Last updated: September 23, 2022
Place
72nd Pennsylvania Monument
Quick Facts
Location:
Gettysburg National Military Park
Significance:
72nd Pennsylvania Monument at Gettysburg
Designation:
Civil War Monument
The 72nd Pennsylvania Monument was dedicated on July 4, 1891 and is one of the more evocative monuments on this part of the field. It is also one that was embroiled in controversy. During Pickett’s Charge, the 72nd Pennsylvania was initially held in reserve behind Cemetery Ridge. When the Confederates drove the 71st Pennsylvania from the Angle, the 72nd advanced to the crest of the ridge (about where Hancock Avenue runs today) where they came under heavy fire from Confederate soldiers behind the stone wall.
The regiment remained in this position throughout the most severe part of the engagement and suffered heavy losses: 44 killed and 146 wounded. When Confederate resistance began to collapse, the regiment, along with others who had rushed to this area, advanced to the wall and recaptured the original Union position.
In 1888, the veterans of the 72nd requested permission to place a monument to their regiment near the stone wall where they had advanced on July 3. Their request was denied because policy dictated that all regiments place their original monuments where they had stood in the general line of battle of the army. That position for the 72nd was near where Hancock Avenue runs today. The veterans of the 72nd objected to this position and eventually carried their case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which, despite strong testimony against the 72nd’s claims, ruled in their favor and the monument was erected.
The regiment remained in this position throughout the most severe part of the engagement and suffered heavy losses: 44 killed and 146 wounded. When Confederate resistance began to collapse, the regiment, along with others who had rushed to this area, advanced to the wall and recaptured the original Union position.
In 1888, the veterans of the 72nd requested permission to place a monument to their regiment near the stone wall where they had advanced on July 3. Their request was denied because policy dictated that all regiments place their original monuments where they had stood in the general line of battle of the army. That position for the 72nd was near where Hancock Avenue runs today. The veterans of the 72nd objected to this position and eventually carried their case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which, despite strong testimony against the 72nd’s claims, ruled in their favor and the monument was erected.