For the past six months, we've been telling you the stories of Wisconsin soldiers fighting in the American Civil War through our "Iron Brigade and Beyond" series.
Fighting with the brave regiments of the Iron Brigade to the Old Abe 8th, Battery B to the so-called Western brigades, Wisconsinites saw action in some of the war's fiercest and deadliest battles.
The voice of our series, historian Thomas Martin Sobottke, has taken us through charges at first and second Bull Run, Shiloh, Groveton, South Mountain, Vicksburg, and the infamous bloody battle at Antietam.
But there is yet one battle we haven't discussed that for many, stands apart: Gettysburg.
Its revered reputation stands for many reasons - among them, its legacy as the deadliest battle in the Civil War and as a turning point for the Union forces. And Wisconsin soldiers were there: six infantry regiments, including those in the Iron Brigade, and a company of sharpshooters.
We fast forward now to July 1st, 1863 - the first day of battle, and as Sobottke explains, the start of the Iron Brigade's last stand.
Thomas Martin Sobottke is the voice of our Civil War series, "Iron Brigade and Beyond." He's historian, teacher, and the author of the book,Across That Dark River: The Civil War Memory, published by Moving Train Books, LLC. He has published articles for North and South magazine, including an upcoming one on War Correspondents, and he lives in Pewaukee. Our Civil War series is produced by Stephanie Lecci.
