72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument
| 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument | |
| 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment Memorial | |
| historic district contributing structure | |
 Monument topped by Fire Zouave, near the copse of trees (left).
|
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Adams |
| NPS unit | Gettysburg National Military Park |
| Landform | Cemetery Ridge |
| Location | The Angle |
| - coordinates | 39°48′46.8″N 77°14′10.6″W / 39.813000°N 77.236278°WCoordinates: 39°48′46.8″N 77°14′10.6″W / 39.813000°N 77.236278°W |
| Dedicated | July 4, 1891 |
| Easiest access | parking along Hancock Av |
|
Historic District GNMP structures |
75000155 MN226, MN227 |
 1904 image of statuary
|
|
|
HMdb image & text below statue
|
|
|
Both 72nd monuments in 1 image
|
The 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument is an 1891 statuary memorial on the Gettysburg Battlefield. It is located on Cemetery Ridge, by The Angle and the copse of trees, where Union forces – including the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry – beat back Confederate forces engaged in Pickett's Charge.
The monument was the subject of a Pennsylvania Supreme Court case over control of the battlefield. It is depicted on the 2011 "Gettysburg" America the Beautiful quarter commemorative coin.
The regiment erected an earlier monument in 1883. To avoid confusion, that is now usually referred to as the "Philadelphia Brigade" Monument.
The 72nd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, commanded by Colonel DeWitt Clinton Baxter and also called "Baxter's Philadelphia Fire Zouaves," was recruited among firemen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their dress uniforms were modeled on those of the Zouaves, a North African Berber tribe famous for its ferocious fighting.
The 72nd played an important role in beating back Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863. At the beginning of the Confederate advance across the valley, the 72nd was posted in support and to the rear of the batteries upon Hancock's front. "As the enemy drove in the brigade pickets from the Emmitsburg Road, [sic] the regiment was rushed to the front line, striking the assailants at the famous stone wall and the clump of trees." That morning, the Fire Zouaves had numbered 458 officers and men. After the fury of the conflict, there were but 266 of the 72nd left for further duty.
...
Wikipedia