pany F of the 2nd served as a rear guard,
and Mudge, hobbled by a painful wound
to the leg, was narrowly saved from cap-
ture by the efforts of friend and former
classmate Lieutenant Robert Gould Shaw.
Humiliated by the debacle, Gordon cast
about for a scapegoat and roundly criti-
cized the performance of Colgrove’s rus-
tics. Labeling them “that incorrigible 27th
Indiana,” Gordon wrote that the Hoosiers
were “naturally insubordinate and cow-
ardly.” Although Colgrove was well dis-
posed to dressing down his own men, he
bristled at such language from Gordon and
averred that there was “more good fight-
ing material in the 27th than any regiment
in the service.”
The opportunity for both the 27th Indi-
ana and the 2nd Massachusetts to prove
their mettle came during the Maryland
Campaign of 1862. Banks’ command was
redesignated the Army of the Potomac’s
XII Corps, of which both regiments helped
form the 1st Division’s 3rd Brigade. On the
morning of September 13, the 27th, at the
head of XII Corps, was probing for the
Army of Northern Virginia when the men
were ordered to halt in a hay field south of
Frederick. First Sergeant John M. Bloss
and Corporal Barton W. Mitchell wereresting in the clover when they discovered
a discarded letter lying close by. It turned
out to be one of the most fortuitous finds
in military history.
Upon further inspection, Bloss discov-
ered that the letter was not only wrapped
around three fine cigars, but was headlined
“Confidential Special Orders No. 191
Hdqrs., Army of Northern Virginia.” The
two Hoosier volunteers had unwittingly
discovered both the plans and detailed
troop dispositions of the Rebel army. Bloss
immediately recognized its importance and
reported the find to Captain Kop, who
directed it to Colgrove. Colgrove person-
ally delivered the order to XII Corps head-
quarters, and by noon it was in the hands
of Maj. Gen. George McClellan.
The discovery made by two of Col-
grove’s farm boys helped bring about Gen-
eral Robert E. Lee’s desperate delaying
action at South Mountain on September
14 and the Battle of Antietam three days
later. Although Gordon’s brigade had seen
action in the Shenandoah and at Cedar
Mountain, it was the unparalleled carnage
of Antietam that truly blooded the men.
The brigade took part in XII Corps’ grand
assault on Lee’s left and entered the hor-
rific fight for David Miller’s cornfield.Mudge suffered bruised ribs and Colgrove
had his horse shot from under him, but the
rank and file paid a truly grim price. In the
27th Indiana alone, of the 443 men taken
into action 36 were killed and a staggering
235 were wounded.
Subsequent to the bloodbath at Anti-
etam the rancor between the two regi-
ments subsided, and their petty squabbles
dissipated. Eventually even Gordon
praised the conduct of the “incorrigible”
27th, one of whose members proudly
wrote home, “Even our old Yankee gen-
eral said we was the best fighting material
he ever saw.”
In the autumn of 1862, command of the
brigade passed from Gordon to Thomas H.
Ruger, formerly the colonel of the 3rd Wis-
consin. An attorney in civilian life, Ruger
was nevertheless a professionally trained
soldier. He had attended West Point and
graduated third in the class of 1854, then
served in the exclusive Corps of Engineers.
Inter-regimental relations proved smoother
under Ruger’s firm but even-tempered lead-
ership. “We regarded him as a strict disci-
plinarian,” said one of his men, “but he was
a just man, humane.”
Unit cohesion would be sorely needed
during the following spring’s campaign. ByBoth: Library of CongressABOVE: The 3rd Wisconsin holds its lines at the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862. The future unit commander, Colonel Thomas H. Ruger, was wounded in
the leg during the battle. During Reconstruction, Ruger was military governor of Georgia. OPPOSITE: This photo of Culp’s Hill taken not long after the battle
shows the ravages of the fighting. Union Colonel Silas Colgrove’s brigade was positioned at the left base of the hill.CWQ-EW16 Culp's Hill_Layout 1 10/22/15 1:04 PM Page 42