16th Pennsylvania Cavalry
Posted to the Project on 10 Sep 07
The 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry was also known as the 161st Pennsylvania Volunteers. Raised from the city of Philadelphia and mainly from the counties of Erie, Fayette, Franklin, Juniata, Venango, and Washington in the fall of 1862, the regiment numbered 411 men at Gettysburg. This regiment a broad section of Pennsylvania.
Their commander was Lt. Col. John K. Robinson (1829-1917), a farmer in Patterson.
The regiment suffered modest casualties at the battle of Gettysburg. It suffered further casualties during the campaign.
The monument to the 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry is located well off the beaten path on Highland Avenue.
Highland Avenue is located not far from the East Cavalry Battlefield off of the Hanover Road (current route 116). Thanks to Eric Wittenberg, cavalry guru, for directions to it. Because of its location, this monument is a canidiate for the least visited at Gettysburg.
The stone monument is located today next to a church. The main feature is a large stone statue of a dismounted cavalryman. The monument also features, as do all Pennsylvania monuments, a bronze state seal.
The monument stands at the position held by the regiment on July 3. The regiment guarded the extreme right wing of Meade’s Army as part of J. Irvin Gregg’s Brigade.
The monument was dedicated on October 15, 1884.
16th Pennsylvania Cavalry
Cavalry Corps, 2nd Division, 3d Brigade
Lt. Col. John K. Robinson (1829-1917)
Engaged: 411; 2 killed, 4 wounded
Monument: Highland Avenue
September 10th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
Thank you, Jenny! It’s great to get to see a monument I’ve managed to miss so many times.
J. Irvin Gregg actually commanded the regiment itself earlier in the war, following a company command in the 6th US Cavalry during the Peninsula Campaign.