Edward Bragg's Law Book Found-- Part 2: Raised Two Companies and Commanded the Iron Brigade

When news of the outbreak of the Civil War reached Wisconsin, Edward Bragg was defending a woman in a murder trial in Oshkosh, Wisconsin,   Once court was adjourned, he returned to Fond du Lac and raised an entire company of men for immediate service at the battlefront.

The training took place at Camp Hamilton in Fond du Lac, located where Playmore Park now sits on East Division and North Seymour streets.

Bragg stayed behind when the men left to tie up loose ends of his law practice, but then raised another company in June for the 6th Regiment Wisconsin  Volunteer Infantry and was elected its captain.   The regiment spent most of the war as the part of the famed  Iron Brigade  in the Army of the Potomac.

Joan Brusoe, a volunteer at the library,  recalls her great-grandfather's story of walking from Green Bay  to Fond du Lac at age 10 1/2  to join Bragg .  She says he became the drummer boy, but got dysentery at the Battle of Vicksburg.

Possessing a commanding presence, Bragg eventually rose to the command of the Iron Brigade, known for their Black Hats, from June 1864 to February 1865.  Known as one of the best brigades in the Union Army,  the unit suffered the highest percentage of casualties.

--Old Secesh

Edward Bragg's Law Book Found in Fond du Lac-- Part 1

From the May 17, 2018, Fond du Lac Reporter "Fond du Lac attorney general Edward Bragg's record book found" by Sharon Roznik.

Buried in a cardboard box in the newspaper archive room of the Fond du Lac Historical Society's library, the book smelled old and felt weighty, wrapped in archival paper to keep  the dust out.

Letters on the spine spelled "E.S. Bragg", the name of Fond du Lac's general who took part in  in every major Civil War battle in the east except Gettysburg.

Born in 1827, Edward S. Bragg was a Fond du Lac defense attorney whose practice  traveled a wide circuit through Northeast Wisconsin.

Bragg made this log starting in 1882.  It contains expenses for his clients who were among the movers and shakers of early Fond du Lac history.

--Old Secesh

Edward Bragg's Family-- Part 2: His Daughter Bertha Married Brig. Gen. George P. Scriven

A third daughter, Bertha Bragg Scriven, married an Army officer., George P. Scriven (1854-1940).

From Find-A-Grave

BIRTH:  23 July 1963

DEATH:  3 February 1914,  Washington, D.C.

BURIAL:  Arlington National Cemetery.

From the February 4, 1914, Washington Post

Mrs. Bertha Bragg Scriven wife of  the Chief Signal Officer of the Army, Brigadier General George P. Scriven, died at 9 o'clock yesterday morning at her home, 2009 N. Street Northwest.  Although ill for some months,  her death was not expected as her condition was not considered serious.

Mrs. Scriven was the daughter of the late General Edward S. Bragg, Commander of the Iron brigade of Civil War fame.  She was fifty years old and is survived by her mother, who resides in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, by her husband and two daughters.

Funeral services will be held tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock at St. John's Episcopal Church.  The Rev. Roland Cotton Smith will officiate and internment  will be in Arlington National Cemetery.

--Old Secesh

Find-A-Grave: Edward S. Bragg-- Part 2

 After the war, President Andrew Johnson  appointed him postmaster of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1866 and he was a member of the State Senate in 1868 and 1869.  In 1885, he was elected  as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth Congress , serving until1887.

He was also the Minister Plenipotentiary to Mexico in 1888, consul general  at Havana, Cuba, in  1903 and consul general to Hong Kong, China, 1903-1906.

--Old Secesh

Find-A-Grave: Edward Stuyvesant Bragg-- Part 1

BIRTH:   20 February 1827, Unadilla, New York

DEATH:  20 June 1912 (aged 85) Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

BURIAL: Rienzi Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Civil War Union brigadier general,  U.S. Congressman, diplomat.

At te outbreak of the Civil War, he was a Wisconsin district attorney when commissioned a captain in the 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment in July 1861.

He participated in numerous battles and was promoted to colonel and commanded his regiment.  The 6th Wisconsin was part of the famed Iron Brigade.  He led  assaults on Petersburg and made a heroic advance at Fitzhugh's Crossing, where his troops crossed the Rappahannock under enemy fire and captured the Confederate works.

For this action, he was brevetted to brigadier general of U.S. volunteers in June 1864.

--Old Secesh

Edward Bragg-- Part 2: Lawyer to Captain

Continued from May 27.

Edward Bragg settled in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and became a lawyer there.  He quickly rose to prominence and associated himself with the Democratic party.  In 1853, he was elected district attorney of the town and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Charleston, S.C., in 1860 and nominated Stephen A. Douglas for president.

When word  of the attack on Fort Sumter reached Fond du Lac, he addressed an assembly there and an entire company of men were raised for three months' service.   As Bragg was going about arranging his affairs, another call went out, this time  for three years' service.

He recruited another company and was elected its captain.  The company became known as "Bragg's Rifles" and would become Company E of the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

--Old Secesh

Edward S. Bragg-- Part 1: Of Wisconsin

From Wikipedia.

I'd never heard of this man until I saw that a Wisconsin senator had suggested that Fort Bragg in North Carolina, named after Confederate general Braxton Bragg had a cousin with the same last name who fought for the Union during the war.  He suggests saving money on the name change and just naming after Edward Bragg.

EDWARD STUYVESANT BRAGG

(February 20, 1827 to June 20, 1912)

American politician, lawyer, soldier, diplomat.  He was an accomplished  Union Army officer during the Civil War and served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Wisconsin.  He was later U.S. Minister to Mexico during the Presidency of Grover Cleveland and consul-general to the Republic of China and British Hong Kong under President Theodore Roosevelt.

He was born in New York and went to Wisconsin in 1850 where he settled in Fond du Lac and was a lawyer.

--Old Secesh

Fond du Lac's 3rd Wisconsin-- Part 2: "The Common Man" Regiment

The company that was marching across the bridge in the mishap that I wrote about last week, was the Green County Volunteers which became Company C in the 3rd Wisconsin.

The 3rd Wisconsin was the second regiment raised in the state after Lincoln called for all those volunteers after the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter. It is often called the "Common Man Regiment" as its members represented a cross-section of Wisconsin's civilian men.

They fought at Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Gettysburg, Resaca, the March to the Sea and Carolinas Campaign. Additionally, they were involved in the war's biggest cavalry battle at Brandy Station in Virginia and even a naval battle when they captured the Confederate gunboat Resolute at Argyle Island, North Carolina.

--Old Secesh

Fond du Lac's 3rd Wisconsin Infantry-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Last week, I was writing about Camp Hamilton/Wood in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, which served as a training camp and mustering camp for the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry which mustered into service June 19, 1861. They were the second regiment raised in Wisconsin.

They served throughout the war and participated in the Grand Review of the Armies in Washington, DC, on May 24, 1865, before mustering out at Louisville, Kentucky, on July 18, 1865.

Originally 979 men mustered in and later another 940 were recruited during the course of the war for a total of 1919 men.

Killed in Action or mortally wounded: 9 officers and 158 enlisted.
Died of disease: 2 officers and 113 enlisted.

Colonels commanding the unit were Charles Hamilton, Thomas H. Ruger and William Hawley.

--Old Secesh

Another Version of How Not to Cross a Bridge-- Part 3

Another version of this story had the whole bridge collapsing, "...there came a crash, a few yells, some swearing...and the proud military organization was floundering in the depths below, amid planks, joists, logs and their individual selves, while a few had clutched the boxed trusses upon either side of the roadway, looking down, horror stricken, upon their scrambling comrades below."

The men finally made it into camp, wet, bruised, and perhaps not quite so confident in their skills as soldiers. To add injury to insult, the only weapon in camp, Captain Martin Flood's Masonic Sword, was lost in the river."

You Have to Wonder If That Sword Is Still At the Bottom of the River? --Old Secesh

How Not to Cross a Bridge-- Part 2

The "Green County Volunteers" arrived in Fond du Lac on June 14, 1861, eager to show off their already-learned military prowess and show off for the locals.

Colonel Hamilton reported that when the group entered the city they crossed a wooden bridge "in a perfect step." Unfortunately, that much weight and in step like that proved too much for that bridge and its sidewalk broke and several men were thrown into the water.

One of them, William Carter "struck upon a saw log and was considerably injured. Thus was learned the military rule to march over bridges at route step."

Some Things You Learn the Hard Way. --Old Secesh

Incident on the Fond du Lac Bridge: Or How Not to Move Across a Bridge-- Part 1

From the Iron Brigade Wisconsin's 'Black Hat' Brigade site. I did not come across what the 3rd Wisconsin had to do with the famed Iron Brigade. US Highway 12 through Illinois is called the Iron Brigade Highway, though. This is also the group that fought the Col. Leventhorpe and his 11th North Carolina so hard during the first day's fighting at Gettysburg.

While doing some research on Camp Hamilton/Wood in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, I came across this interesting account of the arrival of the first volunteers at the new military installation.

Camp Hamilton was named after Col. Charles S. Hamilton, commander of the 3rd Wisconsin, the first unit to train there. It was located on the west side of the city, between Johnson and Division streets and from Lincoln Avenue (then Waupun St.) to Hickory Street where it intersects with Forest Avenue.

The "Green County Volunteers" were the first unit to arrive in Fond du Lac on June 14, 1861.

Talking About Your Grand Entrance. --Old Secesh

Camp Hamilton/Wood in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Following up on the entries from earlier this month on Private Stockwell's gun and the 14th Wisconsin Infantry.

The 14th Wisconsin were mustered in on January 30, 1862, at Camp Wood in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, which was their training camp. The place was originally named Camp Hamilton after Charles S. Hamilton, the commander of the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry who trained there before mustering into Union service.

It became Camp Wood when the 14th Wisconsin trained there and was named after its commander, Col. David E. Wood.

During the war, it was outside of Fond du Lac, but now is inside the city. Only a small park marks its existence these days.

--Old Secesh

The 14th Wisconsin Infantry: Private Stockwell's Regiment

From Wikipedia.

Four members of the 14th won the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Corinth, Oct. 3-4, 1862, including Color-Sergeant (carried the battleflag) Denis J.F. Murphy of Green Bay who was wounded three times.

The 14th organized in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on January 30, 1862 and mustered out at Mobile, Alabama on October 9, 1965.

During the course of the war, 6 officers and 116 enlisted men were killed in action or mortally wounded. Another 3 officers and 194 enlisted died from diseases.

There is a small metal plaque at Camp Randall in Madison (where the University of Wisconsin plays football) that says 27 men of the 14th died of wounds received at the Battle of Shiloh (where Elisha Stockwell was wounded) on April 7, 1862.

It was sometimes called the Northwest Regiment (because most of the men were from the northern part of the state) or the Wisconsin Regulars. Private Stockwell's Company I was called the Black River Rangers.

The Story of a Regiment. --Old Secesh