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Monuments at Gettysburg – 82nd Pennsylvania Infantry
Posted By Norman Gasbarro on December 24, 2014
The 82nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument at Gettysburg is located southeast of the town of Gettysburg along Slocum Avenue. It was dedicated in 1888, one year prior to the ceremonies for the 25th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. The above drawing of the monument appeared in an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer on 11 September 1889. See Steven Recker’s Virtual Gettysburg Web Site which has more information about the monument and the 82nd Pennsylvania Infantry.
A full description of the monument, its GPS coordinates, a photograph, and some of the history of the 82nd Pennsylvania Infantry also can be found on the Stone Sentinels Web Site.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer article of 11 September 1889 gave some basic information about the regiment:
The 82nd Dedicated Last Year.
The 82nd Regiment was composed of nine companies from Philadelphia and one from Pittsburgh. Colonels David H. Williams, Isaac C. Bassett; Lieutenant Colonels Frank Vallee, John M. Wetherill, James R. Neiler; Major William Clark; Adjutants Matthew C. Grie, Owen Tompkins, B. Theo Northrup. On 12 September the President Lieutenant Colonel John M. Wetherill, will read an account of the ceremonies by which their regimental monument on Culp’s Hill was dedicated last year.
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Isaac C. Bassett
The commander of the 82nd Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg was Colonel Isaac C. Bassett, a 34 year old resident of Philadelphia. Bassett first saw service as a Captain in company H of the 17th Pennsylvania Infantry, serving from 25 April 1861 through 2 August 1861. He then joined Company K of the 82nd Pennsylvania Infantry as Captain on 24 August 1861. On 7 February 1863, he was promoted to Major and transferred to Headquarters. On 3 May 1863, just two months prior to the Battle of Gettysburg, he was promoted to Colonel of the regiment.
After the Battle of Gettysburg, he saw action in the Richmond campaign and was breveted Brigadier General on 12 December 1864 for “gallantry and meritorious services” in that campaign. Bassett died on 2 October 1869 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and was eventually re-interred in Lawnview Cemetery in that county.
Two conflicts in his records need to be resolved. First, Bates indicates that he was “absent in arrest” at the time his regiment was mustered out, but no other records seem to confirm this. Second, the Pension Index Card from Fold3 indicates that he died in 1897, rather than the date of 1869 given in the cemetery records.
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Around the base of the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg are a series of plaques which, by regiment and company, note the names of every soldier who was present at the Battle of Gettysburg. The plaque for the 82nd Pennsylvania Infantry is pictured below. By clicking on the plaque it should enlarge so the names can be more clearly read. If a name does not appear, it could be that the soldier did serve in the 82nd Pennsylvania Infantry, but was not part of the regiment during its days in Gettysburg. There could also be errors on the plaque.
Second, the Pension Index Card from Fold3 indicates that he died in 1897, rather than the date of 1869 given in the cemetery records.
Isaac Bassett died in October 1869 according to documents I possess.