Help with Gettysburg Presentation

[J. Rodriguez]

On May 6th, I am giving a 15 minute presentation at the Morris County NJ 4H county level presentations. My presentation is titled "The Iron Brigade at Gettysburg and the fight for Reynolds Woods, July 1st, 1863." I am the only Civil War buff in my family, and so I turned to this forum for help.

Is there any crucial points about the Iron Brigade and their fight that I should touch on? I was thinking about centering it on the human interest stories from the Brigade

 

[Kurtlg]

Check YouTube for some of the LBG or park ranger tours focusing on the Iron Brigade. I remember one by a park ranger who had photos of some of the individuals who fought and died there . He has detailed stories about their lives and backgrounds. Unfortunately I watched some of these many years ago and can't remember the specific guides or rangers. Many years ago I took a battlefield walk at Gettysburg about the Iron Brigade on the first day. At the end of it the ranger had tears rolling down his face .

 

[dlofting]

@Tom Elmore may be able to help you.

 

[Kurtlg]

One of the presentations is under Gettysburg NPS on YouTube. It is called The 26th North Carolina vs. the 24th Michigan in Reynolds Woods

 

[Kurtlg]

A 15minute presentation will not give you a lot of time. I think it is a great subject for your talk and wish you the best of luck

 

[Tom Elmore]

I haven't completed my map series yet covering the morning action yet between the Iron Brigade and Archer, but for the afternoon action involving Pettigrew's 26th and 11th North Carolina you might take a glance at the following threads for interesting participant descriptions:

Advance of Pettigrew’s and Brockenbrough’s Brigades | Gettysburg

Brigadier General Pettigrew's North Carolina brigade and Colonel Brockenbrough's Virginia brigade advance eastward against the Federals shortly before 3 p.m. Colonel Biddle's brigade moves rapidly to regain their former position to directly oppose Pettigrew's substantially larger force. The...

civilwartalk.com

Pettigrew’s Brigade Reaches Willoughby Run | Gettysburg

Pettigrew's 26th North Carolina and the left of the 11th North Carolina meet Meredith's 24th Michigan and 19th Indiana head-on in Herbst woods. Biddle's 142nd Pennsylvania and 80th New York wheel into position on the ridge, but the 121st Pennsylvania finds insufficient room to properly deploy...

civilwartalk.com

Pettigrew Closes on Meredith and Biddle | Gettysburg

Pettigrew's 26th North Carolina and the left of the 11th North Carolina slowly press back Meredith's brigade in Herbst woods, with heavy loss on both sides. The 121st Pennsylvania shifts to the left of Biddle's brigade, while the withdrawal of Breck's Battery L, 1st New York opens a gap in...

civilwartalk.com

Collapse of the Union First Corps Line West of Seminary Ridge | Gettysburg

Biddle's 151st Pennsylvania anchors the center of the Federal line, but both flanks waver under strong Confederate pressure. Pettigrew's 52nd North Carolina wheels and rolls up Biddle's left, while being distracted by the aggressive posture of Gamble's 8th Illinois Cavalry. Dana retreats from...

civilwartalk.com

 

[7thWisconsin]

If you still have time, get a copy of Micky Sullivan´s memoirs, ¨An Irishman in the Iron Brigade." He was wounded at Gettysburg and has a bunch of great stories. He was in the 6th Wisconsin. He picked up, fired and discarded 3 different muskets on the morning of July 1st. After he fired, he couldn´t get the caps off. Came to the conclusion that his caps had gotten wet in the June 30th rainstorm and were defective.
Mention John Burns, of course.
Also, the 2nd Wisconsin charged into the fight with unloaded muskets after taking a volley from the Confederates.

 

[infomanpa]

Is there any crucial points about the Iron Brigade and their fight that I should touch on? I was thinking about centering it on the human interest stories from the Brigade

Plenty. I wouldn't know where to begin, but there is plenty of info on this.

 

[Poorlaggedman]

Oh man. 15 minutes?! That's not long.

As far as the Iron brigade, the crucial points are

-the morning confrontation
-the 'lull'
-the afternoon attack

You probably want to spend 60 seconds or more explaining who they are and why they're there, especially if it's a non-Civil War crowd. Most normal folks I know don't even know who the two sides are

You don't need to pick up any books.

Just check out this essay by D Scott Hartwig:

http://npshistory.com/series/symposia/gettysburg_seminars/10/essay5.pdf

There's a few human interest stories in this veteran's book, also free online. Heck you could open with him returning to the battlefield 40 years later if you want to be all story-arc-ish and stuff

https://archive.org/details/gettysburgpivota00beec/mode/1up

 

[J. Rodriguez]

Thanks for all the feedback, I'm sure that the audience wouldn't mind if I went overtime if it's good

 

[7thWisconsin]

Sorry, I got interupted and had to wrap up my last post too soon - I know it´s in the charge on the Railroad cut action, but it´s Iron Brigade on July 1st: While Col Rufus Dawes, 6th Wisconsin, was leading his men mounted, his horse was mortally wounded and sank to the ground. Without falling or stopping, Dawes stepped out of the saddle and continued leading his men on foot.
Of course, one of the most vicious firefights of the War occurred between the 24th Michigan and the 24th NC down there on the left of the Iron Brigade line. This is where the 24th Michigan suffered their devasting loss, one of the greatest in the battle and in the War. Morrow was awarded a Medal of Honor for his leadership. The Iron Brigade was the last organized body of Federal troops to leave the field west of Gettysburg. They were pulled back to a position in front of Stevens Knoll where they sat out the rest of the battle (the 200 or so who were left in ranks, that is. Micky Sullivan was wounded and spent the rest of the battle in hospital in the Gettysburg train station; he watched Pickett´s Charge from the cupola.). Fred Ray, of the 7th Wisconsin, recorded one sentence in his diary about July 3rd: ¨Heavy cannon fire and musketry in the afternoon.¨ (That would be Pickett´s Charge.) Is this somewhat helpful?

 

[7thWisconsin]

Oh man. 15 minutes?! That's not long.

As far as the Iron brigade, the crucial points are

-the morning confrontation
-the 'lull'
-the afternoon attack

You probably want to spend 60 seconds or more explaining who they are and why they're there, especially if it's a non-Civil War crowd. Most normal folks I know don't even know who the two sides are

You don't need to pick up any books.

Just check out this essay by D Scott Hartwig:

http://npshistory.com/series/symposia/gettysburg_seminars/10/essay5.pdf

There's a few human interest stories in this veteran's book, also free online. Heck you could open with him returning to the battlefield 40 years later if you want to be all story-arc-ish and stuff

https://archive.org/details/gettysburgpivota00beec/mode/1up

This is a nice little book. The Iron Brigade experience on July 1st begins on p. 61 and wraps up on p. 96, if you´re in a hurry to get right to it. Dow was in the 2nd Wisconsin and his descriptions of their positions are very vivid.

 

[6thMichCav]

Bring a big, black hat if you can find one similar to the unit headgear.

 

[Kyle Kalasnik]

Addressing Gettysburg Podcast on YouTube might have something.