| MORE HISTORIANS WRITE ABOUT THE 69TH PA |
| GETTYSBURG, JOHN SEARS 2003 Page 448 " The only infantry now in line at the copse was a single regiment, the 258 men of the 69th Pennsylvania, Webb's Philadelphia Brigade .... The 69th was solidly Irish, so much that next to the National Colors was displayed the emerald flag of Ireland rather than the usual regimental flag.Colonel Dennis O'Kane had sternly reminded his men that they were defending the soil of their native state and should any man flinch in his duty , he expected " that the man next to him would kill him on the spot". It was also Colonel O'Kane who urged his men not to fire until they could see the whites of their eyes." Page 450 - " Armistead and his little band could advance no farther. To their right, the stubborn Irishmen stood fast, so close in places that the fighting was hand to hand - clubbed muskets and fists and stabbing thrusts. To their front, but farther away, was the battleline of the 72nd Pennsylvania...." |