Edward S. Bragg-- Part 3: To D.C. and Rising to Rank of Lt.-Colonel

The 6th Wisconsin was organized at Camp Randall in Madison, Wisconsin (present-day Camp Randall Stadium, home of the Wisconsin Badgers).  They mustered into service July 16, 1861, under Colonel Lysander Cutler.  

They were ordered to proceed to Washington, D.C., and once there became a part of General Rufus King's brigade.  They were soon joined by the 2nd Wisconsin, 7th Wisconsin and 19th Indiana regiments in what would become known as the Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac.

From that point to the end of the war, Bragg  participated in nearly every battle of the Iron Brigade.

Bragg and his 6th Wisconsin spent the  Fall of 1861 to Spring 1862 on  picket duty near Washington, D.C., building  fortifications to protect the city and drilling in preparation for combat.  During this time, Bragg was promoted to major in September 17, 1861 and then to lieutenant colonel on June 21, 1862, after Lt.-Col. Benjamin Sweet was given command of the new 21st Wisconsin Infantry regiment.

--Old Secesh

Robert A. Cameron-- Part 2: In the 9th and 19th Indiana Regiments

In 1857 he bought and began publishing the Valparaiso Republican newspaper and was a delegate to the Republican 1860 convention in Chicago and a big supporter of Abraham Lincoln.

When the Civil War began he was a medical doctor in Valparaiso and a member of the Indiana House of Representatives.  He enlisted in the 9th Indiana for three months and was elected captain of a company.  When that enlistment was up, he reenlisted for the duration of the war and was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 19th Indiana on July 29, 1861.

His regiment fought a skirmish at the Chain Bridge crossing the Potomac River into Washington, D.C. in September 1861.

--Old Secesh

Elmer Ellsworth & the U.S. Zouave Cadets-- Part 3: Iron Brigade Connection

Then Elmer Ellsworth went to Rockford, Illinois, and his group of militia made a name for themselves with their precision drill at Camp Sinnissippi in Rockford at an encampment.  This is where the Sinnissippi Park is located today.  The Kenosha Civil War Museum has a broadside advertisement for this.

Ellsworth fell in love while in Rockford with Carrie Stafford, the daughter of a rich and powerful Rockford father, who did not like Ellsworth's prospects and did what he could to prevent a marriage until Ellsworth could prove he could support his daughter.

Next, Ellsworth went to Madison, Wisconsin, and trained the Governor's Guard, some of those men going on to prominent positions in the famed Iron Brigade during the Civil War.  The Iron Brigade originally was made up of the 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin regiments, but was later joined by the 24th Michigan and 19th Indiana regiments.

--Old Secesh