Commanded by Lt. Colonel Rufus Dawes, the 6th Wisconsin had been detached from the Iron Brigade as a reserve and seeing the retreat of Cutler's troops, Dawes had moved his regiment to the Chambersburg Pike where they rested behind a solid rail fence that lined the road. The opponents immediately opened fire as the southerners crossed over the railroad bed. Colonel Dawes recalled: "The regiment halted at the fence along the Cashtown Turnpike, and I gave the order to fire. In the field, beyond the turnpike, a long line of yelling Confederates could be seen running forward and firing and our troops of Cutler's brigade were running back in disorder. The fire of our carefully aimed muskets, resting on the fence rails, striking their flank, soon checked the rebels in their headlong pursuit.The rebel line swayed and bent, and suddenly stopped firing and the men ran into the railroad cut. I ordered my men to climb the over the turnpike fences and advance."

The 95th New York Infantry arrived and moved adjacent to the 6th Wisconsin as the men clambered over the fences. Colonel Dawes approached Major Edward Pye, commanding the New Yorkers: "I said, 'We must charge.' The gallant major replied, 'Charge it is.' 'Forward, charge!' was the order I gave, and Major Pye gave the same command. We were receiving a fearfully destructive fire from the hidden enemy. Men who had been shot were leaving the ranks in crowds. With the colors at the advance point, the regiment firmly and hurriedly moved forward." The two regiments charged across 400 yards of open field toward the blazing railroad bed, filled with soldiers of the 2nd, 42nd, and 11th Mississippi regiments. Colonel Dawes could only shout encouragement to his men: "The only commands I gave as we advanced were, 'Align on the colors! Close up on the colors! Close up on the colors!' The regiment was being so broken up that this order alone could hold the body together. The colors fell upon the ground several times but were raised again by the heroes of the color guard. Four hundred and twenty men started in the regiment from the turnpike fence, of whom about two hundred and forty reached the railroad cut."

The deep portion of the railroad cut. Gettysburg NMP

Just west of the melee around the Confederate colors, Colonel Dawes heard his soldiers at the brink of the cut shouting to the southerners, "'Throw down your muskets! Down with your muskets!' Running forward through our line of men, I found myself face to face with hundreds of rebels, whom I looked upon in the railroad cut, which was, where I stood, four feet deep. I shouted, 'Where is the colonel of this regiment?' An officer in gray, with stars on his collar, who stood among the men in the cut said, 'Who are you?' I said, 'I command this regiment. Surrender, or I will fire.' The officer replied not a word, but promptly handed me his sword and his men, who still held them, threw down their muskets. The coolness, self-possession, and discipline which held back our men from pouring in a general volley saved a hundred lives of the enemy, and as my mind goes back to the fearful excitement of the moment, I marvel at it."

The surrender of Davis' Confederates in the railroad cut as sketched by Alfred R. Waud after the battle. National Archives

Joined in the charge by the 14th Brooklyn, the Union regiments rounded up their captives and marched back to Seminary Ridge over a field strewn with the dead and wounded of both sides. The bloody contest at the railroad cut, "was a critical one, involving the defeat, perhaps the utter rout of our forces," as General Doubleday reported. The crucial charge prevented the loss of the McPherson Farm positions which would play an important role in the Union defense that afternoon. The shattered remnants of General Davis' brigade were taken out of the battle for the remainder of the day, but would fight again on July 3. The 6th Wisconsin Infantry remained in the battle through the afternoon until forced to retire with the remainder of the corps through Gettysburg.

The hats worn by the soldiers of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry distinguished them from other Union regiments in the army. The broad-brimmed, stiff felt United States Army regulation dress hat was worn by soldiers in the regiments of the "Iron Brigade", which acquired its nickname during the Second Manassas Campaign in 1862. Also called "The Black Hat Brigade", the Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan regiments were ordered to wear this dress hat in place of the cloth forage cap by their former brigade commander, General John Gibbon. General Gibbon preferred the regulation look of the hat and skirted dress coat, and the soldiers of the brigade grew accustomed to it as the dress hats worn in the field set them apart from the other Union regiments in the Army of the Potomac. Even after General Gibbon left the brigade and some men discarded the dress coat for the more comfortable blouse, the dress hat was kept and worn with great pride by the westerners who distinguished themselves on many eastern battlefields. Gettysburg would provide a battle to test their mettle and their legacy. The Iron Brigade mustered 1,883 members on July 1, of which 1,212 soldiers were casualties before nightfall.

The young soldier at left is Private Charles A. Keeler of St. Joseph, Michigan, who served in Company B, 6th Wisconsin Infantry. He wears the Union dress coat and dress hat, fully adorned with brass numerals and black ostrich feather. Private Keeler fought at Gettysburg and was terribly wounded in both legs during the battle.