Nevertheless, when the Army marched toward battle on July 16, Colonel Coon requested to accompany them as a volunteer advisor to Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman, who commanded the brigade to which the 2nd Wisconsin was attached. Accounts of the First Battle of Bull Run, including remarks attributed to Colonel Sherman, describe that Colonel Coon briefly attempted to rally the regiment during the disorganized retreat from the Bull Run field, and may have managed to cover some of the retreat.
