Union Monuments - Connecticut

27th Connecticut Infantry Regiment

There are two monuments erected by the State of Connecticut to the 27th Connecticut Infantry Regiment on the battlefield of Gettysburg.

A monument on Ayers Avenue in The Wheatfield (top right) was dedicated in 1885. Location: 39.797069 N, 77.241558 W; see map

A monument on Brooke Avenue near the Rose farm (bottom right) was dedicated in 1889. Location: 39.79535 N, 77.247073 W: see map.

Additional markers show where Lt. Colonel Merwin and Capt. Jed Chapman fell, and the advanced position of the regiment. After Lt. Col. Mervin was killed, Major James H. Coburn took command of the regiment until it mustered out at the end of its service on July 27.

The 27th Connecticut lost 10 killed, 23 wounded and 4 missing at Gettysburg out of 75 men - a casualty rate of almost 50%. Most of the regiment had been captured at Chancellorsville in May, and it consisted of only three companies at the Battle of Gettysburg

From the monument in The Wheatfield:

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 Chancellorsvile 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

From the front of the Brooke Avenue monument:

27th Conn. Infantry

From the back:

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

See more about the 27th Connecticut Infantry Regiment during the Civil War