Existing comment:
Our Tattered Flags:
-- "The sun... rose upon one of those scenes of suffering and anguish which humble the pride of man by the exhibition of his weakness and cruelty. The bloody cornfield was a tragic sight. It had been fought over several times. The dead all lay as they fell... and so thickly strewn that for rods one could have walked on dead bodies." -- First Lieutenant Edwin E. Bryant -- Third Wisconsin Infantry -- 1891
Five Wisconsin regiments participated in the Battle of Antietam, four actively. These included the Second, Sixth, and Seventh Wisconsin Infantry, all of which belonged to the Iron Brigade. The Iron Brigade experienced over 40 per cent losses at Antietam.
The Third Wisconsin Infantry also fought in the Cornfield. Its losses amounted to 59 per cent. The Fifth Wisconsin Infantry was assigned to the reserve during the battle.
When President Lincoln visited Antietam after the battle, he reviewed the men of the Iron Brigade. According to one Wisconsin soldier, the President, touched by the worn appearance of the Wisconsin troops, "bowed low in response to the salute of our tattered flags." |