Union monuments at Gettysburg > Pennsylvania > Infantry 


There are two monuments to the 140th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Gettysburg. Both are south of town on Sickles Avenue. The smaller original monument was erected in 1885 by veterans and friends of the regiment. When the State of Pennsylvania made funding available for monuments in 1889 the regimental association elected to use these funds to create a second and larger monument which was placed just 60 yards to the west. (Sickles Ave. at the Rose Woods tour map)

Monument to the 140th Pennsylvania infantry at Gettysburg

Main monument to the 140th Pennsylvania infantry at Gettysburg

About the 140th Pennsylvania at Gettysburg

The 140th Pennsylvania was commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Colonel Richard P. Roberts, an attorney from Beaver, Pa. He was killed on July 2nd and Lieutenant Colonel John Fraser took command. It brought 589 men to the field and lost 235 casualties.

The Medal of honor as it looked at the time of the Civil War Lieutenant James L. Purman and Sergeant James Pipes of Company A were awarded the Medal of Honor. While retiring before the rapid advance of the enemy on July 2nd both were severely wounded when they stopped and carried to a place of safety a wounded and helpless comrade.
Official Records thumbnail
See Lieutenant Colonel Fraser’s Official Report of the 140th Pennsylvania in the Battle of Gettysburg
2nd Corps Headquarters Flag Attached to the 3rd Brigade1st Division2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac 2C-1D

Main monument to the 140th Pennsylvania

The main monument to the 140th Pennsylvania is granite and stands a little over sixteen and one half feet high. The monument is capped by a carved drum draped with a flag. The inscribed panel on the front is flanked by carved rifles, a canteen and cartridge box, with a carved knapsack just above the base. A brass tablet of the Coat of Arms of the State of Pennsylvania is inset into the front of the monument, and the trefoil symbol of the Second Corps is just below the top of the monument on all four sides. The monument was dedicated on September 11, 1889.

From the front of the main monument:

140th Penna.
Infantry.
3d Brig. 1st Div. 2nd Corps

The regiment engaged
the enemy on this
position late in the
afternoon of July 2nd,
succeeding 5th Corps
troops and holding the
right of the 1st Division,
2nd Corps. Supported
battery on left centre
July 3rd.

Present at Gettysburg 589 officers and men.
Killed and died of wounds, 3 officers 50 men.
Wounded 8 officers 120 men.
Captured or missing 3 officers 57 men.
Total 241.

From the left side of the monument:

Recruited
in Washington, Beaver, Greene
and Mercer Counties.
Mustered in August – September 1862.
Mustered out May 31, 1865.

From the right side of the monument:

Total enrollment 1146.
Killed and died of wounds 10 officers 176 men
Died of disease etc. 1 officers 131  men
Wounded 18 officers 354 men
Captured or missing 5 officers 122 men
Total 817.

From the rear of the monument:

Chancellorsville   Petersburg
Gettysburg   Strawberry Plain
Bristoe Station    Deep Bottom
Mine Run   Reams Station
Wilderness   Hatchers Run
Spotsylvania
   Boydton Road
North Anna   Sutherland Station
Totopotomoy   Sailor’s Creek,
Cold Harbor   Farmville
Appomattox

Location of the main monument to the 140th Pennsylvania at Gettysburg

The main monument to the 140th Pennsylvania Infantry is south of Gettysburg 20 yards northwest of Sickles Avenue at the top of the Loop in the Rose Woods. (39°47’51.5″N 77°14’46.4″W)

Secondary monument to the 140th Pennsylvania

Monument to the 140th Pennsylvania infantry at Gettysburg

From the smaller secondary monument:

140th Regt. Penna. Vols.
Col. R. P. Roberts commanding.
Zook’s Brig., Caldwell’s Div., Hancock’s Corps.
July 2nd 1863.
(succeeded 5. Corps troops)
Carried into action
29 officers and 560 enlisted men
Lost in action 14 officers and 34 enlisted men
As follows:
Killed, 3 officers and 34 enlsted men.
Died of wounds 1 officer and 16  ”   “.
Wounded, 7 officers and 120  ”   “.
Capt’d and missing, 3 oficers and 57  ”   “.
In memory of our comrades, 1885.

140 P.V.

Right of First Div. 2. Corps

Location of the secondary monument to the 140th Pennsylvania at Gettysburg

The secondary monument to the 140th Pennsylvania is just a short distance away from the main monument, on the east side of Sickles Avenue just past the Loop in the Rose Woods. (39°47’51.2″N 77°14’44.1″W)

See more about the history of the 140th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War