At least one Crow Family (Proudfoot
line) sacrificed his life in the Civil War. This page will
present a significant amount of detail on his life, service and
sacrifice.
Capt. Alexander Gordon, Jr. (1838-1963)
Annette E. "Netta" Whitmore (1839-1911) Mary
Cynthia "Minna" Gordon (1862-1925)
Capt. Gordon was the fourth of seven
children born to Alexander Gordon and Cynthia Howard Godfrey of
Maine. He was attending college at the outbreak of the Civil War
and quickly married his sweetheart. As the recruiter of what
became Company I of the 7th Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry he
was Commissioned as a Captain. As officer's wives were allowed to
visit between battles, thus Minna Gordon was born. Her father
only saw her twice before his death.
The 7th Regiment, part of a group of units originally known as
"Wisconsin's Black Hat Brigade" became reknown as the "Iron Brigade of
the West" because of their reliability and toughness in battle.
They paid dearly for this by having the third highest casualties in the
Union Army and had to be augmented by men from Indiana and
Michigan. The brigade fought in the Brawners Farm, Second Bull
Run, Antietam,
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Overland,
Richmond-Petersburg, and Appomattox campaigns. The links below
will allow to explore the history around Capt. Gordon's tragically
short life.
During the Battle of South
Mountain, Gibbon's men gave such a good account of themselves
that Corps Commander Hooker referred to them as an "Iron
Brigade". This name stuck with them for
the rest of the war and forever after. In September 1862 at South
Mountain, Maryland, General McClellan, said, as he witnessed the
"IRON BRIGADE" break the center of an entrenched battle
line,
"These men must be made
of iron". On another
occasion Gen.
McClellan said, "I have seen them under fire acting in such
a manner as to reflect the greatest credit upon themselves and
their State (Wisconsin,
Indiana, and
Michigan). They are equal to
the best soldiers in the world. It is not the numbers of men but
the right kind of men that makes the "IRON BRIGADE".
The nicknames for the constituent units of the Iron Brigade are
interesting: 2d Wisconsin (The Ragged Asstetical); 6th Wisconsin
(Calico Sixth); 7th Wisconsin (originally The Hungry 7th but later
Huckleberries*); 19 Indiana (The Babies);
24th Michigan (The Feather Beds); and Battery B of the Fourth
U.S.Artillery (The 140 Thieves).
• "Keyed" Company I 7th
Wisconsin Image dated 7-19 to 7-25-1862 indicating who died and was
wounded
• Crossing
the Rhappahannock at Fitzhugh's Crossing 4-29-1863 - Capt. Gordon
killed here
• The Iron
Brigade Website
• Civil War Correspondence of Capt. Alexander
Gordon, Jr. - Original handwriting
• Civil War Correspondence of Capt. Alexander
Gordon, Jr. - typewritten transcription by his sister Cynthia Adalaline
Gordon (Oakley).
• Civil War Correspondence of Lt. Amos Douglas
Rood who married Widow Gordon after the War
• The Iron Brigade
Wikipedia Article
• Matthew
Brady Photograph of Company I, near Fredericksburg, Virginia between
April 19 and August 5, 1862
• The 7th Wisconsin Reginmental History - by Paul
Johnson (under development 2010)
• The Mystery of Captain
Gordon's Officer's Sword
• Gordon Family
Civil War Era Gallery
• Black Hat
from which the first nickname arose
• Second
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and Iron Brigade of the West Website
(music)
• Flags
of the Iron Brigade (music)
• Danish Black Hat re-enactor Website
* likely because another regiment called them this
per Paul Johnson