Alternate Designations: Birney’s Zouaves.
Commander: Lt. Col. John F. Glenn (1829-1905).
Numbers: 538; 1 killed, 13 wounded.
Raised: Philadelphia.
Location: Located on the west side of Slocum Avenue, near Williams Avenue. The sculpture indicates the position taken by the 23rd Pennsylvania when Shaler’s Brigade of VI Corps relieved the XII Crops in entrenchments. The location of this monument was hotly debated by the Battlefield Memorial Association.
Description: Full-length figure of a uniformed Zouave infantryman stands atop a polished, columnic pedestal with decorative cap. The whole stands on a square, tiered base. The figure holds his rifle vertically in both hands at his proper right side. He appears to be in mid-stride and there is a tree stump behind him. A relief Coat of Arms is affixed to the sculpture’s plinth and the Corps insignia of a Greek Cross appears on the pedestal’s front face, below the cap. The cross surmounts a set of crossed flags. Paid for by the regiment’s surviving members, the larger-than-life statue at the top of the monument depicts Matthew Spence, a veteran of the unit. He is dressed in a partial zouave uniform advancing up a hill with his rifle at “trail arms.” Monument that has two flanking markers. The shaft has polished and smooth cut faces, and alternating incised and excised inscriptions and lettering. It was originally capped with a pyramid of granite cannon balls which was replaced by the Zouave figure. The State Coat of Arms was also a later addition. The base and die were erected by surviving members of the regiment and the figure was erected by the State of Pennsylvania.
Army of the Potomac > Sixth Corps > Third Division > First Brigade