Stumbling Across Civil War History - Part 2

The gravestone of William H. Shaw, Company E, 32nd
Massachusetts. Photo taken by Sandra Lennox
and accessed on Find A Grave.

A bit over a week ago I wrote a post about private William H. Shaw. I had stumbled upon Shaw's grave while meandering through Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts on Labor Day, and I wanted to learn more about his life and his service during the Civil War.

I first took interest in Shaw's grave because of the regimental designation on his gravestone: the 32nd Massachusetts. This regiment I knew had an interesting Gettysburg story - it found itself embroiled in the whirlwind of battle in the Wheatfield and its surrounding wood lots on July 2nd. Unfortunately, despite various research efforts I cannot say with certitude that Shaw saw action at Gettysburg without sending away to the National Archives for his compiled military service record. Even then I likely would not have a definitive result. After his wounding at Fredericksburg, Shaw remained on the regiment's rolls until the end of the war, but when he returned to the regiment I cannot say. I can however piece together a picture of what his experience would have looked like if he was present at Gettysburg.

Commanded at Gettysburg by Colonel George L. Prescott,  the 32nd Massachusetts served in Colonel Jacob Sweitzer's 2nd brigade of the 1st division, 5th Corps. The brigade also contained the 4th Michigan, 62nd Pennsylvania, and 9th Massachusetts.

Late on the afternoon of July 2nd the brigade (minus the 9th Massachusetts) arrived in the area of the Wheatfield to reinforce Colonel Régis de Trobriand's forces there. The brigade deployed on a narrow rocky ridge  (today known as the Stony Hill) just to the west of the Wheatfield. Numbering 242 officers and men, the 32nd formed on lower ground at the southern end of the Stony Hill. Colonel Sweitzer did not like the look of the 32nd's position, however, and soon shifted the regiment's alignment to a position at a right angle with the rest of the brigade, giving it the benefit of elevated ground and cover.

The 32nd faced south towards Rose Woods. In the regiment's front a small stream ran through a ravine, with the wood lot looming on the opposite side of the stream. Regimental historian Francis Jewett Parker recalled what happened next:

We were hardly established in our position, such as it was, before the attack came, the enemy piling down in great numbers from the opposite slope and covering themselves partially under the hither bank of the little stream.... The men loaded and fired with great rapidity, some using much judgement and coolness, making every shot tell in the enemy's ranks; others, as is usually the case, excited and firing almost at random.

The attackers were Georgians of Tige Anderson's brigade. The men of the 32nd took advantage of what cover they could find and began loading and firing as swiftly as possible. Meanwhile, Colonel Prescott received a message from Colonel Sweitzer indicating the route of retreat if it became necessary. Full of fighting spirit, he protested. "I am not ready to retire," he responded, "I can hold this place." When Sweitzer clarified that the order only indicated a route of retreat if it became necessary, the 32nd continued to hold its own against the Georgians.

An (extremely) rough sketch of the 32nd Massachusetts first fight in the
Wheatfield using a modern satellite image from Google Maps.

Meanwhile, behind a cluster of large boulders very close to the regimental line, surgeon Z. Boylston Adams set up an advanced aid station. Here Adams provided urgent care for those wounded who could make it back to the cover of the boulders. In tribute to his bravery, in 1895 the veteran association of the regiment placed a plaque on the grouping of boulders that they believed marked the site of his aid station. Today this truly unique marker helps us understand the daring and courage of regimental surgeons serving near the firing line.

Battle smoke soon filled the ravine as the 32nd blazed away at the Georgians, and another message arrived for Prescott - Confederate forces threatened the brigade's western flank. Despite Colonel Prescott's desire to stay, the 32nd received orders to fall back through the woods to the Wheatfield Road. The men retired in good order, and when they reached their new position they saw that reinforcements had arrived - General John C. Caldwell's 2nd Corps division. The forward line in the Wheatfield and on the Stony Hill had collapsed, but Caldwell's men arrived just in time to launch a full scale counterattack, recapturing the abandoned positions on the Stony Hill, and driving Confederate forces back beyond the Wheatfield.

Soon, Caldwell's men required assistance. Colonel Sweitzer reported:

A general officer I had never seen before rode up to me, and said his command was driving the enemy in the woods in front of the wheat-field, that he needed the support of a brigade, and desired to know if I would give him mine.

The officer was none other than Caldwell himself. Sweitzer referred the earnest request to his division commander, General James Barnes, who ordered the brigade to Caldwell's assistance. Barnes rode in front of the men, made "a few patriotic remarks," and soon Sweitzer's three regiments lurched forward into the Wheatfield.

At the very moment that the 32nd Massachusetts moved forward, General Caldwell's division had reached the apex of its successful counterattack. It had driven Confederate forces off the Stony Hill and out of Rose Woods. Yet the situation remained fluid, and in a matter of minutes many things would begin to go wrong. The retreating Confederate brigades would rally in the farmyards of George Rose and George Weikert, and federal positions at the Peach Orchard to the west began to collapse. Colonel Prescott and his men did not know of these developments of course, as they moved directly south across the Wheatfield to support Caldwell's men.

Another rough sketch, using modern satellite images, this one shows the confused
movements taking place as the 32nd Massachusetts reentered the fight.

The 32nd occupied the brigade's left flank in its second advance. As soon as the men got to the southern side of the Wheatfield they plunged down to take cover behind a stone fence that bordered Rose Woods. When they arrived, Anderson's Georgians reentered the woods to resume the attack. Off on the right, the brigades of Semmes and Kershaw joined in the renewed assault, while in the 32nd's right rear along the Wheatfield Road, a new Confederate brigade commanded by Brigadier General William T. Wofford arrived on the scene from the Peach Orchard. Caldwell's division, which had shifted the momentum in the Wheatfield only minutes earlier, began to give way. Suddenly, the 32nd found Anderson's Georgians bearing down upon their position at the stone fence. "The battle waxed hot and furious," Parker recalled, and Colonel Prescott went down with an apparent wound. Supported by two men, Prescott sought out Lieutenant Colonel Luther Stephenson to hand over command. Meanwhile his men clung to the stone fence and slugged it out at close range with the murky shadows in the smoke-filled woods.

On the brigade's right flank, the situation grew worse. As the other regiments of Sweitzer's brigade arrived at the southern edge of the Wheatfield, Colonel Sweitzer noticed several federal regiments retiring from the Stony Hill in his rear, and noticed an increase in the intensity of the firing in that direction. He continued in his official report:

I observed also that there was considerable firing diagonally toward our rear from these woods, which I then thought were shots from our own troops aimed over us at the enemy in the woods beyond and falling short. They were, however, much too frequent to be pleasant, and my color-bearer, Ed. Martin, remarked, 'Colonel, I'll be ---- if I don't think we are faced the wrong way; the rebs are up there in the woods behind us, on the right.'

Martin surmised correctly - and as Confederate forces drove off the federals positioned on the Stony Hill, they turned their attention to the inviting rear of Sweitzer's battle line. To counter the threat, Sweitzer attempted to turn first the 4th Michigan and then the 62nd Pennsylvania to face the opposite direction. This left the 32nd alone at the stone fence to face Anderson's surging men. Nearly encircled, Sweitzer's right flank began to give way, and Sweitzer's aide-de-camp road up to Lieutenant Colonel Stephenson to order the 32nd to fall back. As the regiment began to retreat once again, Sweitzer himself rushed from the woods on horseback and demanded to know why the regiment was giving way. Parker later attempted to recall the scene:

Indignantly replying that the Regiment was falling back under orders from his staff officer, the Lieutenant Colonel ordered the men to face about and stand their ground. It was a fatal mistake, and one which caused the loss of many brave men. For a few minutes we stood, our enemy on our front, right flank, and nearly in our rear, pouring in a terrible fire, which the men returned with almost desperation, until we were again ordered to fall back, which we did, fighting our way, inch by inch, rebels and Union men inextricably mingled, until we reached the shelter of the woods. Just at this moment, Coloenl Stephenson fell, shot through the face, and Colonel Prescott who appears not to have been wounded at all, soon after again took command.

The monument to the 32nd Massachusetts at Gettysburg, which depicts
a pup tent. Photo by Jen Goellnitz. Creative Commons Licensing.

The regiment limped off the field as the Confederates finally asserted full control over the Wheatfield. Of the 242 men that went into battle, 13 were dead, 62 wounded, and 5 missing in action, a total of 80 casuatlies, or roughly 33 percent of its total force.

In October of 1885, veterans of the 32nd returned to Gettysburg to dedicate a monument on the site of its original position on the Stony Hill. Whether William H. Shaw served with the regiment at Gettysburg or not, he did not attend this dedication. His Civil War had a sad ending.

Several months after Appomattox disaster struck the Shaw family. Death records for Plymouth, Massachusetts show that on July 20, 1865, William's wife Mary Shaw died of Typhoid Fever. Just 17 days later, on August 6, those same death records indicate that William passed away, suffering from Tuberculosis. The couple was buried in Plymouth, and evidently left behind their three children - Alice, William Jr., and Ruth.




 

The Curious Case of the 27th Connecticut - Part 3

The Star & Sentinel had kind words for the survivors of the 27th
Connecticut when they reported on the dedication activities on
October 27th, 1885.

At 5:45 p.m. on October 20th, 1885, a special train pulled into the Gettysburg Station on Carlisle Street, a block from the center of town. The train, containing a Pullman Palace coach, five passenger cars, and a baggage car, had left New Haven, Connecticut at 6:45 a.m. that same day. The Connecticut passengers, consisting of survivors of the 27th Connecticut, many ladies, and dignitaries such as Connecticut Governor Henry Baldwin Harrison, scattered to various accommodations in town. The Governor's party set out for the Eagle Hotel on Chambersburg Street (General Buford's headquarters during the battle, and today the site of a 7/11 oft used by college students), while many others set off for the McClellan House (today the Gettysburg Hotel) in the square.

Gettysburg's Star & Sentinel reported that "the party had hardly alighted from the train until our citizens heard the charming strains of the Wheeler and Wilson Band, and knew that a rich treat was in store for them whenever the band commenced to play."

Thus the survivors of the 27th Connecticut introduced themselves to citizens of Gettysburg. By the end of their visit, the Star & Sentinel would state unequivocally:

"During the last twenty years very many pleasant and enjoyable military and civic parties have visited our town for the purpose of seeing and studying the historical field of Gettysburg, but none have surpassed in intelligence, refinement and representative character the large and genial company which accompanied the excursion of the survivors of the 27th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers."

Stormy weather could not dampen the revelry that first night in Gettysburg. The Wheeler and Wilson Band set up shop in the sitting room at McClellan's, and entertained a large crowd. Meanwhile, many visitors "crowded the hotel sitting rooms, mingled among the citizens and talked 'battle' until the late hours of the evening."

The next day, Wednesday the 21st, the poor weather continued and the regimental association cancelled all formal programs. Nonetheless, many veterans and visitors braved the elements to tour the battlefield. That evening, the Wheeler and Wilson Band performed a concert at the Court House on Baltimore Street to a packed and enthusiastic audience.

On Thursday the weather finally broke, and "the autumnal sun shone resplendently and showed the vari-colored tints and shades of the rapidly changing foliage of the woods in all its beauty." That morning, after a splendid street parade, a special train took those attending the dedication ceremonies to southern end of the battlefield [During this period a branch of the Gettysburg & Harrisburg Railroad ran from the town to the vicinity of the Round Tops]. From the train the party marched via the Wheatfield Road to the site of the new monument.

Manufactured by the St. Johnsbury Company of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, the monument cost $950 and featured a 25 foot shaft surmounted by a bronze eagle resting on crossed cannon. The monument was purported by veterans to mark the exact spot where Lt. Col. Merwin fell leading the regiment. The exercises commenced from a stand erected for the occasion, with musical selection from the Wheeler and Wilson Band and a prayer from Reverend William D. Sheldon, a veteran who had written the unit's regimental history in 1866. The monument, draped in national colors, was then unveiled and presented to the regiment. James Brand, Color Sergeant of the 27th, delivered the oration, recounting the unit's history. Following Brand, Governor Harrison spoke, delivering custody of the monument to the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association. Just before the benediction - also by Sheldon - five survivors of the 2nd Connecticut (the three-month regiment in which both Merwin and Chapman had served) placed a wreath of evergreen and flowers on the monument. Following the ceremony, the party returned to town, and at 4 p.m. processed to the National Cemetery to lay flowers on the graves of the Connecticut Dead. More revelry followed on Thursday night, though official ceremonies had come to a close. On Friday morning, the Connecticut party departed at 8 a.m., bringing to an end the 27th Connecticut's formal association with Gettysburg.

Or so many thought. Having dedicated their monument in the Wheatfield and erected an advanced marker along Brooke's ledge, one would think that the regiment had adequately memorialized their experience at Gettysburg. This especially seems the case when also accounting for the Chapman and Merwin markers. Yet as the monumentation process at Gettysburg gained traction, more veteran organizations across the north sought to acquire funds from their state legislatures to erect monuments. These organizations had great success. After all, by the 1880s Civil War veterans had become an important voting block, and many veterans now served in these very legislatures.

27th Connecticut's 5th monument, placed along Brooke Avenue in Rose's Woods in 1889. Photo by Michael Noirot. Licensing Info

In the late 1880s the 27th, along with the 17th Connecticut and 2nd Connecticut Light Artillery, received appropriations from the state to construct yet another monument. This fifth monument for the regiment would be placed along Brooke avenue, and serve as an upgrade for the advanced marker placed in 1885 (though that remained). There the monument, which cost $1,000, would stand in brigade line along with its sister regiments, the 2nd Delaware, and the 53rd and 145th Pennsylvania. The final regiment of Brooke's brigade, the 64th New York, would add their monument to the line in 1890. The inscription on the 27th's new monument read:

Front: 27th Conn. Vol's - 4th Brigade - 1st Division - 2nd Corps
Advanced position of this regiment in the Brigade charge, July 2nd 1863
27th CONN. INFANTRY

Reverse: Erected by the Commonwealth of Connecticut
As a Memorial to the Valor of Her Loyal Sons

On October 27, 1889, the regimental survivors and guests returned to Gettysburg, along with the survivors of the 17th Connecticut, for a "Connecticut Day" to dedicate two monuments (for the 17th, it was their second monument on the field). The citizens of Gettysburg had not forgotten the 27th. In noting their arrival in town a full five days before the dedicatory exercises, the Star & Sentinel noted: "There are many familiar faces and many pleasant acquaintances have been renewed."

The veterans continued to perfect their Gettysburg legacy over the years. At some point I have been unable to determine, the survivors moved the Jedediah Chapman marker from its original location along the Wheatfield Road, placing it several hundred yards to the southwest along DeTrobriand Avenue, near the edge of Rose's Woods. Presumably the survivors believed this marked the site of his death more accurately than their first attempt, when the Wheatfield was under private ownership. Finally, in 1897 the original Merwin marker was re-cut. Instead of reading "Here Fell Lt. Col. Henry C. Merwin," The stone now reads:

IN MEMORY OF
LT. COL.
HENRY C. MERWIN
27TH C.V.
WHO FELL MORTALLY
WOUNDED WHERE
THE MONUMENT OF HIS
REGIMENT STANDS

Merwin Marker as it appears today.
Photo by Michael Noirot. Licensing Info

Chapman marker in its current location along DeTrobriand Avenue. Photo by lcm1863.
Licensing Info

So what, if anything, of value can the modern Gettysburg scholar learn from the 5 monuments dedicated to the 27th Connecticut? As with many cases of memory and commemoration on the battlefield, this is a difficult question to answer.

Certainly, the current layout of these five monuments provide us with excellent documentation of the 27th's fight at Gettysburg. Armed with an adequate knowledge of the battle, the modern visitor can trace the path of the 27th Connecticut on the afternoon of July 2nd, 1863 as it swept across the Wheatfield. He or she can then pause at the 1885 monument, noting that at this location fell the beloved Lt. Colonel Merwin, as he exclaimed "my poor regiment is suffering fearfully." Continuing on as the regiment did without their leader, the modern visitor can then stop short of the edge of Rose's Woods at the small marker where Captain Chapman fell, and imagine the volley of fire that must have erupted from the Confederates in the woods.

Photo looking west across the Wheatfield and toward Rose's Woods (left woodlot). The 1885 monument lies to the right and rear of this photograph. The 27th charged from right to left across this view towards woods in the center background. Inside Rose's Woods the regiment charged to the top of Brooke's Ledge, which is out of view but located directly above the two left-most monuments in view. Today the Jedediah Chapman Marker rests alongside the road running in the middle background of this view.
Photo by lcm1863. Licensing Info

The adventurous battlefield-goer could then set off through the woods, cross over the sluggish stream at the base of Brooke's Ledge, and ascend the steep ridge to the advance markers that indicate the end of the 27th's drive in their final battle of the Civil War. Certainly, this is a unique and well marked opportunity.

Yet, one must consider the history of the monuments to decide how accurately they reflect the reality of the battle. Who placed the original stones to mark the fall of both Chapman and Merwin, and when exactly? Did they intend to ever mark the exact spot of each man's fall? In 1885, who chose the location of the regiment's monument, what role did that individual or individuals have in the battle, and how accurately, 22 years after the battle, could a veteran pinpoint such an exact spot? And of Chapman's marker, when did it move to its current location? How did the construction of battlefield avenues and other modern features change this area by the time the marker was relocated. Finally, which of the two advanced monuments accurately depict the furthest point reached by the men who survived their charge. The original marker, placed in 1885, is located south of the 1889 monument, and some 25 to 30 yards further down the slope of the ledge.

In short, the monuments cannot on their own reveal the complete and accurate history of the battle. They can however serve as important clues to help historians unlock some of the conflict's puzzles. In the case of 27th Connecticut, they left five significant clues. Not a bad considering only 65 men survived to tell their tale of heroic struggle on July 2nd, 1863.

The Curious Case of the 27th Connecticut - Part 2

Stereo view of the marker placed in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Henry C. Merwin along the Wheatfield Road, c.1880. Note the presence of Big Round Top in background. The marker's inscription was later changed c.1897. Photo source: Library of Congress.

The five monuments and markers dedicated to the 27th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry in the Wheatfield and in Rose's Woods provide the modern Gettysburg visitor with the unique opportunity of tracing the clear path of one unit's participation in the battle, as laid out by veterans of that unit following the war. Yet to understand the limitations of such a monument trail, one must first grasp the history of the monuments - when they were placed, what the veterans intended to mark, and if and when these monuments were altered or moved. In this case, the monumentation process of the 27th Connecticut provides us with an interesting tale in itself.

The first markers placed by veterans of the 27th Connecticut were two small tablets that purported to mark the location where Lieutenant Colonel Merwin and Captain Chapman fell. Both markers were placed several yards apart along the Wheatfield Road, a crossroad that connected the Taneytown and Emmitsburg Roads and ran across the northern border of the Wheatfield. The stones had simple inscriptions:

HERE FELL - HENRY C. MERWIN - LT. COL. - 27th CONN. VOLS.

HERE FELL - JED. CHAPMAN - CAPT. CO. H - 27TH CONN. VOLS.

Henry C. Merwin was born in Brookfield, Connecticut on September 17, 1839. The outbreak of the Civil War found Merwin living in New Haven and operating a business with his father and brother. As a member of the New Haven Grays militia, Merwin immediately volunteered for 3-months of service with the 2nd Connecticut Regiment, serving as a sergeant. With the 2nd, Merwin first saw combat during the battle of Bull Run. In the summer of 1862, Merwin recruited what would become Company A of the 27th Connecticut, and was subsequently elected Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment. In this position Merwin served at both Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, becoming a prisoner of war held in Richmond following the latter battle. Upon being exchanged, Merwin swiftly returned to the regiment, assuming full command. Leading it into the Wheatfield, Merwin was shot down, mortally wounded. Eye witnesses recorded his last words as: "My poor regiment is suffering fearfully."

Jedediah Chapman was born in New Haven Connecticut on November 21, 1839. Along with Merwin, Chapman served as a member of the New Haven Grays, and served for three months with the 2nd Connecticut in 1861. In August of 1862, Chapman enlisted in the 27th Connecticut and won election to the post of First Lieutenant of Company H. According the Regimental History published in 1866, Chapman acquitted himself admirably during the battle of Fredericksburg, but missed the battle of Chancellorsville due to sickness. Only two full companies escaped the disaster at Chancellorsville, and when Chapman returned from sick leave he was placed in command of a third company cobbled together from the survivors of the other 8. In this position, Chapman had won a commission as Captain dating to May 13th. News of this commissioner however had not reached the new Captain by the time he died at Gettysburg.

I have not located a definitive date for the placement of these two markers. The Location of the Monuments, Markers and Tablets on Gettysburg Battlefield, compiled by Kathy Georg Harrison in 1993, dates them to the early 1880s. Some battlefield guides believe that the markers appeared shortly after the placement of a marble stone marking the location of Strong Vincent's wounding on Little Round Top in August of 1878 - the first marker placed outside of the cemetery. If this is in fact true, it would make the Chapman marker the oldest original marker still on the battlefield (outside of the cemetery) today. Vincent's marker was damaged and subsequently replaced in 1978, and the Merwin marker, as we shall see, was altered in the 1890s.

 Writing in 1886, Gettysburg resident J. Howard Wert noted the two stones in A Complete Hand-book of the Monuments and Indications and Guide to the Positions on the Gettysburg Battlefield:

These stones were placed here some years ago before the Battle-field Association owned the Wheat-field, and do not exactly mark the spot where these officers fell. As the Twenty-seventh Connecticut has since erected the magnificent monument near by... these stones have lost, to some extent, their historic value.

Veterans of the regiment clearly desired to memorialize their fallen officers, and acted on this desire well before the beginning of the monument craze in Gettysburg. At the same time, those that initially placed these two markers did not intend to mark the exact spot that Merwin and Chapman had fallen. While modern visitors expect these types of markers at Gettysburg to denote the exact spot of a particular incident, perhaps the original intent focused on simply marking the field in which the officers fell.

Beginning in 1879 with the placement of the 2nd Massachusetts monument near Spangler Meadow, the next decade saw a drastic increase in the monumentation of the Gettysburg battlefield, particularly in the placement of monuments to commemorate each federal regiment's location during the battle.

27th Connecticut Monument Dedicated in 1885. The worm fence in the background
marks the path of the Wheatfield Road, and the location of the original markers.
 The regiment charged from the road towards the camera and beyond on
July 2nd, 1863. Photo by Michael Noirot.

By the early 1880s the GBMA had significantly increased its battlefield possessions, and used the desire to build regimental monuments as a way of purchasing and preserving more land. The 27th Connecticut's Regimental Association, desiring to honor the regiment, raised $950 and constructed a monument in the middle of the Wheatfield, about 75 yards south of the two stone markers. The monument sat astride the path the regiment took in charging across the Wheatfield on July 2nd, 1863.

The inscription of the monument states:

27th Conn.
Erected 1885
The 27th Regt. Conn. Vols. Commanded by Lieut. Colonel Henry C. Merwin and forming a part of the 4th Brigade, 1st Division, 2nd Corps charged over this ground, the afternoon of July 2, 1863. The 4th Brigade forced the enemy from the Wheat Field and beyond the woods in front where the advanced position of the 27th Regt. is indicated by a tablet on the crest of the ledge. On this spot Lieut. Col. Merwin was killed while gallantly leading his command of 75 officers and men. 38 of whom were killed or wounded in the charge. Eight companies of the Regt. captured at Chancellorsville were still prisoners of war. Capt. Jedediah Chapman Jr. was also killed in the charge while commanding a company organized from detached members of the eight companies taken prisoners at Chancellorsville. The 27th Regt. Conn. Vols. was recruited and organized in New Haven County State of Connecticut. 
July 2, 1863

The monument was dedicated on October 22nd, 1885, along with an advanced marker placed upon the rocky ledge overlooking the fields of the Rose Farm. The advanced marker indicated the farthest point reached in the charge, whereas the monument, as its inscription describes, marked the spot purportedly where Lt. Col. Merwin fell.

Advanced marker, 27th Connecticut, located on Brooke's Ledge
Photo by Jen Goellnitz.

In my final post in this series - I will take a look at the incredible celebration that marked the dedication of the 27th's monument, the construction and dedication of yet another monument, and the changes to the original Chapman and Merwin markers.

One Monument per 15 Men - The Curious Case of the 27th Connecticut - Part 1

My next story may become quite lengthy, and so I will break it up into a series of at least two posts. Part one will tell the story of the 27th Connecticut in the battle of Gettysburg, while later posts will examine their five monuments.
-----------------------

Lieutenant Colonel Henry C. Merwin
commanded the 27th Connecticut at Gettysburg

No regiment at Gettysburg is better represented in stone today than that of the 27th Connecticut of Brooke's brigade, Caldwell's Division, 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac. The unit had a grand total of 75 men present at the battle, making it one of the smallest commands on either side. Yet today, there are no fewer than five monuments that stand to the 27th in and around the Wheatfield and Rose's Woods. Or to put it another way - one monument per every fifteen men. Technically, my math is wrong:  two of the monuments actually honor individuals of the regiment - Lieutenant Colonel Henry C. Merwin and Captain Jedediah Chapman. So I suppose the correct calculation is 3 monuments for the remaining 72 men, or one monument per 24 men. Still, not bad.

The 27th Connecticut formed in August of 1862, as a nine-month militia regiment. As the federal government struggled to raise the 300,000 men in three-year regiments called for earlier in the summer, a supplementary call for an additional 300,000 nine-month men went out, which marked the beginning of the draft. Principally recruited from the New Haven area, the regiment mustered into service for nine months in October, which means that at the battle of Gettysburg, the regiment was already into its last month of service. Technically categorized as a militia regiment, the unit had full authority to choose its own officers, and elected Richard S. Bostwick as Colonel and Henry C. Merwin as Lieutenant Colonel. It left Connecticut with 829 men.

In December, the regiment fought in the battle of Fredericksburg, and suffered a loss of 19 killed, 86 wounded, and 3 taken prisoner. 16 of the wounded would later die in hospital. The regiment suffered further misfortune in the spring at the battle of Chancellorsville. During the fighting on the morning of May 3rd, the regiment failed to receive word that the lines around the Chancellor House were being abandoned in favor of a new line to the rear. Soon the regiment found itself surrounded, and 280 men, the majority of 8 full companies, surrendered.

As a result of this humiliating disaster, only 75 men remained with the regiment - now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Merwin -  as it marched northward and toward the end of its service. The 27th and the rest of the brigade commanded by Colonel John R. Brooke marched up the Taneytown Road and onto the battlefield shortly after sunrise on July 2nd, forming into columns by regiment along Cemetery Ridge, near where the Pennsylvania Memorial stands today.

In late afternoon, with the battle raging on the left flank of the army, Caldwell's division received orders to move to the left to reinforce the advanced line taken up by the 3rd Corps. The 27th Connecticut hurried with the rest of the brigade to the Wheatfield. Held in reserve at first as Cross's Brigade and the Irish Brigade moved forward and engaged the Georgians and South Carolinians in their front, soon Brooke's men were called upon to enter the fray. Regimental historian Winthrop D. Sheldon recalled the moment, writing in 1866:

As the regiment enters the Wheatfield, the broken remains of the 3rd Corps are slowly retiring to the rear. A few steps more brings the men under the full sweep of the enemy's fire. Lieutenant-Colonel Merwin falls while leading the command with his accustomed bravery. Under Major Coburn the line still presses forward at double-quick, through the wheat-field and woods beyond, driving the rebels a quarter of a mile across a ravine, which on the further side rises into a precipitous ledge. The men with difficulty clambered up the rocky steep, but as they appeared upon the crest of the hill, the enemy, drawn up in readiness just beyond, within pistol-range, opened upon them a withering fire. The contest at this point continued on for some time. Planting the colors upon the top, the men loaded their pieces under shelter of the brow of the hill, then, rising up, delivered their fire.

After a engaging with the Georgians for several minutes however, Brooke's men began to see the hopelessness of remaining on the ledge that they had worked so hard to gain. "Being notified at this time that a heavy column of the enemy was coming upon my left, I immediately took measures to meet them," Brooke stated in his official report.

I held them at bay for some time, when word was brought to me that my right was being turned, and finding no troops coming to my support, and finding that unless I retired all would be killed or captured, I reluctantly gave the order to retire, and in good order the whole command came off the field slowly, and, firing as they retired, succeeding in bringing off nearly all their wounded.

In their few minutes on the Rose Farm, the little 27th and the rest of Brooke's brigade engaged in one of the bloodiest fire-fights of the battle. On July 5th or 6th, some of the most famous images of the war were recorded in the fields of the Rose Farm, showing the dead of the Confederates units who faced Brooke's men.

Confederates dead gathered for burial at the southwestern edge of the Rose woods.
Photographer: Timothy O'Sullivan. Source: Library of Congress

One Gettysburg resident, J. Howard Wert, recalled the sight of this particular area of the battlefield:

I was on the Rose Farm...immediately after hostilities ceased.... It was about the most gruesome thing of the many gruesome spectacles of the Gettysburg Field.... No farm on the entire widely extended battlefield probably drank as much blood as did the Rose farm.

In this fight the 27th lost 10 men killed, 23 wounded, and 4 missing. Essentially, 50% of the command. Among the dead were Lieutenant Colonel Merwin, who fell leading his men across the Wheatfield, and Captain Jedediah Chapman.

Later that month, the small band of the 27th Connecticut remaining mustered out of federal service and returned home. To many of those men, their fight on July 2nd at Gettysburg stood as a testament to their service to the country for 9 months in 1862 and 1863. In the years to come, many of the survivors would return to Gettysburg more than once to ensure that their deeds on this field would be remembered.