Union Headquarters monuments > 3rd Corps > 1st Division
The monument to the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division of the 3rd Corps is south of Gettysburg on Sickles Avenue in the Wheatfield. (DeTrobriand Avenue – The Wheatfield tour map)
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About Colonel de Trobriand
Colonel Philippe Régis Denis de Keredern de Trobriand commanded the brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg. De Trobriand was a French aristocrat, the son of one of Napoleon’s generals, and an expert swordsman. He moved to New York City on a dare at the age of 25 and married an American heiress. De Trobriand was a writer, publisher, and all around bon vivant in New York society. When the war broke out he became a naturalized citizen. De Trobriand recruited and was colonel of the 55th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, a predominantly french-speaking unit known as the Garde de Lafayette. The 55th was reduced to a battalion of four companies by the end of 1862 and merged with the 38th New York, with de Trobriand in command. De Trobriand was given command of the brigade after Chancellorsville.
De Trobriand’s excellent performance at Gettysburg led to his promotion to brigadier general in 1864. He commanded a division at Appomattox. After the war de Trobriand had already returned to France to publish his memoirs when he was astonished at being given command of a regiment of regulars with the rank of colonel in the postwar army. He commanded troops on the Plains and in Reconstruction Louisiana. De Trobriand retired from the army in 1879 and lived in the French Quarter of New Orleans with his wife Mary until his death in 1897.
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See Colonel de Trobriand’s Official Report on the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Corps at Gettysburg
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Monument to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Corps at Gettysburg
From the monument
Army of the Potomac
Third Corps First Division
Third Brigade
Col. P Regis De Trobriand
17th Maine 3d 5th Michigan 40th New York
110th (6 Cos.) Pennsylvania Infantry
July 2. Arrived at 10 A. M. On the advance of the Division between 2 and 3 P. M. the Brigade took position in column between First and Second Brigades for support to either. The Third Michigan was sent to support First Brigade. The 17th Maine moved across the Wheatfield to the stone wall on the south. The 40th New York was sent to the gorge between the Devil’s Den and Little Round Top. The 5th Michigan and 110th Penna. held the summit commanding a ravine in front and east of the Rose buildings until relieved by two Brigades of Fifth Corps when they retired through the Wheatfield where being joined by 17th Maine they held back a superior Confederate force until the arrival of First Division Second Corps when ammunition being exhausted this portion of the Brigade retired and at night was joined by the other regiments.
July 3. In reserve.
Casualties Killed 4 Officers 71 Men Wounded 28 Officers 366 men Captured or Missing 21 Men Total 490
Union Colonel Phillippe Regis De Trobriand
Location of the monument
The monument is south of Gettysburg in the Wheatfield. It is on the south side of Sickles Avenue just west of the intersection with deTrobriand Avenue. (39°47’47.5″N 77°14’38.8″W)