Edward S. Bragg
Edward Stuyvesant Bragg was an American lawyer, diplomat, and Democratic politician from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. He served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing eastern Wisconsin from 1877 to 1883, and from 1885 to 1887, and was one of the leading Democrats in Wisconsin in the latter half of the 19th century. He also had a distinguished military career as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, leading the 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment and later the famous Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac, rising to the rank of brigadier general by the end of the war.
Bragg found a new calling as a diplomat after he was appointed United States minister to Mexico by president Grover Cleveland in 1888. In the 1890s, Bragg fell out with the Democratic Party over the populist policies of William Jennings Bryan, and later served as consul-general to the Republic of Cuba and British Hong Kong under President Theodore Roosevelt.
Early life and career
Bragg was born in Unadilla, New York, the son of Margarette and Joel B. Bragg. Bragg attended district schools as a child. He then attended the local academy and Geneva College, today Hobart College, in Geneva, New York, where he was one of the charter members of the Kappa Alpha Society. He left college before graduating, in 1847, and studied law in the offices of Judge Charles C. Noble. He was admitted to the New York State Bar Association in 1848, and worked as a junior partner with Judge Noble until 1850.In 1850, he traveled west on a prospecting tour in Wisconsin, intending to settle near Green Bay. On the road between Chicago and Green Bay, he recognized the name of a former schoolmate on a sign at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and decided to settle there.
Bragg quickly rose in prominence in Fond du Lac, associating himself with the Democratic Party. He was elected district attorney of Fond du Lac in 1853 and was a delegate to the 1860 Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina, which nominated Stephen A. Douglas and Herschel V. Johnson for President and Vice President of the United States.
Civil War service
When word arrived of the attack on Fort Sumter, Bragg was engaged in a case at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he was acting as defense counsel for a woman who had been accused of murder. He requested a recess and immediately returned to Fond du Lac. That night he addressed an assembly in the city and an entire company of "three-month" volunteers was raised. As Bragg went about arranging his personal affairs, the call came for another round of volunteers to enlist for three years service. Bragg recruited another company and was chosen as their captain. The company was referred to as "Bragg's Rifles" and would become Company E of the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment.The 6th Wisconsin was organized at Camp Randall in Madison, Wisconsin, and mustered into service July 16, 1861, under Colonel Lysander Cutler. They were ordered to proceed to Washington, D.C., for service in the eastern theater of the war. Once at Washington, they were organized into the Brigade of General Rufus King. 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 this point to the end of the war, Bragg participated in nearly every battle of the Iron Brigade.
Washington (Fall 1861Spring 1862)
The 6th Wisconsin spent the Fall of 1861 and Spring of 1862 on picket duty near Washington, building fortifications and drilling in preparation for combat. During this time, Bragg was promoted to major, on September 17, 1861, and then to lieutenant colonel, on June 21, 1862, after Lt. Colonel Benjamin Sweet was commissioned colonel of the new 21st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment.Northern Virginia (Summer 1862)
In April 1862, the Iron Brigade marched south and camped at Falmouth, Virginia, on the Rappahannock River, across from Fredericksburg, Virginia, where they remained through most of the Peninsula campaign. In June, they were briefly put on alert to prepare to reinforce General George B. McClellan, but ultimately did not participate.In July, after General John Pope replaced McClellan in overall command of the Union Army, the Iron Brigade was assigned to participate in raids against Confederate infrastructure and logistics south of the Rappahannock. The most notable is the raid on Frederick's Hall, in the first week of August, intended to cut the Virginia Central Railroad. Part of the 6th Wisconsin, including Lt. Colonel Bragg, was detached from the brigade and sent on a rapid march to the North Anna River, where they discovered a large Confederate force was present on their flank.
A council of the officers was called to discuss whether they should abandon their raid due to the danger of being cut off and captured. Bragg, along with Major Rufus Dawes and Lt. Colonel Hugh Judson Kilpatrick, were adamant that the raid should proceed. The mission was ultimately successful as two miles of Virginia Central Railroad track were destroyed and the Union raiders returned safely to Falmouth.
Second Bull Run (August 1862)
The Iron Brigade arrived at Cedar Mountain, Virginia, two days after the battle there. They participated in burying the dead and engaged in skirmishing, directed by Colonel Bragg, associated with the First Battle of Rappahannock Station along the new defensive line at the Rappahannock River.After Stonewall Jackson successfully maneuvered around the flank of the Union army, the order was given to fall back to Centreville, Virginia, in an attempt to surround Jackson's Corps. On the evening of August 28, while marching northeast with three other brigades on the Warrenton Turnpike, the Iron Brigade encountered Jackson's Corps near Gainesville, Virginia. General Irvin McDowell, who commanded their Division, was convinced that the Confederates represented an inconsequential force, and ordered the brigades to proceed on their march toward Centreville.
When the Confederates opened up cannon fire, General John Gibbon ordered the Iron Brigade to engage the enemy and attempt to capture the artillery. A severe battle ensued as the Iron Brigade faced a combined assault from five brigades of Stonewall Jackson's Corps. During the battle, Colonel Cutler was severely wounded. Lt. Colonel Bragg took command of the 6th Wisconsin and remained in command of the regiment for most of the next two years. Bragg and the 6th Wisconsin held the right end of the line against the brigades of Isaac R. Trimble and Alexander Lawton.
The fighting at Gainesville is often referred to in historical documents as the "Battle of Gainesville" and represented the first day of fighting in the Second Battle of Bull Run. Despite being outnumbered by more than 3-to-1, the brigade held their ground and the fighting ended indecisively around midnight. This is where the nickname "Iron Brigade" was first applied to their unit.
Bragg and the Iron Brigade were resting and remained in reserve during the second day of battle, but rejoined the fighting on the third day, August 30, 1862, in support of Fitz John Porter's V Corps and their ill-fated frontal assault on Jackson's position. As the attack faltered and the massive Confederate flanking attack began to materialize, Bragg held his regiment in line and deployed skirmishers to slow down the enemy attack. As the Union army fell back, Bragg was ordered to organize the 6th Wisconsin to act as rearguard. The 6th Wisconsin was the last to withdraw, marching on an orderly retreat for nearly a mile in full view of both opposing armies.
As the Union army retreated from the field on the night of August 30, General Philip Kearny ordered the Iron Brigade to act as rearguard for the Army. Bragg and Lt. Colonel Lucius Fairchild—who commanded the consolidated 2nd and 7th Wisconsin—would manage the action, setting pickets and false campfires to deceive the enemy.
Maryland and Antietam (September 1862)
After the failure of Pope's campaign, General McClellan was put back in command of the Union army. General Robert E. Lee seized the initiative and invaded Maryland. The Iron Brigade, now designated the 4th Brigade, 1st Division, in Joseph Hooker's I Corps, joined the Union pursuit of Lee into Maryland and encountered his army at South Mountain, south of Hagerstown, Maryland.At the Battle of South Mountain, on September 14, 1862, the Iron Brigade received special instructions to proceed up the National Road and engage Alfred H. Colquitt's brigade at Turner's Gap. Colonel Bragg commanded the 6th Wisconsin protecting the right flank of the attack, maneuvering his regiment in good order over difficult terrain, then up the incline of the field to obtain a favorable field of fire over the enemy position. From his vantage, General McClellan could see the fighting and later wrote to Wisconsin Governor Edward Salomon, "I beg to add my great admiration of the conduct of the three Wisconsin regiments in General Gibbon's brigade. I have seen them under fire acting in a manner that reflects the greatest possible credit and honor upon themselves and their state. They are equal to the best troops in any army in the world."
Lee evacuated South Mountain that evening, but McClellan caught up to him again at Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, on September 16, 1862. That night, the Iron Brigade, along with the rest of I Corps, crossed the Antietam Creek and took position on the far right of the Union line.
At dawn, the Battle of Antietam began with I Corps advancing under artillery fire. Bragg led the 6th Wisconsin at the far right end of the Union advance, where they came under attack from the woods on their right flank. Bragg, despite having been shot in the initial barrage, ordered the men to reshape and return fire into the woods. Bragg collapsed and was carried to the rear. He was able to return to the regiment around noon, but was not yet fit to return to duty.
In the aftermath of the battle, one of the sergeants mistakenly wrote to Bragg's wife informing her that he had been killed. The story spread in Wisconsin and resulted in his obituary appearing in several papers.
Before Antietam, Bragg received solicitations from Wisconsin to run for Congress as a War Democrat on the National Union Party ticket. Bragg had replied, "I shall not decline a nomination on the platform, the Government must be sustained, but my services can not be taken from the field. I command the regiment, and can not leave in times like these." Nevertheless, after the battle, he received word that he had been nominated by the National Union Party district convention. He ultimately lost the election to anti-war Democrat Charles A. Eldredge.