The Gettysburg Campaign
Following the Battle of Chanesllorsville, Col. William R. Brewster of the 73rd New York assumed command of the Excelsior Brigade, which was then in the division of Brig. Gen Andrew A. Humphreys. Brewster led the brigade during the Gettysburg Campaign in June and July 1863. On July 2, the brigade was advanced to an area near the Peach Orchard. It was flanked out of that position by the Confederate division of Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws. The remains of the brigade took part in a counterattack late in the afternoon that recaptured some abandoned Union guns. Brewster reported that the brigade lost 778 of 1,837 engaged.
Brewster fell ill after the battle, and Brig. Gen. Francis Barretto Spinola assumed command during the pursuit of the Confederate army into Virginia. Spinola's brigade led the Union troops on July 23 at the Battle of Wapping Heights near Warrenton, Virginia, suffering 18 men killed, including two officers. Spinola was badly wounded in the fighting, along with dozens of his men.
Col. J. Egbert Farnum of the 70th New York then commanded the brigade until Brewster returned to active duty for the autumn campaigns of 1863. Brewster inspired his men by rising from his “sick bed” to lead the Excelsiors in the Mine Run Campaign.
Read more about this topic: Excelsior Brigade
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