Historical notes and Reports:

Second Infantry WISCONSIN
(3-YEARS)

Second Infantry. -- Cols., S. Park Coon, Edgar O'Conner, Lucius Fairchild, John Mansfield; Lieut.-Cols., Henry W. Peck, Duncan McDonaid, Thomas S. Allen, George H. Stevens, William L. Parsons; Maj., George H. Otis.

This regiment was organized in May, 1861, and was mustered in June 11, with a numerical strength of 1,051. It left the state on June 20 and was the first regiment of three years men to appear in Washington.

It was brigaded with three New York regiments under command of Col. W. T. Sherman, Col. Coon being detached for staff duty. The regiment participated in the first battle of Bull Run, losing 30 killed, 125 wounded and 65 missing.

It was transferred from Col. Sherman's command to that of Brig. Gen. Rufus King, commanding a brigade consisting of the 5th and 6th Wis. and 19th Ind. infantry. Co. K was detached permanently and organized as heavy artillery, a new Co. K being mustered.

Later Gen. King was succeeded by Col. Lysander Cutler and from Dec., 1861, the history of the regiment is merged with that of the famous ''Iron Brigade'' until it was detached in May, 1864, its loss being the greatest in proportion to numbers of any regiment engaged in the Civil war.

The ''Iron Brigade'' consisted of the 2nd, 6th and 7th Wis., 19th Ind. and 24th Mich. At Bull Run the 2nd regiment bore the brunt of a determined onset by ''Stonewall'' Jackson's entire division on the Warrenton pike until the brigade could be moved into position and the enemy repulsed. The brigade held the line of battle until the army had passed on the road to Centerville, and was in a later engagement on the Warrenton and Sudley roads.

It stormed the enemy's position at South Mountain, the 2nd leading on the left of the road and the 6th and 7th on the right, routing the enemy. At Antietam the brigade dislodged the enemy after a severe conflict. At Fredericksburg it held an exposed position, subject to heavy artillery fire.

At Gettysburg the regiment led the marching column and was the first to meet the enemy, (Heth's division), advancing upon it and receiving a volley that cut down over 30 per cent of the rank and file. Dashing upon the enemy's center, the 2nd held it in check until the brigade came into line, when the enemy was routed.

At Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Gaines' Mill, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and in numerous skirmishes, the ''Iron Brigade'' added new luster to the Union army, the 2nd Wis. bearing well its part.

The regiment became so reduced in numbers that it was permanently detached from the brigade May 11, 1864, and employed as provost guard of the 4th division, 5th army corps until June 11, when it was sent home, the last company being mustered out July 2, 1864.

The members who joined subsequent to its original organization were organized into an independent battalion of two companies June 11, 1864, under command of Capt. Dennis B. Dailey. The battalion was assigned to provost duty, took part in the advance and assault on Petersburg and the skirmishes at Yellow house, was transferred to the 1st brigade, 3rd division for guard and picket duty; fought at Hatcher's run; and on Nov. 30 was transferred as Cos. G and H to the 6th Wis., with which it remained until mustered out.

To its original number was added by recruiting, drafting and reenlistment 215, making a total of 1,266. The death loss was 261; missing, 6; desertions, 51; transferred 134; discharged, 466; leaving 348 to be mustered out.

Source: The Union Army, vol. 4


Antietam after battle report:

Report of Col. Lucius Fairchild, Second Wisconsin Infantry, of the battle of South Mountain.

CAMP, GIBBON'S BRIGADE, Near Sharpsburg, Md., September 20, 1862.

SIR: I have the honor to report the following as the part taken by the Second Wisconsin Volunteers, under my command, in the battle of South Mountain, Maryland, on Sunday, September 14, 1862:

Soon after a large portion of Hooker's corps were in line, and advancing up the mountain on the right of the turnpike, Gibbon's brigade advanced of the pike to the foot of the mountain. On arriving there, the Nineteenth Indiana Volunteers and my regiment filed into the field on the left. Companies B and E of my regiment were deployed as skirmishers, and ordered to advance, their right resting on the pike. The Nineteenth Indiana followed, with my regiment in their rear about 200 yards. By order of Gen. Gibbon, we moved thus in double column until well within the gap. While lying down in that position, a shell from the enemy struck and employed in the ranks of the second division of the Second Regiment, killing 4 and badly wounding 3. Soon after, I deployed my column, the skirmishers being briskly engaged, and, when the Nineteenth Indiana opened fire, I moved forward to their right, the right of my regiment resting on the turnpike, and opened fire. After expending some 20 rounds of ammunition, I discovered the enemy had entirely disappeared from our front. Then I ordered the men to fire by the right-oblique, on a line of the enemy who were firing on the Seventh Wisconsin. After a short time I ceased firing, and, the better to get at the enemy, changed direction with the right wing of my regiment. In that position good execution was done until their ammunition was all expended, when they were withdrawn to the line, and the left wing took their place. After the left wing had expended their ammunition and had been withdrawn, the Nineteenth took the same position, by wings. All were then ordered to lie down. The fire from the enemy ceased and all was quiet.

I ordered Company A to deploy as skirmishers to the extreme left of the Nineteenth Indiana, and sent a few men to the front a short distance, to prevent a surprise. Thus we lay until nearly midnight, when part of Gen. Gorman's brigade took our ground, while we fell back a short distance for ammunition. The action was not resumed after my regiment left the front line.

Fortunately the Second suffered lightly in comparison with other regiments of the brigade, as the list of killed and wounded, heretofore forwarded, will show.

As usual, the officers and men behaved well. Capt. Colwell, of Company B, was killed while in command of the line of skirmishers. His place can hardly be filled. He was a fine officer and beloved by the whole regiment.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

LUCIUS FAIRCHILD,
Col. Second Regiment Wisconsin Volunteers.

FRANK A. HASKELL,
Lieut. and A. D. C., Actg. Asst. Adjt. Gen., Gibbon's Brigade.

Source: Official Records: Series I. Vol. 19. Part I, Reports. Serial No. 27


Chancellorsville, VA after battle report:

No. 32.
Report of Col. Lucius Fairchild, Second Wisconsin Infantry.

NEAR WHITE OAK CHURCH, VA., May 9, 1863.

SIR: I have the honor to report the following as the movements of this regiment, under my command, during the late engagements:

I marched from the winter camp, near Belle Plain, at 12 m., April 28; bivouacked between White Oak Church and the Rappahannock River; turned out at 11.30 o'clock the same night and moved to the river, where we arrived at daylight. The engineers, in their attempt to lay the pontoon bridge, having been driven away, I was ordered to man the pontoon wagons and run them to the river, for which purpose I detailed Companies B, E, and D, which gallantly rushed the boats to the river bank, under a sharp fire from the enemy, posted in rifle-pits on the other side. At the same time, by order, the balance of the regiment moved at double-quick to the bank of the river, to assist in covering the crossing of the Sixth Wisconsin and Twenty-fourth Michigan Volunteers, who were embarking in pontoon boats. At the bank a brisk fire was opened on the enemy, who were pouring a sharp fire from the pits on those attempting to cross. As soon as the leading regiments were well embarked, I ordered my men into boats, and crossed as quickly as possible; formed a line on the crest of the bank, and threw out one company as skirmishers in line with orders of the brigade. In this position the regiment remained until the pontoon bridges were put down, when the whole division crossed. The regiment was then posted on the left of the bridge with the brigade, and proceeded to intrench the position.

During April 29 and 30 and May 1, we lay in the entrenchments, under the occasional fire of the enemy.

On the morning of the 2d, we recrossed the river, and with the brigade marched toward the United States Ford, near which we bivouacked until 2 o'clock the following morning, when we resumed the march; crossed the river on the pontoon bridge at the United States Ford, and moved toward the battle-field at Chancellorsville. Soon after crossing the river, I was ordered on duty on the staff of Brig.-Gen. Wadsworth, commanding the division, leaving the regiment under the command of Lieut.-Col. Stevens, to whose report I refer for the movements of the regiment since that time.

During all these movements the officers and men of my regiment behaved in their usual soldierly manner, obeying promptly all orders, and ready at all times to meet the enemy in a proper manner. The casualties have been heretofore reported.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

LUCIUS FAIRCHILD,
Col., Cmdg. Second Wisconsin Volunteers.

Capt. J. D. WOOD,
Assistant Adjutant-Gen., Fourth Brigade.


No. 33.

Report of Lieut. Col. George H. Stevens, Second Wisconsin Infantry.

NEAR FREDERICKSBURG, VA., May 9, 1863.

SIR: I have the honor to make the following report of the movements of this regiments while under my command:

On the morning of the 3d instant, Col. Fairchild being assigned to duty on Gen. Wadsworth's staff, I assumed command of the regiment while on the march toward the battle-field near Chancellorsville, where we arrived at 6 a. m., forming line of battle on the Ely's Ford road and on the right of the Seventh Wisconsin. At 7 a. m. the brigade was massed in the woods on the left of our previous position, my regiment forming the rear line of the column. At 9 a. m. we again occupied the position first taken, which we strengthened by throwing up breastworks covering my entire front. This was continued along the left.

We remained in this position until 3 a. m. of the 6th instant. At that hour I received orders to march, and, taking the position assigned to me as rear guard, moved forward in that order. We reached the vicinity of the United States Ford about daylight, where we formed line of battle, to secure the passage over the river of the troops in our advance. About 8 a. m., the bridges being clear, we again formed column, and crossed to this side of the river, encamping the same night on the Falmouth road, near Hartwood Church.

At 8.30 a. m. next day we resumed our march toward our present camp. Col. Fairchild resumed command same day. The regiment not being engaged with the enemy, met with no loss.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

GEO. H. STEVENS,
Lieut.-Col., Cmdg. Second Wisconsin Volunteers.

Capt. J. D. WOOD,
Asst. Adjt. Gen., Fourth Brig., First Div., First Army Corps.

Source: Official Records Series I. Vol. 25. Part I, Reports. Serial No. 39.


Gettysburg after battle report:

Report of Maj. John Mansfield, Second Wisconsin Infantry.
Beverly Ford, Va., November 15, 1863.

Sir: In reporting the part taken by this regiment in the battle of Gettysburg, I have the honor to state:

The regiment formed a part of the First Brigade of Wadsworth's division of the First Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, and on the morning of July 1, 1863, it had the right, and approached Gettysburg from the Emmitsburg pike. About 10 a. m., when near the town of Gettysburg, the brigade was filed into the field on the left and west of Gettysburg, in the direction of and left of Seminary Ridge. Here the Federal cavalry were in line with a battery, actively engaged with the enemy's advancing infantry. By order of the division commander, through Col. Kress, his acting aide-de-camp, this regiment was thrown forward into line of battle in front of the cavalry, and ordered to advance, to repel an assault of the enemy's infantry upon the battery.

The field officers, Col. Fairchild, Lieut.-Col. Stevens, and Maj. John Mansfield, immediately dismounted, and, taking their proper places in line, advanced the regiment up a gentle slope, and when on its crest we received a volley of musketry from the enemy's line, from which many officers and men fell, among them Lieut.- Col. Stevens, mortally wounded. The advance of the regiment was steadily kept up under the direction of Col. Fairchild, slightly obliquing to the right into a piece of timber skirting the ridge and extending several hundred yards to the right and front of our position.

After pushing the advance for about 50 yards into this timber, in the face of a most terrific fire of musketry, Col. Fairchild received a severe wound in the left arm, shattering his elbow. Being so completely disabled, and suffering from loss of blood, he was taken to the rear, when Maj. Mansfield assumed command of the regiment.

Mansfield continued to advance the regiment to near close quarters, when the line of the enemy in our immediate front yielded, a portion seeking cover in a deep excavation, the balance seeking refuge behind trees and a slight elevation of the ground, from which they attempted to reform their broken lines. I ordered a charge upon this last position of the enemy, which was gallantly made at the double-quick, the enemy breaking in confusion to the rear, escaping from the timber into the open fields beyond. In this charge we captured a large number of prisoners, including several officers, among them Gen. Archer, who was taken by Private Patrick Maloney, of Company G, of our regiment, and brought to me, to whom he surrendered his sword, which I passed over with the prisoners to Lieut. D. B. Dailey, acting aide-de-camp on the brigade staff. I regret to say that this gallant soldier (Private Maloney) was killed in action later in the day.

After this disposition of the prisoners, the regiment was formed in line in the open field beyond the timber. Here the balance of the brigade was formed on our left. We were soon faced to the rear, and retired about midway through the timber, where we were ordered to lie down. We remained in position some two hours or more, when the enemy were discovered emerging from the timber beyond the field we had just left, in two lines, with a heavy line of skirmishers.

The front line of the enemy, with skirmishers, advanced directly to the front, while the second line advanced obliquely to the left. In a short time the enemy's skirmishers and our own became actively engaged, which continued with great spirit for a time, when it was discovered an attempt was being made to flank our position by the second line. An order was given to fall back toward Seminary Ridge, then directly in our rear, and in which was placed and at work the Fifth Maine Battery.

This movement was made in good order, firing as we retired. About half the distance from where we commenced to retire to this new position, I faced the regiment to the front, and again moved to meet the advancing columns of the enemy, when I discovered the enemy closing in upon our left. I again faced to the rear, and took up a position on the ridge referred to, on the right of the brigade already in position. At this time and point the battle raged with great fury, near the close of which I received a severe gun-shot wound in my left leg, near the knee-joint. Being unable to remain standing, I was taken to temporary shelter, when almost immediately the brigade and regiment fell back to Cemetery Hill.

The casualties to the regiment resulting from this day's fight, for the numbers engaged, are believed to be unparalleled in the history of the war, and are here given as follows:

Casualties	Officers	Men	Total
Engaged	29	273	302
Killed	2	25	27
Wounded	11	142	153
Missing	6	47	53
Total	19	214	233
Left for duty			69

From such a record I may be spared from making what seems the usual commonplace remark, ''that both officers and men behaved well.'' No such record as here made can be shown excepting by a cool indifference to danger and long continued and stubborn resistance, resulting from hard-earned experience and thorough discipline.

I desire to call the attention of the general commanding to Lieut. Henry B. Harshaw, acting adjutant, for his ready and active assistance on several occasions during the trials of the day. Also to Corporal [Rasselas] Davidson, of Company H, and Corpl. Paul V. Brisbois, of Company G, for gallantly seizing (one the State, the other the National) colors of the regiment, after their respective bearers had been shot down in a storm of bullets, and carrying them undismayed throughout the remainder of the battle, and bearing them in safety and in triumph off the field.

JNO. MANSFIELD,
Maj., Comdg. Regt.

Capt. J. D. Wood,
Asst. Adjt. Gen., First Brig., First Div., First Corps.

Source: Official Records: Series I. Vol. 27. Part I. Reports. Serial No. 43