Philadelphia Brigade The Philadelphia Brigade ( also known as the California Brigade ) was a Union Army brigade that served in the American Civil War . It was raised primarily in the city of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , with the exception of the 106th regiment which contained men from Lycoming and Bradford counties . The brigade fought with the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater for the entirety of its existence and fought in several major battles , including the battles of Antietam , Fredericksburg , Gettysburg , and the Overland Campaign . One of its most famous actions was during Pickett ' s Charge on July 3 at the Battle of Gettysburg , where it defended the Angle on Cemetery Ridge . Half of the brigade was mustered out in June 1864 and the remainder was transferred to another brigade . History . The regiment s in the Philadelphia Brigade were originally designated as California regiments . Some residents on the West Coast wanted California to have a military presence in the Eastern army and asked Oregon Senator Edward D . Baker to form a regiment to be credited to that state . Baker was able to recruit a regiment from Philadelphia , designated the 1st California . By October , he increased his command to a brigade , adding the 2nd , 3rd , and 5th California regiments , all of which were from Philadelphia . After his death at the Battle of Ball ' s Bluff , Pennsylvania claimed the regiments as its own and renamed them as the following : Now commanded by Brig . Gen . William W . Burns , it was then assigned to the Army of the Potomac ' s II Corps as the 2nd Brigade , 2nd Division . It fought in the Peninsula Campaign , during which the 69th was credited by Maj . Gen . Joseph Hooker with making " the first successful bayonet charge of the war " at the Battle of Glendale . It also fought during the Seven Days battles , including Allen ' s Farm and Savage Station ; at Malvern Hill it was posted on the Union right with the rest of the II Corps and consequently wasn ' t engaged during the battle . At the Battle of Antietam , the brigade , now commanded by Brig . Gen . Oliver O . Howard , was part of Maj . Gen . John Sedgwick ' s attack near the West Woods . The division ran into stiff resistance and was then attacked in the flank . Most of the division was routed , including the Philadelphia Brigade ; some companies had no time to return fire before being caught up in the rout . The brigade lost 545 men in as little as ten minutes . When Sedwick was wounded during the battle , Howard took command of his division and Colonel Joshua T . Owen of the 69th regiment took command of the brigade . In the Battle of Fredericksburg the following December , the brigade participated in the assault on Marye ' s Heights . The 71st regiment was assigned provost duty in the city , so Howard transferred the 127th Pennsylvania to the brigade to replace it . The Philadelphia Brigade made it part way up the slope of the ridge but the rest of division failed to advance at the same time ; both this and Confederate fire halted its advance . During the battle , the brigade lost 258 men , with the 127th Pennsylvania suffering 146 casualties . During the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863 , Brig . Gen . John Gibbon ' s division ( of which the brigade was a part ) initially remained in their winter camps to act " as a decoy while the rest of the army marched . " On May 3 , the division supported Major General John Sedwick ' s attack on the Confederate rearguard at Fredericksburg and remained in the city afterwards to guard the city and the bridges across the river . Just before the Battle of Gettysburg , Brig . Gen . Joshua T . Owen was relieved of command and replaced by Brig . Gen . Alexander S . Webb , in the hopes of improving the discipline of the brigade . During the battle , it defended Cemetery Ridge near the famous Angle on July 2 and July 3 , 1863 . On the evening of July 2 , it helped drive Brig . Gen . Ambrose R . Wright ' s brigade back after it captured a portion of the ridge and recaptured a cannon . The 106th advanced as far as the Codori Barn near the Emmitsburg Road and the 72nd advanced just over the stone wall , before both regiments withdrew to their previous positions . On July 3 , eight companies of the 106th were sent to Cemetery Hill ( the other two were deployed along the Emmitsburg Road as pickets ) ; the 71st was briefly sent to Culp ' s Hill but was later moved back to the Angle . Half of the regiment was posted at the portion of the wall closest to the Confederates while the other half was 50 yards to its right - rear . The 69th manned the wall to the left of the 71st . The 72nd was posted in reserve behind the copse of trees . Two companies of the 106th returned to the Angle and placed in reserve with the 72nd ( the remainder of the regiment stayed on Cemetery Hill ) . During Pickett ' s Charge , the left wing of the 71st retreated from the stone wall , allowing the Confederates to pour over . The 69th refused its right to protect its flank ; however , the 59th New York , on its left also retreated and due largely to the overwhelming Confederate numbers , the 69th was unable to hold its position and was slowly pushed back . Company F was accidentally left isolated and was engulfed by the attacking Confederates . The 72nd and the two remaining companies of the 106th behind the copse refused to counterattack . Webb was able to rally the 71st and move it in line with these two units ; when he attempted to get these units to advance to retake the wall but the regiments refused to move . The delay might have been caused by the color bearers of the 71st being shot down ( regiments in the Civil War usually followed the movement of the unit ' s flag , since orders were hard to hear on the battlefield ) . After other Union regiments joined in the counterattack on Pickett ' s Division , Webb was able to get his brigade to charge as well ; although he was wounded in the groin , Webb refused to leave the field . The brigade was able to capture four battle flags ( of the 3rd , 9th , 53rd , and 56th Virginia Infantry ) . After Gettysburg , the brigade continued to serve in the Army of the Potomac , from the Overland Campaign to the surrender at Appomattox Court House , often losing heavily . Owen was restored to command of the Philadelphia Brigade ( Webb was transferred to command of a different brigade ) and the 152nd New York Infantry was added to the brigade . Owen ' s superiors continued to complain about his performance as a commander ; at Spotsylvania Court House , his brigade was ordered to make a reconnaissance in force against the Confederate lines but Owen was absent for unexplained reasons , forcing another brigade commander to take over . The brigade last fought as a unit at the Battle of Cold Harbor , where Owen both failed to have his brigade ready for the June 3rd assault on time and also failed to participate in the attack as his division commander intended . As a result for this incident and for the attack at Spotsylvania , Owen was relieved of command and mustered out of service . On July 22 , 1864 , the brigade was broken up . The majority of the 71st and 106th and the entire 72nd were discharged . The remaining men of the 71st were merged into the 69th and the 106th reformed as a four - company battalion . During the war , the brigade lost 3 , 533 men out of a total 5 , 320 men who served in the unit , a casualty rate of 64 % .