The Excelsior Brigade
In the vast sea of granite and bronze that makes up the monument forest at Gettysburg, relatively few monuments (speaking, well, relatively) are actually devoted to entire brigades. The Excelsior Brigade monument is a notable exception.
Located, appropriately enough, in “Excelsior Field” just to the north of the famous Peach Orchard, this monument honors the five regiments of the Excelsior Brigade, the 70th through 74th numbered regiments of New York Volunteers. (Of these regiments, only the 73rd has a separate monument and it will be treated individually in another post.) The brigade famous for being raised by everyone’s favorite Gettysburg general infamous III Corps commander Dan “The Man” Sickles, the cornerstone of this monument (the largest in the area) was laid on the 25th anniversary of the battle. Dedicated July 2, 1893 at a cost of $7500.00, it is made of Concord, New Hampshire granite and was sculpted by Theodore Bauer. Shaped like a pentagon, each of the five sides and each of the five columns represent the five regiments of the brigade. Other features include a bronze eagle that sits atop the monument’s dome, symbolic of the brigade’s readiness to strike.
The regiments did their main fighting at Gettysburg near here on the afternoon of July 2. The 70th New York was commanded by Col. John E. Farnum (1824-1870), a New Jersey native who was famous prior to the War for commanding the slave ship Wanderer. Farnum was actually indicted in Savannah courts for carrying out the slave trade! Not exactly the type of resume you would think would earn you a colonelcy in the Union army, but … I suppose it goes to show you can’t always judge someone by their uniform color.1
The 71st was commanded by Col. Henry L. Potter (1828-1907), a lawyer. The 72nd was commanded by Col. John S. Austin (1817-1865) who was wounded on July 2. Command then fell to Lt. Col. John Leonard (1835-1902), an Irish born hatter. Finally the 74th was commanded by Lt. Col. Thomas Holt (1831-1897), a native of Machester England who made carriages in Watertown.
The monument’s interior was supposed to feature a bust of Sickles. However, Sickles embezzled something to the tune of $28,000.00 from the New York Civil War monument fund and as such the bust was never erected and the spot for it sits empty, a testament to an “incredible” man who did much to help preserve the battlefield and to shape the fighting here, but also was a thief.
So for having an embezzler and the captain of a slave ship, the Excelsior Brigade stands out for some of the really wrong reasons.
The Excelsior Brigade - Specifically 70th, 71st, 72nd, 74th New York
3rd Corps, 2nd Division, 2nd Brigade “Excelsior Brigade”
70th New York commanded by Col. John E. Farnum (1824-1870); engaged 371; 20 killed, 93 wounded, 4 missing
71st New York commanded by Col. Henry L. Potter (1828-1907); engaged 243; 10 killed, 68 wounded, 13 missing
72nd New York commanded by Col. John S. Austin (1817-1865); engaged 366; 7 killed, 79 wounded, 28 missing
74th New York commanded by Lt. Col. Thomas Holt (1831-1897); engaged 275; 12 killed, 74 wounded, 3 missing
(73rd New York has its own monument and will have its own post)
- Farnum was actually not only a colonel, he was later brevetted brig. gen. His biography over at Appletons Encyclopedia states that he regretted this episode in his life. [↩]
Tags: Gettysburg, III Corps, Monument Project, New York, Peach Orchard