US HQ 11-2-1st Brigade Coster
Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Army of the Potomac Eleventh Corps Second Division First Brigade Col. Charles R. Coster 134th 154th New York 27th 73d Pennsylvania Infantry
The Story
This headquarters marker locates the First Brigade of the Second Division, Eleventh Corps, Army of the Potomac, commanded by Colonel Charles R. Coster at Gettysburg. Its regiments — the 134th and 154th New York and the 27th and 73rd Pennsylvania — were thrown into action on July 1, 1863, to cover the Union retreat through the town. Markers like this map the command structure of the vast army that fought here.
Why it matters
Coster's brigade made a costly stand that helped shield thousands of retreating Union soldiers, part of the desperate first-day fighting that set the stage for the battle's decisive later days.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
On July 1, 1863, the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the fighting swirled through the fields and streets on the northern and western edges of the town. Union troops arriving piecemeal tried to hold a line against Confederate forces converging from several directions — and as the day wore on, the pressure became more than the Union line could bear.
The Eleventh Corps of the Army of the Potomac held part of the ground north of town that afternoon. When the Confederate attack broke that line, the danger was not just defeat but disaster: thousands of Union soldiers would have to fall back through the narrow streets of Gettysburg itself to reach the high ground beyond, and a panicked, unprotected retreat could have been catastrophic.
Somebody had to buy that retreat time. That grim, thankless job — standing to face the enemy so that others could get away — fell to a small brigade on the edge of town.
People & events
This headquarters marker locates the First Brigade of the Second Division, Eleventh Corps, commanded by Colonel Charles R. Coster. Its regiments were the 134th and 154th New York and the 27th and 73rd Pennsylvania Infantry — four regiments thrown forward on the afternoon of July 1 to cover the Union retreat through the town.
Coster's men took position on the northern edge of Gettysburg and met the advancing Confederate assault head-on. It was a stand made not to win ground but to hold it just long enough — a rearguard's fight, where the measure of success is not victory but the minutes gained for the men falling back behind you.
The cost was heavy. A brigade that plants itself in the path of a larger attacking force, with a retreat pouring past its flanks, pays for every minute in casualties and captured men. Coster's brigade paid that price. But in doing so it helped keep the day-one withdrawal from becoming a rout, and helped thousands of Union soldiers reach the high ground south of town where the army would make its stand.
Its place in the American story
The story of Gettysburg's first day is often told as a Union defeat — and in the narrow sense, it was; the Union line was driven back through the town. But the way that retreat was conducted mattered enormously for what came after. The army that reformed on the heights south of Gettysburg went on to win the battle over the following two days.
Rearguard stands like Coster's are rarely celebrated the way great charges are, because their whole purpose is to absorb punishment rather than deliver a decisive blow. Yet they are among the most important acts in any battle. Without men willing to stand and be overwhelmed so that others can escape, an orderly withdrawal becomes a catastrophe.
This marker, by fixing the command and the regiments that made that stand, honors a kind of courage that is easy to overlook: the courage to hold a losing position on purpose, for the sake of the men behind you.
If you visit
This is a marker best understood by thinking about direction and flow. Picture the Union line to the north giving way, and the retreat streaming back toward the town and the high ground beyond. Coster's brigade stepped into that current and faced the other way — toward the oncoming attack.
Unlike the wide-open fields of the battle's later days, this fighting happened at the very edge of town, where farmland met streets and buildings. That closeness is part of the story: a brigade making a stand at the seam between countryside and town, with a whole corps trying to get past behind it.
As you visit the more famous ground to the south — the ridges and hills where the battle was ultimately decided — remember that those defenses were only possible because men held the line here first, on the difficult first day. This modest headquarters marker is a good place to pause and give the first day's sacrifices their due before you follow the army's path to the heights.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Ticket to the Past - Unforgettable Journeys0.3 mi away · 35 Carlisle Street, Gettysburg, PA
- The David Wills House Museum0.3 mi away · 8 Lincoln Square, Gettysburg, PA
- Adams County Historical Society0.5 mi away · 625 Biglerville Road, Gettysburg, PA
- Beyond the Battle Museum0.5 mi away · 625 Biglerville Road, Gettysburg, PA
- Gettysburg Museum of History0.5 mi away · 219 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Shriver House Museum0.6 mi away · 309 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
Attractions
- John Eisenhower Bridge3.3 mi away · Waterworks Road
- Sachs Covered Bridge3.7 mi away
- Sachs Covered Bridge3.7 mi away · Waterworks Road, Gettysburg, PA
Food & drink
- Mason Dixon Distillery0.2 mi away · 331 East Water Street, Gettysburg, PA
- CJ's Takeout & Late Nite Bites0.2 mi away · 150 Carlisle Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Tacos Monarca0.3 mi away · 11 West Railroad Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Lincoln Diner0.3 mi away · 32 Carlisle Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Kazue0.3 mi away · 25 Carlisle Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Li's Buffet0.3 mi away · 165 York Street, Gettysburg, PA
Places to stay
- The Brafferton Inn0.3 mi away · 44 York Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Gettysburg Hotel0.3 mi away · 1 Lincoln Square, Gettysburg, PA
- The LaVerne Private Guesthouse0.3 mi away · 27 York Street, Gettysburg, PA
- The Inn at Lincoln Square0.4 mi away · 12 Lincoln Square, Gettysburg, PA
- The Union Hotel0.4 mi away · 27 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Glatfelter Lodge0.4 mi away · PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
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Related people
- · Colonel Charles R. Coster
Related events
- · Battle of Gettysburg
Themes & tags
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