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THE 
 
 Seyenty-Segond Regiment, 
 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
 
 AT 
 
 Bloody Angle, 
 
 GETTYSBURG. 
 
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 THE 
 
 Seyenty-Segond Regiment, 
 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
 
 AT 
 
 Bloody Anglb, 
 
 GETTYSBURG. 
 
•5" 
 
 COMMITTEE ON MONUMENT. 
 
 John Reed, Sylvester Byrne, 
 
 Frederick Middleton, Julius B. Allen, 
 
 Charles W. Devitt. 
 
 John Reed, Chairman. 
 
 Sylvester Byrne, Secretary. 
 
 Frederick Middleton, Treasurer. 
 
 
DIAGRAM OF BLOODY ANGLE, GETTYSBURG. 
 
 
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ORDER OF EXERCISES. 
 
 Pennsylvania. Day, September 12th, 1889. 
 
 Dirge, by the Band. 
 
 Prayer, by Rev. William H. Clark, Pastor of the 
 Second Reformed. Church in America, 7th and Brown 
 Streets, Philadelphia. 
 
 Address, by Comrade John Reed, on behalf of the Monu- 
 ment Committee. 
 
 Oration, by Capt. William W. Ker, of the 73d Reg. 
 Penna. Vols. 
 
 Salute, three volleys, by the Guard of Post 51 G. A. R. 
 
ADDRESS, 
 
 BY COMEADE JOHN REED. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen : 
 
 It is due to you and to our comrades here assembled, that 
 the Monument Committee of the Seventy-Second Regiment 
 should explain why our monument remains unbuilt, why we 
 are unable to dedicate it, and why we hold these exercises in 
 this place to-day. Gettysburg is in Pennsylvania, and the 
 battle of Gettysburg was the great and decisive struggle of 
 the War of the Rebellion. It is true that regiments and 
 commands from other loyal States participated in it, and 
 bravely performed their part ; but it was Pennsylvania's 
 battle-field, and Pennsylvanians have more than a common 
 interest in it. The grounds on which the battle was fought 
 are now owned by the Gettysburg Battle-Field Memorial 
 Association, which was incorporated " to hold and preserve 
 the battle-grounds of Gettysburg, on which were fought the 
 actions of the first, second and third days of July, 1863, with 
 the natural and artificial defenses, as they were at the time of 
 said battle, and by such memorial structures as a generous 
 and patriotic people may aid to erect, to commemorate the 
 heroic deeds, the struggles and the triumphs of their brave 
 defenders ; and to erect and promote the erection, by volun- 
 tary contributions, of structures and works of art and taste 
 thereon, adapted to designate the spots of special interest, to 
 commemorate the great deeds of valor, endurance, and noble 
 self-sacrifice, and to perpetuate the memory of the heroes and 
 the signal events which render these battle-grounds illus- 
 trious." This corporation is composed of shareholders, some 
 of whom are citizens of this State and others of other States, 
 and is managed by a Board of twenty-one Directors, elected 
 
 5 
 
6 
 
 by the shareholders, to which are added the Governors of such 
 States as shall, by legislative appropriation, contribute funds 
 for the support of the Association ; and if the Governor of 
 any State is unable to be present at the meetings, he has the 
 power to substitute a citizen of his State to represent his 
 State. The Legislature of our State has contributed large 
 sums of the public money to aid this corporation ; but Penn- 
 sylvania has only a voice in common with all the other States 
 in the management of its aifairs or the direction of its ^york. 
 Around this field you see numbers of monuments and tablets. 
 Some of them were erected by the survivors of regiments or 
 commands, and others by the Legislatures of States ; but 
 each was intended to mark the place where a command fought, 
 or to designate a spot of special interest. These monuments 
 and tablets are not now the property of the persons or States 
 that erected them, but belong to the Memorial Association, 
 and may be moved from place to place, at the whim or caprice 
 of the Board of Directors; and indeed, I am informed that 
 some of them have been moved from their original positions 
 to make way for so-called improvements. 
 
 The Legislature of the State of Pennsylvania determined 
 to erect monuments of its own to mark the spot where each 
 Pennsylvania command was engaged in the battle, and it was 
 intended that these monuments should remain the property 
 of the State, and should not be in any way under the control 
 of the Memorial Association. For this purpose, in 1887 an 
 act was passed, requiring the Governor to appoint five Com- 
 missioners, to co-operate with five of fhe survivors of each 
 Pennsylvania command, and select and locate a monument, 
 in bronze or granite, to mark the spot Avhere that command 
 was engaged in the battle of Gettysburg, and appropriated 
 the sum of fifteen hundred dollars to pay for each monu- 
 ment. The five Commissioners were appointed, and myself 
 and four others were selected by our comrades of the Seventy- 
 Second Pennsylvania to represent our Regiment, and to co- 
 operate with the Commissioners in the selection and location 
 of our monument. The Commissioners were competent 
 
gentlemen, who went about their work with great delibera- 
 tion, and gave our claims patient and careful consideration. 
 There was no difficulty in selecting the monument which you 
 see before you, and as the fifteen hundred dollars appropri- 
 ated by the Legislature were much less than the contract 
 price, our comrades contributed the necessary amount. There 
 were many witnesses — probably fifty of them — examined, 
 and a great deal of testimony was taken by the Commission- 
 ers to enable them to determine the proper location, some of 
 the witnesses being our own men and others being men from 
 other regiments and Cushing's Battery, but all of them being 
 men who were present at the battle and saw what they testi- 
 fied to; and after hearing the testimony and proofs, the 
 Commissioners unanimously decided that here in this angle was 
 the place where we fought, Avas the place where we were en- 
 gaged in the battle, and that our monument should be erected 
 upon this spot. It is generally supposed that the Legisla- 
 ture of our State has the right to erect a public building, or 
 a public monument, and to designate the person who shall 
 erect it, and the spot upon which it shall be erected, and to 
 take the land of any citizen or corporation for that purpose ; 
 but when we notified the Memorial Association of the place 
 selected by the Commissioners, and asked for a permit to 
 build it there, the Board of Directors refused to give it, 
 claiming that they had a right to overrule the decision of the 
 Commissioners, that they had the right to select any other 
 spot, that they were the owners of the land, and that no per- 
 son, not even the State of Pennsylvania, had a right to erect 
 a monument on that land without their consent. They did 
 make some concession, for they informed us that they would 
 permit us to erect our monument away back there, 283 feet 
 in the rear. You see they have laid out a carriage-drive 
 along there, which they call Hancock Avenue, and they want 
 us to put our monument on the other side of that Avenue, 
 so that people can drive along and see all the monuments 
 without getting out of their carriage. Of course we would 
 not accommodate them by putting our monument on a spot 
 
where we never fought, and wheu we attempted to dig a 
 foundation here without a permit, I was arrested for trespass, 
 and am now under bail to answer that charge. Our counsel 
 filed a bill in equity asking for an injunction restraining them 
 from interfering with us, and the Supreme Court decided the 
 case in our favor. We thought our troubles were all over ; 
 but the Memorial Association has plenty of money, and its 
 Board of Directors are determined to make us put our monu- 
 ment back on that Avenue, if they possibly can. They now 
 come forward with a new claim. They admit that 210 of 
 our men fell in the battle ; but they allege that we lost all 
 our men away back in the rear, that we were never here at 
 all, that the Commissioners were mistaken in selecting this 
 location, and that a Massachusetts Regiment and a New York 
 Regiment did the fighting for the Philadelphia Brigade. 
 They say they can prove all this, and they ask the Court to 
 wait, and give them a chance to do it ; so we must wait till 
 they have had that chance. We are fighting a powerful cor- 
 poration ; it will take a little time, but we have no fear of 
 the result. We will triumph in the end, and will erect and 
 dedicate our monument on this spot, that has been solemnly 
 selected by the Commissioners under the laws of our State. 
 
 We concluded to hold some kind of exercises, in common 
 with our comrades of other regiments, and through the kind 
 efforts of His Excellency, Governor Beaver, we have been 
 permitted to temporarily erect our monument on this spot, 
 and to hold these exercises here to-day, and we assure you we 
 heartily thank Governor Beaver for securing us the uninter- 
 rupted enjoyment of this privilege. 
 
 Our Regiment was composed of 15 Companies, and carried 
 1,600 men on its rolls. We lost heavily in previous engage- 
 ments, but our heaviest loss was here in this angle at the 
 battle of Gettysburg, where 360 men were engaged, and 210 
 of them were either killed or wounded. We have here 
 to-day 120 of the survivors of the Regiment, and two out of 
 every three of the men that are now here were wounded either 
 in that battle or in one of the others. We are determined 
 
9 
 
 that our mouument shall be erected upon this spot, and we 
 will never yield unless overcome by the power of the law, to 
 whose decrees, whether just or unjust, all good citizens bow 
 in obedience. 
 
 Before closing I desire to return our thanks to our counsel, 
 J. C. Neely, Esq., of Gettysburg, and William W. Wilt- 
 bank and William W. Ker, Esqs., of Philadelphia. To Mr. 
 Wiltbank and Mr. Ker we feel especially grateful, for those 
 gentlemen have espoused our cause, have devoted their time, 
 talents, and energy in our behalf, have refused all compensa- 
 tion from us, and will continue to labor to secure us the right 
 and justice we value beyond price. Mr. Wiltbank has been 
 detained by professional engagements, and we regret that he 
 is not with us to-day, but when we are permitted to dedicate 
 our monument, he will be with us, and will receive the heartfelt 
 thanks and congratulations of every survivor of the Seventy- 
 Second Regiment. 
 
 Mr. Ker is with us, and I now have the pleasure to intro- 
 duce to you, as the orator on this occasion, our counsel and 
 our friend, Capt. William W. Ker. 
 
ORATION, 
 
 BY CAPT. WILLIAM W. KER. 
 
 Comrades : 
 
 The Volunteer Firemen of the City of Philadelphia were 
 patriotic, intelligent and brave. Yon were fit and worthy 
 representatives of that organization. When you offered 
 yourselves to the Governor of our State, you were young, 
 strong, and inured to hardships and danger. No better ma- 
 terial could be found in the world from which to form an 
 army. You were mustered into the service of the United 
 States on August 10th, 1861, and Col. D. W. C. Baxter was 
 your first commander. Officially you were designated as the 
 72d Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, but familiarly you 
 were called " Baxter's Fire Zouaves." You were assigned to 
 duty in the Second Corps in the Array of the Potomac, and 
 from March, 1862, your fortunes and your fame were identi- 
 fied with that gallant Corps. The siege of Yorktown was a 
 series of engagements ; the battles at Fair Oaks, on May Slst, 
 and June 1st, 1862, were followed by Peach Orchard, Savage 
 Station, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Chantilly, Antietam, 
 Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. You participated in 
 them all. You gained in them experience, honor, credit and 
 renown. You were tried and trusted veterans of the Union 
 army. 
 
 On the 1st day of July, 1863, you numbered 23 officers and 
 435 men. You formed part of the 2d Brigade of the 2d 
 Division of the 2d Corps. That was the famous " Philadel- 
 phia Brigade," commanded by that equally famous soldier, 
 Brigadier-General Alexander S. Webb. He was leading you 
 on to Gettysburg, to drive the invading enemy from your 
 native State. 
 
 10 
 
11 
 
 As we stand here to-day, our thoughts carry us back to the 
 1st, 2d and 3d days of July, 1863. For twenty-six years 
 Summer has succeeded Summer, yet the scenes and occurrences 
 of those days are as vivid and bright as though it were but 
 yesterday. They pass before you, in panoramic view. You 
 recall the weary march from the Rappahannock, the crossing 
 of the Potomac at Edward's Ferry, the kind and hospitable 
 reception at Uuiontown, the halt at Taueytown on July 1st, 
 the sad news of the death of Reynolds and defeat of the 1st 
 and 11th Corps, the midnight march to Gettysburg, the 
 forming of the line of battle on the morning of July 2d, the 
 attack by the enemy in the afternoon, the loss of Brown's 
 Battery, your counter-charge to the Emmettsburg Road, the 
 recovery of Brown's guns, the wounding of Col. Baxter, the 
 i-e-forming of your lines, the little spring in the rear where 
 you filled your canteens and cooked your coffee, your rest- 
 less sleep behind your stacked rifles, and the bright and 
 glorious breaking of the morning of the day of July 3d. 
 
 Let us pause here, for the scene approaches the reality. 
 Here again you see the same low stone fence. It is angle- 
 shaped — something like a huge letter Z traced upon the 
 ground, only the angles are right angles — the bottom line ex- 
 tending towards Cemetery Hill on the right, the centre line 
 running some 260 feet to the front, and the front line reach- 
 ing towards Little Round-Top on the left. Out in front of 
 these angles are two companies of the 106th Pennsylvania, 
 deployed as skirmishers. Behind the angles are posted Cush- 
 ing's Battery and your Philadelphia Brigade. Along the 
 rear line of the fence are eight companies of the 71st Penn- 
 sylvania, their right connecting with Arnold's Battery and 
 their left resting at the corner of the angle ; the centre line of 
 the fence, from corner to corner of the angle, is unoccupied ; 
 along the front line of the fence are the other two companies 
 of the 71st, their right close up in the corner ; then to their 
 left the fence is again unoccupied for the distance of 274 feet ; 
 and then comes the right of the 69th Pennsylvania. There, 
 to the rear of the front fence, forming a line parallel Mith the 
 
12 
 
 rear fence, is Battery A of the 4th U. S. Artillery — the re- 
 nowned " Cushing's Battery " — with the muzzles of its guns 
 pointing over the front fence at the unoccupied space between 
 the right of the 69th and the left of the two companies of 
 the 71st. There, behind the Battery, and 270 feet behind 
 the front fence, is your 72d Regiment, in line of battle to 
 support the Battery. And there, between you and the 
 Battery, is General Webb, slowly pacing up and down, keep- 
 ing careful watch over his little Brigade. 
 
 This is your position at high noon. The Confederate bat- 
 terries suddenly open fire. Every gun is hurling a missile 
 into the Union ranks. The Union artillery replies. There 
 you lie with your faces close to the ground. The storm of 
 iron hail is flying around you, but you are helpless and un- 
 protected. The air is filled with flying shot and bursting 
 shells, and the roar drowns all other sounds. The crash is 
 blinding, and the shock is deafening. The cannoneers are 
 falling at their posts, and Cushing's Battery is fast being dis- 
 abled. For an hour and a quarter, and the firing ceases, first 
 on the Union side, then on the Confederate side. The first 
 part of the great struggle is over. 
 
 Now the Confederate line of battle appears, moving rapidly 
 over the field. They cross the Emmettsburg Road, and you 
 see their faces. They are Pickett's men, the flower of the 
 Southern army. Again the artillery opens, and cannon and 
 musketry are mingled in a deafening roar. The Confederates 
 never falter, never waver. On they come, confident of vic- 
 tory. They are led by Armistead. He is seeking a place to 
 break through the Union lines. He sees Cushing's disabled 
 Battery, the unoccupied fence, and urges his men rapidly 
 towards it. 
 
 The skirmishers of the 106th run to the rear, and are 
 hastily formed on your left flank. The two companies of 
 the 71st retire from the front angle, and join their Regiment 
 at the rear. The right of the 69tli swings back on its centre. 
 Cushing's Cannoneers are piled among the ruins of their dis- 
 abled guns ; Sergeant Feiger and half a dozen of the men 
 
13 
 
 are all that are left; one gun alone remains ; it is loaded with 
 cannister, and Gushing, Feiger and their men are around it ; 
 they move it to the front, closer to the fence, and take their 
 places beside it. The fence in the front angle is wholly un- 
 occupied. There is nothing to check the Confederate ad- 
 vance, save only that lone cannon and the heroic men beside it. 
 
 The Confederates reach the fence. Armistead jumps over 
 it. Twelve hundred of his men follow him. They rush 
 upon the gun. A sheet of flame from its muzzle, a deafening 
 report, the brave young Lieutenant falls lifeless upon the 
 ground, and Cushing's Battery is silenced forever. The Con- 
 federates have captured the angle. The Union army is cut in 
 two at its centre. The Confederates wave their flags in tri- 
 umph, and again press forward. 
 
 There you still lie — three hundred and sixty of you — 
 crouching close to the ground. You know that your time 
 has now come. You see the enemy advancing upon you in 
 overwhelming numbers. You know that alone and un- 
 supported you must meet the attack. Your hearts are 
 filled with bitterness, and you are eager for the fray. You 
 look to General Webb for the expected command. You see 
 his lips moving, but can hear no sound. He points his sword 
 to the right, then waves it towards the enemy. You are 
 well -trained soldiers, and understand his signs. You know 
 that he wants you to march by the right face closer to the 
 71st in the rear angle, then face to the left, and charge down 
 upon the enemy. You spring to your feet. Away go haver- 
 sacks and canteens. You face to the right, run quickly for- 
 ward to the 7 1st, and face again to the left. Your courage 
 is contagious. Some brave men of the 71st and ] 06th, un- 
 bidden, jump into line with you on your flanks. There stand 
 the enemy, their bayonets bristling and their rifles smoking. 
 They are waiting for you — for this handful of men against 
 such fearful odds. One savage yell that rises above the din 
 of battle, one wild and tumultuous rush, and you are upon 
 them, discharging your rifles in their faces, beating their 
 bayonets from their guns, and tearing their guns from their 
 
14 
 
 hands. With the ferocity of madness you leap upon them, 
 clutch them by their throats, bury your bayonets in their 
 bodies and hurl them to the earth. Mounted on their pros- 
 trate bodies, the butts of your guns descend relentlessly, 
 crushing them down before you. Slowly they retire, surging 
 back into the corner in the angle. Their colors are still 
 flying. They are yet unconquered. A color-bearer plants 
 the flag of Virginia at the fence, and his comrades are rally- 
 ing around it ; like a tiger McCuen springs upon him, and 
 wrenches the colors from his grasp. A short struggle, a ter- 
 rific blow, and McBride is waving the second flag. A thrust 
 of the bayonet, a crushing blow on the head, and two Zou- 
 aves are struggling to reach the rear with two otlier flags. 
 The colors of the enemy are captured. The Virginians make 
 a desperate rush for their colors. Again you are upon them 
 with the fury of demons. Again your guns and your bay- 
 onets deal death and destruction in their ranks. They fall 
 before you in great piles, wounded and dead. Armistead has 
 fallen at the feet of your color-bearer. Their leader is gone, 
 their colors are lost. Disheartened and dismayed, they drop 
 their arms. Eight hundred of them surrender. Four stands 
 of colors, and eight hundred prisoners. Every Confederate 
 who has crossed the fence is dead, wounded or captured. Not 
 a man of them has escaped. The Confederate army is cut in 
 two. Away to your right and to your left they fly before 
 your victorious comrades. The battle is over. 
 
 The ground is covered with the wounded, the dying and 
 the dead. From the front fence to the centre, the bodies of 
 your Zouaves lie close and thick. Sixty-two of them are 
 dead, 146 are wounded, and two are missing. Two hundred 
 and ten of your brave comrades have ceased to answer at your 
 roll-call. One hundred and fifty of you are left. 
 
 To this place, this unknown spot, you have given name and 
 fame. It is recorded in history. " The Bloody Angle at 
 Gettysburg." 
 
 Survivors of the 72d, you have selected a monument to 
 mark the position of your Regiment engaged in the battle of 
 
15 
 
 Gettysburg on that day. It has been cast in bronze. It rep- 
 resents a Zouave, with his gun clubbed in his hands, striking 
 at his enemy. It is an appropriate design, an illustrative 
 image. On this spot you fought, you bled, and your com- 
 rades died. On this spot, you claim it is your right to erect 
 and build your yet unbuilt monument. Who is it that gain- 
 says your claim ? What power would rob you of your right ? 
 By the memories of your saintly dead, we pledge ourselves to 
 stand together to maintain your sacred right ; and with the 
 help of the Almighty God who aided and assisted you then, 
 and who guards and protects you still, we will erect and build 
 this monument on this spot, and will dedicate it to the mem- 
 ory of the glory, the valor and the heroism of Philadelphia's 
 faithful Fire Zouaves. 
 
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