the Confederate St ...

. In the autumn of 1864, some 1,500 of Shelby’s Iron Brigade cavalry surrounded

Sedalia, Missouri Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 ...

and overpowered local Union

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

defenders. They began to loot and sack the town on October 15, 1864. Once General Thompson arrived in Sedalia, he ordered his men to stop the destruction and moved them on, leaving Sedalia once again in Union hands. Later, the Missouri Iron Brigade distinguished themselves at the 1864 battles of Little Blue River and Westport, and captured many towns from their Union garrisons, including Potosi, Boonville, Waverly, Stockton, Lexington, and

California, Missouri California is a city in and the county seat of Moniteau County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,498. It is the largest city in Moniteau County and the third largest city in the Jefferson City metropolitan ar ...

Brigade disbanded and resettled in Mexico

Rather than surrender in 1865 with the collapse of the Confederacy, Shelby and his men rode south into

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in June, where they offered their services to Emperor Maximilian, who declined to accept the ex-Confederates into his armed forces. However, the emperor did grant them land for an American colony in Mexico, and many of Shelby's Iron Brigade settled on the free land.

Union Army Iron Brigades

There have been other brigades known by the same name. Use of the "Iron Brigade" name is not taken lightly in the U.S. Army, and the present-day units that have taken "Iron Brigade" as their nickname have proven themselves in battle as worthy to hold the name. Another brigade, in the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the 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 Battle of ...

, had previously been the first Iron Brigade, in the Union Army and later as the " Iron Brigade of the East" or "First Iron Brigade", to avoid confusion. This unit was the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps, prior to Meredith's brigade getting that designation. It consisted of the 22nd New York, 24th New York, 30th New York,

14th Regiment (New York State Militia) The 14th Regiment New York State Militia (also called the 14th Brooklyn Chasseurs and officially known during the American Civil War as 84th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment) was a volunteer militia regiment from the City of Brooklyn, New ...

, and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters. Another brigade, in the Army of the Potomac, from three western states, was the later named and most, well known

Iron Brigade The Iron Brigade, also known as The Black Hats, Black Hat Brigade, Iron Brigade of the West, and originally King's Wisconsin Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought ent ...

, famously known as the "Iron Brigade of the West", that fought in the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

. This brigade, was composed of units, from

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, which consisted of the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiments, the 19th Indiana, Battery B of the 4th U.S. Light Artillery, and joined later, by the 24th Michigan. Although this Iron Brigade of the East served in the same infantry division as the Iron Brigade of the West, press attention focused primarily on the latter. Most of the Eastern regiments were mustered out before the

, where the remaining Eastern Iron Brigade Regiments and the Iron Brigade of the West arguably achieved their greatest fame. Recent scholarshipClemens, Tom
''Will the Real Iron Brigade Please Stand Up?''
(August 2000 presentation to the

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, Civil War Round Table.) identifies two other brigades referred to by their members or others as "The Iron Brigade": 3rd Brigade, 1st Division,

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

(17th Maine, 3rd Michigan, 5th Michigan, 1st, 37th, and 101st New York) Reno's Brigade from the North Carolina expedition (21st and 35th Massachusetts, 51st Pennsylvania, and 51st New York)

References

* Buresh, Lumir F., ''October 25 and the Battle of Mine Creek'', The Lowell Press, 1977. * Edwards, John N., ''Shelby and His Men'', Cincinnati: Miami Printing and Publishing Co., 1867. * Mueller, D.L., ''M. Jeff Thompson: Missouri’s Swamp Fox of the Confederacy'', University of Missouri Press, 2007. . * Sellmeyer, Deryl P, ''Jo Shelby's Iron Brigade'', Pelican Publishing, 2007

Notes

{{Missouri Confederate units navbox