Union monuments - Pennsylvania Infantry

155th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

The monument to the 155th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment is south of Gettysburg near the summit of Little Round Top.

Location: 39.792964 N, 77.236508 W; see map

The regiment was commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Lt. Colonel John H. Cain. It brought 424 men to the field, losing six killed and 13 wounded.

The monument was originally dedicated on September 17, 1886, with funding provided by members of the regiment and their friends. Its original design did not include a statue.

In 1889 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided $1500 for each state regiment to provide monuments at Gettysburg. While many other regiments that already had monuments elected to use their funds to erect a second monument, the survivors of the 155th Pennsylvania decided to use the funds to add a statue to the top of the existing monument.

It was to be in the Zouave uniform, even though the regiment did not wear the uniform at Gettysburg. The 155th earned the right to wear the uniform in the months after the battle for its proficiency in drill, and it was such a source of pride that the survivors felt it to be an important part of the identity of the regiment. Gettysburg veteran Samuel W. Hill of Company F posed for the statue, which was dedicated on September 17, 1889.

The Zouave statue faces toward the enemy at the foot of Little Round Top and away from the front of the statue.

A third dedication was held on September 17, 2005, by Descendants, Reenactors & Friends of the 155th, who provided $7,000 worth of repairs and restoration of the monument. Since that time the monument has again been vandalized, with the tip of the statue's musket broken off.

From the front of the monument:

155th Pa. Vols.

Position occupied
July 2nd, 3rd & 4th 1863.

Organized at Pittsburg
Sept. 2d 1862
Mustered Out of Service
June 6th 1865.

From the left (south) side:

3rd Brigade

Antietam, Fredericksburg,
Channcellorsville,
Gettysburg,
Rappahannock Station,
Mine Run, Wilderness,
Laurel Hill,
Spottsylvania,
North Anna River,
Tolopotomy.

From the right (north) side:

5th Corps

Bethesda Church,
Cold Harbor, Petersburg,
Weldon R.R., Peebles Farm,
Hatchers Run,
Boydton Plank Road,
Quaker Road,
White Oak Road,
Five Forks, Sailors Creek,
Appomattox

From the rear:

2nd Division

Engaged in 33 Battles.
Killed in Action-134.
Wounded-350.
Died of Disease
and Wounds-167.

This Pedestal
Errected by Surviors
1886

See more about the 155th Pensylvania Infantry Regiment during the Civil War

(below) See larger view of the monument to the 155th Pennsylvania Infantry and its setting on Little Round Top