The Excelsior Brigade was a military unit 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 ...

. Mainly composed of

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s raised in the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

primarily by former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Daniel Sickles Daniel Edgar Sickles (October 20, 1819May 3, 1914) was an American politician, American Civil War , Civil War veteran, and diplomat. He served in the United States House of Representatives , U.S. House of Representatives both before and after t ...

, the

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...

served in several of the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

's most important battles in the Eastern Theater, including Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.

Organization and early battles

At the outbreak of the Civil War, the controversial Sickles desired to repair his public image, which had been marred by the shooting death of his wife's paramour,

Philip Barton Key Philip Barton Key (April 12, 1757 – July 28, 1815), was an American Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and later was a United States Circuit Judge and Chief United States Circuit Judge of the United States circuit court for the F ...

. Sickles was active in raising thousands of recruits from around

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for service in the United States volunteers in May 1861 under the authority of the War Department. The first of Sickles' regiments mustered into service on June 20, 1861. Subsequently, he was appointed as the

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of one of the four full regiments he organized. Later, Sickles was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers in September 1861, taking command of the brigade. The four regiments raised by Sickles that comprised the first Excelsior Brigade were the 70th, 72nd, 73rd, and 74th New York Infantry.History of the Excelsior Brigade
In October 1861, the 71st New York, along with the 70th through the 74th Regiments and 10 Companies of the 3rd Indiana Cavalry, formed the Second Excelsior Brigade under General Sickles. The brigade was placed under the overall divisional command of Maj. Gen.

Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker had serv ...

in October. Its initial tasks included assisting in the building of defenses around Washington and stopping resupply of the Confederates from

Southern Maryland Southern Maryland, also referred to as SoMD, is a geographical, cultural and historic region in Maryland composed of the state's southernmost counties on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. According to the state of Maryland, the region incl ...

. In March 1862, Sickles was forced to relinquish command when Congress refused to confirm his commission, but he worked diligently to lobby among his Washington political contacts and reclaimed both his rank and his command on May 24, 1862, in time to rejoin the Army in the

Peninsula Campaign The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...

. Because of this interruption, he missed his brigade's significant actions at the

Battle of Williamsburg The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitc ...

. Sickles was back in charge in time for 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 ...

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 ...

. On the morning of June 25 at the Battle of Oak Grove, Sickles's New Yorkers encountered difficulties moving through their

abatis An abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a field fortification consisting of an obstacle formed (in the modern era) of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced ...

, then through the upper portions of an impeding swamp, and finally met stiff Confederate resistance, all of which threw the Federal line out of alignment. Sickles was again absent for the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

, having used his political influences to obtain leave to go to New York City to recruit new troops. Col.

Nelson Taylor Nelson Taylor (June 8, 1821 – January 16, 1894) was a U.S. Representative from New York, a brigadier-general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a captain in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War. Biography Born in ...

instead led the brigade. The Excelsior Brigade, still under Colonel Taylor as Sickles had been promoted to divisional command, missed 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 ...

in September because the

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

was stationed on the lower

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

, protecting the capital. The brigade's strength had been augmented by the addition of the 120th New York. In 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 ( ...

, the Excelsiors were led by Col. George B. Hall. Brig. Gen. Joseph W. Revere commanded the Excelsior Brigade during the Battle of Chancellorsville in early May 1863. With the rest of Hooker's old division, it was held in reserve in some woods near the Chancellor House, guarding a road that led to the important United States ford over the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...

The Gettysburg Campaign

Following the Battle of Chancellorsville, Col. William R. Brewster of the 73rd New York assumed command of the Excelsior Brigade, which was then in the division of Brig. Gen Andrew A. Humphreys. Brewster led the brigade during the Gettysburg Campaign in June and July 1863. On July 2, the brigade was advanced to an area near the Peach Orchard. It was flanked out of that position by the Confederate division of Maj. Gen.

Lafayette McLaws Lafayette McLaws ( ; January 15, 1821 – July 24, 1897) was a United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He served at Antietam and Fredericksburg, where Robert E. Lee praised his defense of Marye's Heights ...

. The remains of the brigade took part in a

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "Military exercise, war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objecti ...

late in the afternoon that recaptured some abandoned Union guns. Brewster reported that the brigade lost 778 of 1,837 engaged. Brewster fell ill after the battle, and Brig. Gen. Francis Barretto Spinola assumed command during the pursuit of the Confederate army into Virginia. Spinola's brigade led the Union troops on July 23 at the

Battle of Wapping Heights The Battle of Manassas Gap, also known as the Battle of Wapping Heights, took place on July 23, 1863, in Warren County, Virginia, at the conclusion of General Robert E. Lee's Retreat from Gettysburg, retreat back to Virginia in the final days of ...

Linden, Virginia Linden is a small unincorporated village in Fauquier County, Virginia, Fauquier and Warren County, Virginia, Warren Counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located west of Washington, D.C. at exit 13 off of Interstate 66. History In 16 ...

, suffering 18 men killed, including two officers. Spinola was badly wounded in the fighting, along with dozens of his men. Col. J. Egbert Farnum of the 70th New York then commanded the brigade until Brewster returned to active duty for the autumn campaigns of 1863. Brewster inspired his men by rising from his “sick bed” to lead the Excelsiors in the

Mine Run Campaign The Battle of Mine Run, also known as Payne's Farm, or New Hope Church, or the Mine Run campaign (November 27 – December 2, 1863), was conducted in Orange County, Virginia, in the American Civil War. An unsuccessful attempt of the Union ...

.Townsend, p. 318.

1864 and the end of the brigade

When the Army of the Potomac was reorganized in the spring of 1864 for the

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, towards the end of the American Civil War. Lieutenant general (United States), Lt. G ...

of Lt. Gen.

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

, Brewster retained brigade command. The Excelsior Brigade, augmented with the 11th Massachusetts and the 84th Pennsylvania, served in the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant general (United States), Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General (C ...

in the Fourth Division, II Corps under Brig. Gen.

Gershom Mott Gershom Mott (April 7, 1822 – November 29, 1884) was a United States Army officer and a General in the Union Army, a commander in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Early life General Mott was born in Lamberton, New Jersey, ...

. When the remnants of the division became part of the Third Division of Maj. Gen. David B. Birney during the

Battle of Spotsylvania The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes more simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania (or the 19th-century spelling Spottsylvania), was the second major battle in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's 18 ...

, Brewster's brigade became the division's Fourth Brigade. He led these men at the

Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses ...

and in the initial operations of the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a c ...

. Then the brigade was abolished. Most of the Excelsiors were moved to the First Brigade, Third Division. The individual regiments mustered out of the army during the summer of 1864, and the men returned home to New York.

Notes

References

* Barram, Rick, "The 72nd New York Infantry in the Civil War, A History and Roster",McFarland and Company, 2014, * Beckman, W. Robert, "Daniel Edgar Sickles", ''Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History'', Heidler, David S., and Heidler, Jeanne T., eds., W. W. Norton & Company, 2000, . * Sears, Stephen W., ''To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign'', Ticknor and Fields, 1992, . * Tagg, Larry
''The Generals of Gettysburg''
Savas Publishing, 1998, . * Townsend, Thomas Seaman, ''The Honors of the Empire State in the War of the Rebellion'', New York: A. Lovell & Co., 1889. * U.S. War Department
''The War of the Rebellion''
: ''a Compilation of the

Official Records The ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies in the War of the Rebellion'', commonly known as the ''Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies'' or Official Records (OR or ORs), is the most extensive collection of Americ ...

of the Union and Confederate Armies'', U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901. Series I, vol. 42.

External links