Shelby's Iron Brigade

Shelby's Iron Brigade

Shelby's "Iron Brigade" was a Confederate cavalry brigade in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War.

The brigade originally formed under orders from Major General Thomas C. Hindman following a successful recruiting expedition into Missouri by Joseph O. Shelby, John T. Coffee, and Upton Hays, who each recruited a regiment. These new regiments were brigaded under the command of Colonel Shelby. [Edwards, p. 78.] The brigade participated in four major raids into Missouri during the war, earning a repuation as the most formidable brigade in the theater.

Shelby was promoted to brigadier general following his successful raid of 1863. When Shelby later assumed division command, he was replaced by M. Jeff Thompson. The brigade remained in Shelby's Division in the Army of Missouri and fought in Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition in 1864—saving Price's army from destruction several times, including the retreat at the Battle of Marmiton River. [Buresh, pp. 166-182.]

In the autumn of 1864, some 1,500 of Shelby’s Iron Brigade cavalry surrounded Sedalia, Missouri, and overpowered local Union militia defenders. They began to loot and sack the town on October 15, 1864. [ [http://history-sites.com/mb/cw/arcwmb/index.cgi?noframes;read=11798 From Sedalia: It's Late Defence and Capture ("Missouri Democrat", ? October 1864)] ] Once General Thompson arrived in Sedalia, he ordered his men to stop the destruction, and moved them on, leaving Sedalia once again in Union hands. [Mueller, (2007), pp.85-86.]

Rather than surrender in 1865 with the collapse of the Confederacy, in June, Shelby and his men rode south into Mexico to offer their services to Emperor Maximilian, who declined to accept the ex-Confederates into his armed forces. However, the emperor did grant them land for an American colony in Mexico, and many of Shelby's Iron Brigade settled on the free land.

References

* Buresh, Lumir F., "October 25th and the Battle of Mine Creek", The Lowell Press, 1977.
* Edwards, John N., "Shelby and His Men", Cincinnati: Miami Printing and Publishing Co., 1867.
* Mueller, D.L., "M. Jeff Thompson: Missouri’s Swamp Fox of the Confederacy", University of Missouri Press, 2007. ISBN 0-82621-724-9.

Notes


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Iron Brigade (disambiguation) — Iron Brigade may refer to:*The Iron Brigade, a Union American Civil War brigade consisting of the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 19th Indiana… …   Wikipedia

  • Iron Brigade — The Iron Brigade, also known as the Iron Brigade of the West or the Black Hat Brigade, was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought entirely in the Eastern Theater, it was composed of… …   Wikipedia

  • Western Iron Brigade — The Iron Brigade, also known as the Iron Brigade of the West or the Black Hat Brigade, was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought entirely in the Eastern Theater, it was composed of… …   Wikipedia

  • Eastern Iron Brigade — The Eastern Iron Brigade or First Iron Brigade was a brigade of infantry that served in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. For much of its service, it was designated as the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps.What was the …   Wikipedia

  • Joseph O. Shelby — Joseph Orville Shelby (December 12, 1830 ndash; February 13, 1897) was a noted Confederate cavalry general in the Trans Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War.Early life and educationShelby was born in Lexington, Kentucky, to one of the… …   Wikipedia

  • 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team (United States) — Infobox Military Unit unit name=173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team caption=173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team shoulder sleeve insignia dates=1917 08 05 ndash; January 1919 1921 06 24 ndash; 1945 09 24 1947 05 12 ndash; 1951 12 01 1963 03 12… …   Wikipedia

  • 199th Infantry Brigade (United States) — Infobox Military Unit unit name= 199th Infantry Brigade caption=199th Brigade shoulder sleeve insignia dates= 1921 1940 1966 1970 1991 1992 2007 Present country= United States allegiance= branch= U.S. Army type= Infantry role= Training size=… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Westport — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Westport caption=Battle across Brush Creek as depicted in Missouri State Capitol mural partof=American Civil War date=October 23, 1864 place=Present day Kansas City, Missouri result=Union victory… …   Wikipedia

  • Sedalia, Missouri — Infobox Settlement official name = Sedalia, Missouri settlement type = City nickname = motto = imagesize = image caption = image imagesize = image caption = image mapsize = 250x200px map caption = Location of Sedalia, Missouri mapsize1 = map… …   Wikipedia

  • John Thomas Graves — (1842 ndash; 1950) was the last surviving Confederate soldier from the American Civil War. Graves was a member of General Joseph O. Shelby s Iron Brigade. He was wounded in action during the Battle of Lexington (Missouri), September 12 1861. He… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”