Union monuments at Gettysburg > Pennsylvania > Infantry
There are two monuments to the 121st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment on the Gettysburg battlefield. The first monument was erected by the survivors of the regiment in 1886 on Seminary Ridge. When state funding became available in 1888 this monument was relocated to Cemetery Ridge. (Hancock Avenue Part 3 tour map) A new and larger monument was then erected by the State of Pennsylvania on Seminary Ridge. (South Reynolds Avenue tour map)
Monument to the 121st Pennsylvania on Hancock Avenue
The 121st Pennsylvania was commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Major Alexander Biddle while his cousin, Colonel Chapman Biddle, held temporary brigade command. Colonel Biddle resumed command of the regiment during the battle despite being slightly wounded on July 1.
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See Major Biddle’s Official Reports on the 121st Pennsylvania in the Gettysburg Campaign
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Attached to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac |  |
From the font of the monument on Cemetery Ridge:
Col. Chapman Biddle
Brigade Commander
July 1st 1863
P.V. 121 Reg’t
Maj. Alexander Biddle
Commanding Regiment
1st Brigade 3rd Division First Corps
From the left side of the monument:
Extreme left
of Union line 1st Day
facing west.
Occupied Cemetery Ridge
July 2nd and 3rd.
Erected by the survivors of this
regiment in memory of their
fallen comrades.
From the right side of the monument:
Whole number engaged
7 officers 258 enlisted men
Casualties
Killed
12 enlisted men
Wounded
5 officers 101 enlisted men
Captured and missing
1 officer 60 enlisted men
Total 179.
From the rear of the monument:
Called into service by President Lincoln
September 1st 1862; Participated in all
the engagements of the Army of the
Potomac, commencing with the Battle
of Fredericksburg. Mustered out June
2nd 1865.
Location of the monument to the 121st Pennsylvania on Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg
The Cemetery Ridge monument to the 121st Pennsylvania is south of Gettysburg on the east side of Hancock Avenue 0.3 mile north of Fairfield Road and 45 yards southeast of the United States Regulars monument. Hancock Avenue is one way northbound. (39°48’39.2″N 77°14’07.6″W)
Monument on Seminary Ridge
From the front of the monument on Seminary Ridge:
121st Penna. Infantry
July 1st 1863
Occupied this position the extreme left of
the Union line. July 2nd & 3rd on Cemetery Ridge.
Present at Gettysburg 11 officers 286 men.
Killed and died of wounds 20 men
Wounded 5 officers 33 men
Captured and missing 1 officer 60 men
1st Brig. 3rd Div. 1s Corps
From the left side of the monument:
From
Fredericksburg
to
Appomattox
From the right side of the monument:
Recruited in Philadelphia
and Venango Counties.
Mustered in Sept. 1st 1861.
Mustered out June 2d 1865
See more on the history of the 121st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War
Location of the Seminary Ridge monument to the 121st Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg
The Seminary Ridge monument to the 121st Pennsylvania is west of Gettysburg on the east side of Reynolds Avenue 0.25 mile north of Fairfield Road and 0.2 mile south of Meredith Avenue. Reynolds Avenue is one way northbound from Fairfield Road. (39°49’49.6″N 77°15’05.9″W)