1st Vermont Brigade

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The First Vermont Brigade, or "Old Brigade" was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. It suffered the highest casualty count of any brigade in the history of the United States Army, with some 1,172 killed in action.

1 Organization and early battles
2 The Overland Campaign
3 Petersburg and the Valley
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Organization and early battles

The "Old Brigade" served from 1861 to 1865 and was one of two brigades from Vermont, both famous in their own right.

The First Vermont Brigade was organized in October of 1861, primarily through the efforts of Maj. Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith. It was comprised of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Vermont Infantry regiments, which had been individually mustered into service between June and September. Its first commander was Brig. Gen. William T. H. Brooks. In April of 1862, the brigade was incorporated into the Army of the Potomac as the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, VI Corps and first saw action during George B. McClellan's Peninsular Campaign in the battles of Williamsburg and Savage's Station. It later fought at Antietam and Fredericksburg. Under the command of Lewis A. Grant, the Vermonters fought at Chancellorsville, and were held in reserve during the battle of Gettysburg. After the Gettysburg Campaign, elements of the Vermont Brigade were sent to help quell the draft riots in New York City.

[edit] The Overland Campaign

The depleted brigade received reinforcements in May of 1864 when the 11th Vermont Infantry was assigned to the organization. That same month, the Army of The Potomac, under the overall leadership of General Ulysses S. Grant, began its spring offensive (the Overland Campaign) towards Richmond. The Vermont Brigade mustered approximately 2,850 soldiers at the start of the campaign. On the morning of May 5, the Union Army attacked Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of the Wilderness. While the initial Union attack was successful, rough terrain and stubborn resistance ground down the attack. By midday, A.P. Hill's Confederate corps had been brought up and was attacking the weak Union center along the Orange Plank Road. General George W. Getty's three brigades were ordered by General Winfield S. Hancock, who was still bringing up most of his corps, to hold the road and counterattack. The Vermont Brigade took the southern flank and charged the advancing Confederates. Ordered to retreat, the 5th Vermont regiment instead launched a bayonet charge, buying time for Union troops and the rest of the Vermont Brigade to fall back to their hasty works. The Confederates continued to attack until the Union line was stabilized. Losses by the brigade totaled 1,269 killed, wounded, and missing in less than 12 hours of fighting.

After the Wilderness, the Union Army moved south to Spotsylvania Court House, where Lee's army had entrenched. The 11th Vermont Infantry joined the brigade at this point. Early in the battle, elements of the Vermont brigade, defending barricades forward of the rest of the Union Army, were ordered to retreat and spike their supporting artillery fieldpieces before the Confederates overran them. Disobeying orders, the commander of the brigade ordered the guns to be "spiked with canister," and the brigade was able to defend the guns and works successfully until reinforcements arrived to stabilize the position. The Vermonters suffered heavily during the ensuing assault on the Confederate defenses.

The final battle of the Overland Campaign was the Battle of Cold Harbor. The Vermont Brigade was one of the units selected to charge Confederate earthworks on June 1, 1864. Ulysses Grant's attack failed and he suffered heavy losses. In less than 10 minutes, about 5,000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded, hundreds of them from the Vermont Brigade. The brigade, in less than 1 month of fighting, had been reduced from 2,850 men to less than 1,200.

[edit] Petersburg and the Valley

While the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia dug in at Petersburg, Confederate General Jubal A. Early was sent on a mission through the Shenandoah Valley to the outskirts of Washington, D.C. The Vermont Brigade fought in the Valley Campaign against Early, under the overall command of Philip Sheridan. At the Battle of Cedar Creek, Early launched a surprise attack against Sheridan's army and the First Vermont Brigade covered the Union army's temporary retreat, prior to Sheridan's counterattack and decisive victory. Six Medals of Honor were awarded to Vermonters at Cedar Creek, and the brigade captured three regimental colors and much of the 12th North Carolina regiment.

Returning to Petersburg, where it was engaged until the end of the war, the First Vermont Brigade led the attack on the earthworks defending the city, successfully breaking through the Confederate lines on the morning of April 2, 1865. Six members of the brigade were awarded the Medal of Honor for valor for this action. After the surrender of Lee's army later that month, the brigade participated in the victory parade in Washington. It returned to Vermont and the men were mustered out. Many former members of the brigade joined fraternal veterans organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States and held reunions to recount their days in the First Vermont Brigade.