Patrick O ' Rorke Patrick Henry " Paddy " O ' Rorke or O ' Rourke ( March 25 , 1837 – July 2 , 1863 ) was an Irish - American immigrant who became a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg . Early life . O ' Rorke was born in County Cavan , Ireland on March 25 , 1837 . He was a year old when his parents emigrated to the United States . In 1842 , his family moved to Rochester , New York , where he attended the public schools . In 1853 , at age 16 , he was awarded a scholarship to the University of Rochester , however before attending college , his father died , and O ' Rorke took a job to support his family as a marble cutter at the request of his mother . In 1857 , he was appointed a cadet in the U . S . Military Academy at West Point , graduating first in his class in June 1861 . He was then commissioned to the Corps of Engineers as second lieutenant . Civil War . In July 1861 , O ' Rorke served at the Battle of Blackburn ' s Ford and the First Battle of Bull Run , where his horse was killed from under him , and then as assistant engineer in preparing the defenses of Washington , D . C . He sailed with the Port Royal Expedition in October 1861 and provided vital reconnaissance and engineering in constructing the batteries on Jones , Bird , and Tybee Island s for the bombardment and siege of Fort Pulaski , on Cockspur Island near Savannah , Georgia . Following the capture of the fort on April 11 , 1862 , O ' Rorke was selected as one of the officers to receive the surrender . Following the battle , O ' Rorke returned to Rochester where he was married on July 9 to Clara Bishop . In September 1862 , O ' Rorke was appointed colonel of the 140th New York Infantry which was composed mostly of volunteers from his hometown of Rochester and heavily of fellow Irish - Americans . He led the 140th New York in the Battle of Fredericksburg in December . At Chancellorsville in May 1863 , he temporarily commanded the 3rd Brigade , 2nd Division , V Corps which included the 140th New York , as well as the 5th New York and the 146th New York . At Gettysburg , O ' Rorke was back in command of his regiment while Brig . Gen . Stephen H . Weed commanded the 3rd Brigade . The 140th New York arrived in time for the second day of fighting ( July 2 , 1863 ) . Brig . Gen . Gouverneur K . Warren was desperately searching for units to defend Little Round Top , and he encountered O ' Rorke ' s New Yorkers , the rearmost regiment in Weed ' s brigade , on their way to reinforce the III Corps . O ' Rorke initially declined Warren ' s request for assistance because he was under orders to follow his brigade . Warren told him , " Never mind that , Paddy . Bring them up on the double - quick and don ' t stop for aligning . I ' ll take the responsibility . " O ' Rorke rushed his men to the crest of the hill and plunged down its western face without pause , driving the attacking Confederates back down the slope . During the counterattack , O ' Rorke caught up his regimental colors and , mounting a rock to urge on his men , was struck in the neck and fell dead . The Comte de Paris in his " Histoire de la guerre civile en Amérique " ( VI , iv , 379 ) says this was one of the most striking and dramatic episodes of the battle . Burials and funeral . O ' Rorke was initially buried by members of the 140 New York near Gettysburg alongside General Weed . However , on about what would have been their first anniversary , O ' Rorke ' s widow Clara traveled to retrieve the body and it was returned by train to Rochester . A funeral for Colonel O ' Rorke was held on July 15 in Rochester drawing hundreds of attendees , both Catholic and Protestant and across a range of ethnic groups . The event is credited with bringing unity to the community . He was initially laid to rest in a Catholic cemetery on Pinnacle Hill , but was ultimately interred in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery ( Rochester , New York ) . O ' Rorke ' s widow became a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart and one of the most successful educators in their New York convents . In memoriam . After the war , Rochester area veterans founded O ' Rorke Post 1 of the Grand Army of the Republic veterans society , the second post formed for the society . In 1889 , New York erected a monument to the 140th Infantry on Little Round Top . The front of the monument bears a relief image of O ' Rorke . In 2004 , a bascule bridge in Charlotte ( Rochester ) , New York , known as the O ' Rorke Bridge , was dedicated to the memory of Colonel O ' Rorke .