 Monument in Excelsior Field (New York at Gettysburg) |
73rd New York Infantry
("Second Fire Zouaves")
2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Third Corps
Commander: Major Michael W. Burns
Battle of Gettysburg participation: July 2
Present for duty: 349 officers & men
Casualties: 51 killed, 103 wounded, 8 missing
Raised in the Bowery of New York City in the summer of 1861, the 73rd New York Infantry was given the monicker of "Second Fire Zouaves". Dressed in a distinctive zouave-style uniform, the 73rd's soldiers appeared different from their counterparts in the "Excelsior Brigade", and they were. The regiment was composed almost entirely of volunteer firemen from New York City and its boroughs, men who enlisted as volunteer soldiers with the assurance that they would still be carried as active firemen on the rolls of volunteer fire departments back home. (The organization of New York City Volunteer Firemen began in 1658 and lasted until 1865, when the control of fire departments in New York was taken over by the city administration.) The regiment went to Washington in October 1861 where it was presented a stand of colors (flags) donated by the fire departments of New York City.
On July 2, the 73rd New York Infantry was sent forward into the Peach Orchard in an area now known as "Excelsior Field" across from the Sherfy farm buildings. The charge of General Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade ran headlong into the New Yorkers, who fought back with tenacity but were overwhelmed by the southern tide. Captain James Moran, commanding Company H, 73rd New York, remembered:
"Not far from our regiment's position, several guns that had made havoc among the advancing Confederates were in imminent danger of being taken. A caisson had been blown to atoms, the horses killed and most of the officers and men killed or wounded. As our line began to retire a mounted officer implored us... to save his guns. Amid the sounds of bursting shells, cheers mingled with shouts, and the general confusion of the moment, it was almost impossible to hear or be heard. At what I mistook for the consent of (Major) Burns... I called for the men of my company and those nearest me to follow me with the mounted officer and drag away the imperiled guns. A minute later a shell burst...a fragment wounded me in the ankle and what felt like burning powder entered my left eye. Our line now in considerable disorder retired (and) for a few minutes were in a perfect tornado of bullets and shells from both friends and foe, the open field affording no shelter. At last the enemy came hard upon us. As the center of the 13th Mississippi passed over me, the men firing and shrieking like Indians, a volley from our side tore through (their) ranks and some of the Confederates fell. I had never in my experience seen such havoc from a single volley and its effect was instantly manifested (as) the line of battle came to a halt without command and it took the utmost exertions of the (Confederate) officers to prevent panic."
What remained of the 73rd New York participated in a stubborn withdrawal by the division to Cemetery Ridge.
Partially funded by the state of New York and city firemen, the monument to the 73rd New York Infantry was dedicated on Saturday, September 4, 1897 and bears the inscription, "Erected at the instance of Volunteer Firemen of the City of New York... in grateful recognition of the service rendered by the Second Fire Zouaves on this field in defence of the Union July 2, 1863". At the dedication ceremony, General Henry Tremain said, "The volunteer firemen never failed to risk life to save life, or risk life to save country. That men associated in civic life for such exigencies should make good soldiers does not seem strange. No honor could be greater to the volunteer firemen of New York than this monument- except the honor of the work done by their representative regiment, the Second Fire Zouaves, on this and other battlefields."
The monument was designed by the architectural firm of Hoffman and Prochazka of New York, and the bronze statues are the work of New York sculptor G. Moretti, who also sculpted the statue of Commodore Vanderbilt that stands on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. At the time of its dedication the monument was valued at $15,000.00.
 Dedication tablet on the 73rd New York Infantry Monument at Gettysburg (National Park Service) |
The spirit of those firemen-turned-soldiers remains alive to this day, embodied in the courage, skill and determination of the firemen and policemen of New York City who responded to the terrible events that changed the face of that city and this nation on September 11, 2001.