Edward Ephraim Cross (April 22, 1832 – July 3, 1863) was a newspaperman and an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Journalist

Cross was born in

Lancaster, New Hampshire Lancaster is a town located along the Connecticut River in Coös County, New Hampshire, United States. The town is named after the city of Lancaster in England. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,218, the second largest in the cou ...

, son of Ephram and Abigail (Everett) Cross; attended the common school and academy at Lancaster. When he was fifteen years old, he began writing as a printer for a local newspaper, the ''Coos Democrat''. He later moved from

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, where he worked as a printer for the ''Cincinnati Times''. He demonstrated writing skills and became a reporter for the newspaper, serving for a while as the paper's

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correspondent. In 1854, he canvassed Ohio for the American (Know-Nothing) Party, was the Washington correspondent for the Cincinnati Times during two sessions of Congress, and also wrote articles for other newspapers including the New York Herald. On July 27, 1858, he left Cincinnati for

Tubac Tubac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The place name "Tubac" is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name ''Cuwak'', which ...

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

, with the last contingent of the Santa Rita Silver Mining Company. Cross invested in a series of mines and then established the territory's first newspaper, the ''

Weekly Arizonian ''The Weekly Arizonian'' was a newspaper published in Arizona Territory with a checkered existence from 1859 to 1871. It holds a special place in Arizona history as its first printed work, first newspaper and first political organ. Political ba ...

''. He also served at times in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

as a scout during occasional expeditions against the

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

. In 1860, he crossed the border into

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to command a Sonoran army garrison supporting the insurgency of

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican politician, military commander, and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. A Zapotec peoples, Zapotec, he w ...

. On August 5, 1860, Colonel Cross, assigned to Fort Buchanan, presided a meeting of irate miners, at the ranch of Henry Theodore Titus, who demanded protection from depredations committed by Sonoran bandits. Cross enumerated the atrocities committed and paid a tribute of respect to the victims.

Civil War service

At the outset of the Civil War, he was commissioned as

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of the

5th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry The 5th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment sustained the greatest total combat losses of any infantry or cavalry regiment in the Union, with 295 k ...

. He led his regiment in the first division

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

, establishing a reputation as one of the hardest-fighting, toughest officers in the army. Serving with distinction in the

Battle of Seven Pines The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union's Army of the Po ...

(where he fell wounded) and the

Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate States Army, Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army ...

, he again was wounded at the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgi ...

. Cross also led his regiment at the

Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat between the Union Army, Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Major general ( ...

and the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...

. At Chancellorsville he briefly led an ad hoc fifth brigade in the 1st Division, II Corps. During the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

, he led a brigade in 1st Division, II Corps. On July 2, 1863, the division was sent to the left flank to help stabilize it after the Confederates had begun attacking the salient formed by

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. Cross's brigade was formed on the left of the division's battle line as it entered the Wheatfield. During the fighting, Cross was mortally wounded while at the left of his line near the Rose Woods. He died the next day at a

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile ...

. His body was shipped home to Lancaster, New Hampshire, for burial in the town's cemetery. Col H. Boyd McKeen of the 81st Pennsylvania Regiment succeeded to command of the brigade.

Reputation

Cross was an impulsive and colorful officer. He is reported to have struck non-commissioned officers with the flat of his sword when angry. When leading his regiment into action at Seven Pines, he told the troops "Charge like hell! Show them you ''are'' damn Yankees!" During the Gettysburg campaign, Cross's regiment broke formation so they could move single file over a narrow bridge. When he saw this, he ordered his men to go back and to ford the creek in proper column formation. This caused the soldiers' leather shoes to be wet for some time after.Kantor, pp. 44-46 Cross was notable for always wearing a red

bandanna A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvre-chef'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana or bandanna, is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the Human head, head, face, or neck for protective or decorative purposes. The popularity of ...

on his head rather than the traditional officer's hat. This was Cross's way of making it easier for his men to locate him quickly on the battlefield. However, on July 2, 1863, Maj. Gen.

Winfield S. Hancock Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service ...

noticed that his bandanna was black rather than red. Col. Cross indicated that he had foreseen his own death this day and that black was more appropriate. That morning, he had also looked over some ambulances behind the lines and remarked "We shan't want any of your death wagons today."

Notes

References

* Gottfried, Bradley M. ''Brigades of Gettysburg''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2002. . * Kantor, MacKinlay "Gettysburg". New York: Random House, 1952. .

External links