"Third California Regiment"
"Baxter's Fire Zouaves"
"Philadelphia Fire Zouaves"
Two monuments to the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment are south of Gettysburg at The Angle.
The main monument is at the stone wall of The Angle.
A secondary monument is 70 yards to the east.
The regiment was commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Colonel Dewit Clinton Baxter. He was wounded on July 2, and Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Hesser then took over. The 72nd was part of the 2nd Corps - 2nd Division - 2nd Brigade, the "Philadelphia Brigade."
The placement of the 72nd's monument was at the center of a controversy that eventually reached all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. It stems from the fact that the 72nd fell back from the stone wall at The Angle during Pickett's Charge to a position now marked further back by a secondary monument. General Webb, the new commander of the brigade, tried to advance the 72nd but was unable to do so, struggling unsuccessfully with the color-bearer and finally giving up and going over to the nearby 69th Pennsylvania.
The regiment would not advance but it also would not retreat further, and suffered heavily stopping Pickett's men. Finally they pushed forward to their original position.
The rules of the battlefield commission stated that units must place their monuments on their main line of battle, which was interpreted as the rearward position. But the 72nd's veterans were insistent that their monument be at the Angle where their fighting started and ended. After three years of deliberations the court ruled in favor of the veterans, and the monument was dedicated at The Angle on July 4, 1891.
"Baxter's Fire Zouaves"
"Philadelphia Fire Zouaves"
Two monuments to the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment are south of Gettysburg at The Angle.
The main monument is at the stone wall of The Angle.
A secondary monument is 70 yards to the east.
The regiment was commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Colonel Dewit Clinton Baxter. He was wounded on July 2, and Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Hesser then took over. The 72nd was part of the 2nd Corps - 2nd Division - 2nd Brigade, the "Philadelphia Brigade."
The placement of the 72nd's monument was at the center of a controversy that eventually reached all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. It stems from the fact that the 72nd fell back from the stone wall at The Angle during Pickett's Charge to a position now marked further back by a secondary monument. General Webb, the new commander of the brigade, tried to advance the 72nd but was unable to do so, struggling unsuccessfully with the color-bearer and finally giving up and going over to the nearby 69th Pennsylvania.
The regiment would not advance but it also would not retreat further, and suffered heavily stopping Pickett's men. Finally they pushed forward to their original position.
The rules of the battlefield commission stated that units must place their monuments on their main line of battle, which was interpreted as the rearward position. But the 72nd's veterans were insistent that their monument be at the Angle where their fighting started and ended. After three years of deliberations the court ruled in favor of the veterans, and the monument was dedicated at The Angle on July 4, 1891.
"Third California Regiment"
"Baxter's Fire Zouaves"
"Philadelphia Fire Zouaves"
Two monuments to the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment are south of Gettysburg at The Angle.
The main monument is at the stone wall of The Angle.
A secondary monument is 70 yards to the east.
The regiment was commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Colonel Dewit Clinton Baxter. He was wounded on July 2, and Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Hesser then took over. The 72nd was part of the 2nd Corps - 2nd Division - 2nd Brigade, the "Philadelphia Brigade."
The placement of the 72nd's monument was at the center of a controversy that eventually reached all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. It stems from the fact that the 72nd fell back from the stone wall at The Angle during Pickett's Charge to a position now marked further back by a secondary monument. General Webb, the new commander of the brigade, tried to advance the 72nd but was unable to do so, struggling unsuccessfully with the color-bearer and finally giving up and going over to the nearby 69th Pennsylvania.
The regiment would not advance but it also would not retreat further, and suffered heavily stopping Pickett's men. Finally they pushed forward to their original position.
The rules of the battlefield commission stated that units must place their monuments on their main line of battle, which was interpreted as the rearward position. But the 72nd's veterans were insistent that their monument be at the Angle where their fighting started and ended. After three years of deliberations the court ruled in favor of the veterans, and the monument was dedicated at The Angle on July 4, 1891.
"Baxter's Fire Zouaves"
"Philadelphia Fire Zouaves"
Two monuments to the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment are south of Gettysburg at The Angle.
The main monument is at the stone wall of The Angle.
A secondary monument is 70 yards to the east.
The regiment was commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Colonel Dewit Clinton Baxter. He was wounded on July 2, and Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Hesser then took over. The 72nd was part of the 2nd Corps - 2nd Division - 2nd Brigade, the "Philadelphia Brigade."
The placement of the 72nd's monument was at the center of a controversy that eventually reached all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. It stems from the fact that the 72nd fell back from the stone wall at The Angle during Pickett's Charge to a position now marked further back by a secondary monument. General Webb, the new commander of the brigade, tried to advance the 72nd but was unable to do so, struggling unsuccessfully with the color-bearer and finally giving up and going over to the nearby 69th Pennsylvania.
The regiment would not advance but it also would not retreat further, and suffered heavily stopping Pickett's men. Finally they pushed forward to their original position.
The rules of the battlefield commission stated that units must place their monuments on their main line of battle, which was interpreted as the rearward position. But the 72nd's veterans were insistent that their monument be at the Angle where their fighting started and ended. After three years of deliberations the court ruled in favor of the veterans, and the monument was dedicated at The Angle on July 4, 1891.
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