nolds, upon going out to the front to reconnoitre, was killed by a shot from the enemy. Orders were then given to withdraw to the east bank of the stream, and the brigade marched into what are known as McPherson's woods and formed in line of battle, the 24th in the centre, the 7th Wisconsin on the right, and the 19th Indiana on the left. In this movement Lieut. Col. Flanigan was severely wounded and compelled to leave the field. Skirmishers were immediately deployed in front of the brigade and became at once engaged with the enemy.

Colonel Morrow, considering the position held by his regiment untenable, suggested to the commanding general a change, but he was ordered to hold the ground at all hazards. The enemy advanced in two lines of battle, his right extending beyond and overlapping the left of the brigade. The fire of the 24th was held until the enemy came within easy range, when a well directed volley was poured into his ranks, but from the nature of the ground in front, little injury was inflicted, and his advance not being checked, he came pressing rapidly on in heavy masses, his men yelling like demons. The 19th Indiana, on the left of the 24th, fought most nobly, but was overpowered by immense odds, and, after severe loss, was forced back, exposing the 24th to an enfilading and cross fire. Orders were then given to swing back, so as to face the enemy now on the flank. While the movement was being executed, the enemy advanced in such numbers as compelled the 24th to retire to a new position. In the meantime, the regiment had lost most heavily in officers and men. The second line being promptly formed, a most desperate and determined resistance was made, but the enemy accumulating in overwhelming force in front, the brigade was driven to a third position, the regiment again losing severely and almost decimated. Major E. B. Wight, acting lieutenant-colonel, being wounded, left the field, and scarcely a fourth of the men taken into the engagement could be rallied. Corporal Andrew Wagner, of company F, one of the color guard, having the colors, was ordered by Colonel Morrow to plant them at a point to which he designed to rally the regiment, and while doing this he was shot in the breast and greatly injured. Colonel Morrow snatched the flag from the hand of the wounded soldier, and was rallying the remnant of the regiment, when Private William Kelly, of company E, rushed to the front and grasped the colors, shouting triumphantly, "The Colonel of the 24th shall never carry the flag while I am alive," and the gallant fellow was instantly killed by a bullet from the enemy. The colors were then seized by Private Silburne Spaulding, and carried by him for some time, when Colonel Morrow again took them, and continued to rally his men until he was wounded and left the field; he afterwards fell into the hands of the enemy, but ingeniously made his escape. The command then devolved on Captain Albert M. Edwards, who, with much energy and conspicuous bravery, rallied all that was left of the noble regiment, under a most galling and murderous fire, and fell back to Culp's Hill, which it assisted in holding against the determined assaults of the enemy for the two succeeding days. The colors of the 24th were found after Colonel Morrow was wounded in the paralyzed hands of a wounded soldier, whose name is unknown, and who probably lies with the gallant dead of Gettysburg. The field over which the 24th fought, from its first line of battle in McPherson's woods to the barricades near the Seminary, was strewn with killed and wounded, its loss being extremely large, exceeding, perhaps, that of any other regiment of equal strength in that great and important engagement-losing 316 in killed and wounded out of 496, and in addition, 80 of the enlisted men and 3 officers were re

ported as missing in action, many of whom have never been heard from, and were undoubtedly killed. This engagement will always be considered as prominent among the many hard fights in which the regiment took a Colonel Morrow, in his report, says:

part.

"At an early hour in the morning, July 1st, we marched in the direction of Gettysburg, seven miles distant. The report of artillery was soon heard in this direction, indicating that our cavalry had become engaged, and our pace was considerably quickened. About 9 A. M. we arrived near the town, when we filed off to the left, and moved forward into line of battle at double-quick. The cavalry immediately in our front was hotly engaged. We were ordered to advance at once, no time being allowed for loading the guns; the regiment was halted for that purpose, but was ordered to move forward without loading, which was done. Charging up and over a hill and down a ravine, we captured a large number of prisoners. The enemy advanced in two lines of battle, their right extending beyond and overlapping our left. The men were directed to withhold their fire until the enemy should arrive within easy range. This was done, but the nature of the ground was such that we inflicted but little injury on the enemy at this time. Their advance was not checked, and they came on rapidly, yelling like demons. We were forced back to a new position, where a line was promptly formed; but, after a desperate struggle, we were again forced to retire to a third position, beyond a slight ravine. Our loss was very large, exceeding, perhaps, the losses sustained by any one regiment of equal size. Out of twenty-eight officers, twenty-two were killed or wounded, and of 468 men, 316 were killed or wounded. During the engagement the flag was carried by nine different persons, four of the number having been killed and three wounded. All of the color guard were killed or wounded. The officers killed were Captains William J. Speed, Malachi J. O'Donnell, Lieutenants Walter H. Wallace, W. S. Safford, Newell Grace, R. H. Humphreville, Gilbert A. Dickey, and Lucius D. Shattuck.

"Of these nothing less can be said than that their conduct in this memorable battle was brave and daring, and was creditable alike to themselves and the service. It will not be disparaging to his brave comrades who fell on this terrible but glorious day, and who sleep with him in honored graves, to say that the death of Captain Speed was a severe loss to the service, and an almost irreparable one to the regiment. He was amiable, intelligent, honorable, and brave, and was universally respected and esteemed by all who knew him.

Captain O'Donnell was a young officer who had given strong proofs of courage and capacity, and whose death was deeply deplored by the regi

ment.

"Lieut. Wallace served in the Peninsula campaign, and lost an eye at the battle of Fair Oaks. He was a brave officer and honorable man, and a good disciplinarian.

"Lieut. Dickey joined the regiment in the capacity of commissary sergeant, and for his integrity, capacity, and attention to duties, was promoted to sergeant-major, and afterwards 2d lieutenant. He had given great promise of future usefulness and distinction.

"Lieuts. Grace, Humphreville, Safford, and Shattuck were distinguished in the regiment for their attention to every duty, for the amiability of their manners, and for unflinching courage in battle."

There were no battles in which this fine regiment was a participant that it did not acquit itself nobly; and were it necessary to cite more examples than that of Gettysburg to establish the twenty-fourth as one of the best

fighting regiments, selections might be made from almost any of its battles, commencing with Fredericksburg, December 12, 1862, where it lost Lieut. David Birrell, a most promising young officer, and seven men killed, sixteen wounded, and eighty missing, and ending with Dabney's Mills, February 17, 1865, where, under command of Lieut. Col. A. M. Edwards, it was heavily engaged, losing twenty in killed and wounded. Especially might reference be made to Fitzhugh's Crossing, April 29, 1863, in the advance on Chancellorsville, when, supported by the 6th Wisconsin, the regiment, commanded by Col. Morrow, crossed the Rappahannock, driving the rebels from their rifle-pits, and taking 103 prisoners-a daring achievement, commanding at the time the notice of the entire army for gallant and successful service. In this affair the 24th lost 25 in killed and wounded.

Were it necessary to cite more occasions on which the 24th distinguished itself, to establish a fighting reputation, the principal engagements of the Army of the Potomac in the campaign of 1864 might be introduced.

With the opening of that campaign the 24th, under command of Colonel Morrow, and then serving in the 1st brigade, 4th division, 5th corps, broke camp on the evening of the 3d of May, crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford on the 4th, and on the evening of the 5th encountered the enemy in the Wilderness. During this engagement the regiment captured a number of prisoners and a stand of colors from the 48th Virginia rebel infantry. Its loss during the battles of the Wilderness, between the 5th and 7th, were 18 killed, 46 wounded, and 42 prisoners and missing. Among the killed were Captain George Hutton and Lieut. William B. Hutchinson, and among the severely wounded was Colonel Morrow. On the night of the 7th of May, Lieut. Col. A. M. Edwards in command, the regiment withdrew from the Wilderness, and marched rapidly towards Spottsylvania Court-house. At the latter place it was under fire almost every day until the 21st, sustaining a loss of 11 killed, 39 wounded, and 1 missing. The regiment crossed the North Anna river May 23d. The enemy almost immediately attacked, but were repulsed with large loss. The loss of the 24th was 3 killed, 8 wounded, and 5 missing. On the 28th the regiment crossed the Pamunkey river near Hanovertown. It participated in the fighting attending the advance to Cold Harbor, and in the battles and skirmishes near that point, sustaining a loss of 3 killed and 15 wounded. June 16th it crossed the James river at Wilcox's Landing, and marched toward Petersburg. On the 18th it participated in the unsuccessful assault on the enemy's works surrounding that city, going into action with 120 men, and of this number, losing nearly one-third in killed and wounded, including among the killed Lieutenant and Adjutant Sevill Chilson. From this date until the movement on the Weldon railroad, on the 18th of August, the regiment was actively employed in duties attending the siege of Petersburg. Its loss in the various actions and skirmishes, and from the fire of the enemy's artillery and sharp-shooters, to which it was exposed, was 8 killed, 36 wounded, and 5 missing. August 18th it participated in an engagement on the Weldon railroad, having one man wounded. On the 19th the enemy massed a heavy force on their front, and attacked their position. The regiment succeeded in holding its ground for a short time, and thus saved a large portion of its brigade from capture. The casualties of the regiment during this action were twenty-five in the aggregate. The regiment also participated in the battle of the 21st of August, in which the rebel attack on our lines was repulsed with large loss, the 24th capturing during the battle eleven rebel officers, one stand of colors, a large number of arms, and sixty men, while its loss was very slight. The regiment participated in the battle

of Hatcher's Run on the 27th of October. The division captured a large number of prisoners during the night of the 27th; and on the morning of the 28th the regiment was sent on picket, and covered the retreat of the army back to their old works in front of Petersburg.

NOTE.-A special of the N. Y. Tribune says of the "Iron Brigade at Gettysburg: แ Reynolds has ridden into the angle of wood a bowshot from this Seminary, and that he cheers the Iron Brigade of Meredith as they wheel on the flank of the oak trees for a charge. Like a great flail of steel they swing into the shadows with an huzza that is as terrible as a volley; low crouching, dismounted, by his horse's head, the General peeps into the depths of the grove: Boom!' from the oaken recesses breaks a hailstorm of lead, and Reynolds, with the word of command upon his tongue, falls forward bloodily. The light of pride in his eye grows dull as blindness; the bronze flush on his face is veined with blue; two men bear away a dripping stretcher to the edge of the town; the architect of the battle has fallen dead across its portal. Grief, terror, have no space to live in. Across the brook and up the ridge, with a yell that is shot through and through with their own volleys, two jagged arcs of gray leap into sight, wheeling, the one for the wood, the other pushing through the gorge of the old railway. Huzza l From the skirts of the oaks the great double doors of the Iron Brigade shut together, with a slam as of colliding mountains, folding between them fifteen hundred rebel prisoners of war. Patrick Maloney, a brawny Irishman in blue, seizes General Archer by the throat: 'Right about face, Gineral! March!' Ere you can think, the disarmed column is over the Seminary ridge, and the grinning Celt has said to Wadsworth, looking on from the Seminary shadows: 'Gineral Wadsworth, I make you acquainted with Gineral Archer.'" Patrick Maloney, referred to, belonged to the 24th Michigan.

Following is an extract from a letter of General S. Meredith, written to Colonel Morrow in the same month in which the battle of Gettysburg was fought: "Although still confined to my bed by severe injuries received in the late battle of Gettysburg, I cannot longer delay tendering to you, and to the brave men under your command, my hoartfelt thanks for the gallant bearing of yourself and regiment in the battle of the 1st inst. No troops ever fought more bravely than did those of the 24th on that occasion. The 'old Iron Brigade' being among the first on the field, it had to meet the first shock of a desperate attack of a far superior force, and nobly did it do its duty.”

THE TWENTY-FIFTH INFANTRY.

The 25th recruited under the superintendence of the Hon. H. G. Wells, commandant of camp, a splendid and well-disciplined regiment, commanded by Col. O. H. Moore, then a captain in the 6th U. S. infantry, left Kalamazoo for the field in Kentucky, September 29, 1862, and on December 27th following, first tested the realities of war by engaging the enemy under the rebel General Pegram, at Mumfordsville, Ky., thus early commencing a career of fighting for the Union, which it nobly and forcibly maintained during its whole term of service, ending with the war. The regiment was specially distinguished on July 4, 1863, at Tebbs', near Green River Bridge, Kentucky, where it most gallantly repulsed an overwhelming rebel force, with heavy loss. About July 1st Colonel Moore was stationed, with five companies of his regiment, on the north side of Green river, ten miles north of Columbia, on the main road running from Columbia to Lebanon, Ky., and on the 2d of July was advised of the fact that the rebel General John H. Morgan was about crossing the Cumberland river to invade the State, with a cavalry force of from three to four thousand men. Being left to exercise his own discretion independently, and there being no Union troops nearer than at a post thirty miles distant, he felt that it was his duty to retard the progress of the great rebel raider, if but for a few hours, as they might prove precious hours to the country. He might have retreated with entire success, but from patriotic motives he chose to fight, when he could scarcely entertain the hope that he and many others would ever live to tell the story of that terrible battle.

After surveying the surrounding country, he selected a strong position for a battle-field, on the south side of Green river, about two miles from the encampment, in a horse-shoe bend of the river, through which the road ran, on which the rebel forces were advancing. This chosen battle-ground, which was at the narrows entering the bend of the river, afforded high bluff banks, which protected the flanks of the command, and also compelled the rebels to fight him upon his own front. The Colonel instructed his command that there were no rebel troops organized that could whip them upon their own front, with the flanks protected, and with this judgment he was ready to engage ten times his own number of the enemy, feeling confident that his finely disciplined troops would do ten times better fighting than that of the rebels.

On the evening of the 3d of July, General Morgan encamped with his entire command, about five miles south of Green river, and Colonel Moore, after dark, advanced with his command of five companies, numbering less than three hundred men, about two miles toward the enemy, leaving the river in his rear, and occupied the ground which he had previously selected, and prepared for the battle. The defence, which had been completed that night, consisted of some felled trees on the battle-line, which was in the rear of an open field, and was intended more particularly as an obstruction to the advance of cavalry, while to the front, about one hundred yards in the open field, was thrown up a temporary earth-work, which was intended to check the advance of the enemy, and more especially to command a position where the enemy would evidently plant their battery. This work was not intended to be held against charges of a superior force, on account of the flanks not being strong, and was occupied by only about seventy-five men, who were instructed that when it became necessary to abandon the work, it should be done by flanking to the right and left from the centre, so as to unmask the reserve force on the battle line and expose the enemy to their fire. This work was located, in anticipation of its capture by the rebels, a little down the slope of the field, so that when it was in possession of the enemy it would be useless, and leave him exposed to a deadly fire.

At the gray of morning the fire of the rebels upon the pickets resounded through the woods, and the entire rebel division, under General Morgan, was pressing upon the front. The fire was returned with spirit as the pickets retired to the breast-work, where they joined about seventy-five of their comrades, already in the advance work, and there, with their united fire as sharp-shooters, held the enemy in check, without exhibiting their numbers and the real object of the work.

The rebel artillery, of four pieces, had gained the anticipated position, and at once opened fire with some effect, when General Morgan suspended firing, and under flag of truce, sent forward the following dispatch:

HEADQUARTERS MORGAN'S DIVISION, IN THE FIELD,

IN FRONT OF GREEN RIVER STOCKADE, July 4, 1863. To the Officer Commanding Federal Forces at Stockade near Green River Bridge:

SIR: In the name of the Confederate States Government, I demand an immediate and unconditional surrender of the entire force under your command, together with the stockade.

I am, very respectfully,

JNO. H. MORGAN, Commanding Division Cavalry, C. S. A.

Y *