Sculpted by Gary Casteel

1863 Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Monument Replicas
 
The Irish Brigade was one of the legendary units of the Civil War.  Three of its regiments were from New York.  The other two were the 28th Massachusetts and the 116th Pennsylvania.  Hard fighting in earlier battles had greatly reduced the brigade’s numbers – at Gettysburg it was down to only 530 out of its original 2,500.  With its numbers horribly thinned at Antietam and Fredericksburg, the three New York regiments could barely muster two weak companies each.  But the Irish Brigade was still a force to be reckoned with when they were thrown in to support Sickles’ collapsing line on the afternoon of July 2, 1863.
 
One of the memorable moments of the battle came as the men of the Irish Brigade knelt while the Brigade Chaplain, Father William Corby, stood atop a boulder and pronounced general absolution to the men.  They then attacked into the Wheatfield, charging across into the Rose Woods and the Stony Hill.  The Confederate advance was temporarily halted just as it threatened to overwhelm the entire Union position, although the brigade was flanked by Confederate Reinforcements advancing from the Peach Orchard and forced to withdraw back across the bloody Wheatfield.
 
The monument is a Celtic cross supported by a granite base, standing 19’ 6” tall.  It was sculpted by William R. O’Donovan, a former Confederate soldier who fought at Gettysburg.  The front of the cross is an ornate bronze ornamented by a 2nd Corps trefoil, the numbers of the three New York regiments, the Seal of the State of New York, and a harp flanked by eagles.  At the foot of the cross lies a life sized Irish wolfhound, a symbol of honor and fidelity.
 
The monument is located on Sickles Avenue, just inside the Rose Woods, and was dedicated on July 2, 1888.