Philadelphia Brigade

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The Philadelphia Brigade (also known as the California Brigade) was a Union Army brigade that served in the American Civil War. It was raised in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It has the distinction of being the only brigade composed of troops entirely from a single city.

[edit] History

The regiments in the Philadelphia Brigade were originally designated as California regiments. Some residents on the West Coast wanted California to have a military presence in the Eastern army and asked Oregon Senator Edward D. Baker to form a regiment to be credited to that state. Baker was able to recruit a regiment from Philadelphia, designated the 1st California. By October, he increased his command to a brigade, adding the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th California, all from Philadelphia. After his death at the Battle of Ball's Bluff, Pennsylvania claimed the regiments as its own and renamed them as the 69th, 71st, 72nd, and 106th Pennsylvania.

Now commanded by Brig. Gen. William W. Burns, it was then assigned to the Army of the Potomac's II Corps as the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division. It fought in the Peninsula Campaign, during which the 69th was credited by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker with making "the first successful bayonet charge of the war."

At the Battle of Antietam, the Brigade was part of Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick's attack near the West Woods. The division ran into stiff resistance and was then attacked in the flank. Most of the division was routed, including the Philadelphia Brigade. Some companies had no time to fire before being caught up in the rout. The Brigade lost 545 men in as little as ten minutes.

Just before the Battle of Gettysburg, Brig. Gen. Joshua T. Owen was relived of command and replaced by Alexander S. Webb, in the hopes of improving the discipline of the brigade. During the battle, it defended Cemetery Ridge near the famous Angle on July 2 and July 3, 1863. On the evening of July 2, it helped drive Brig. Gen. Ambrose R. Wright's brigade back after it captured a portion of the ridge and recaptured a cannon. The 106th advanced as far as the Codori Barn near the Emmitsburg Road and the 72nd advanced just over the stone wall, before both regiments withdrew to their previous positions.

On July 3, eight companies of the 106th were sent to Cemetery Hill (the other two were deployed along the Emmitsburg Road as pickets). The 71st was briefly sent to Culp's Hill and was later moved back to the Angle. Half of the regiment was posted at the portion of the wall closest to the Confederates while the other half was 50 yards to its right-rear. The 69th manned the wall to the left of the 71st. The 72nd was posted in reserve behind the copse of trees.

During Pickett's Charge, the left wing of the 71st retreated from the stone wall, allowing the Confederates to pour over. The 69th refused its right to protect its flank. Due largely to the overwhelming Confederate numbers, the 69th was unable to hold its position and was slowly pushed back.

The 72nd and the two remaining companies of the 106th behind the copse refused to counterattack. Webb was able to rally the 71st and move it in line with these two units. He attempted to get these units to advance to retake the wall but the regiments refused to move. The delay might have been caused by the color bearers of the 71st being shot down (regiments in the Civil War usually followed the movement of the unit's flag, since orders were hard to hear on the battlefield).

After Gettysburg, the Brigade continued to serve in the Army of the Potomac, from the Overland Campaign to the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, often losing heavily. On June 22, 1864, the brigade was broken up. The majority of the 71st and 106th and the entire 72nd were discharged. The remaining men of the 71st were merged into the 69th and the 106th reformed as a four-company battalion.

During the war, the brigade lost 3,409 men out of a total 5,320 men who served in the unit, a casualty rate of 64%.