Hi.

Just curious if anyone knows if there were ANY Black troops in the Iron Brigade (especially the 7th Wisconsin Infantry).

In college I had to research the Iron Brigade for a semester paper, using original Civil War research materials, and I wound up dealing with the diary of a guy from Dodgeville who was in the 7th Wisconsin for the entire war (undergrad history students LOVE a detailed diary like that one!). I got to love this guy really... he seemed to be a Civil War version of Sgt. Bilko!

Now, almost 30 years later, I have the urge to dabble in Civil War reenacting. I haven't tried to find a reenactor's group yet, but I KNOW that these folks take the historical accuracy thing VERY seriously. The idea of a Black trooper in the Brigade might not fly.

Just looking for any comments on this crazy idea.