17th & 82nd Pennsylvania Infantry - Gettysburg Commander

Item CDV-533

Description

Isaac C. M. Bassett
Captain, Colonel & Brevet Brigadier General
17th Pennsylvania Infantry
82nd Pennsylvania Infantry
Identified in period ink
BM: Philadelphia, PA

Bassett was commissioned a captain in the 82nd Pennsylvania on August 24, 1861. He was promoted to major on February 7, 1863, and to colonel on May 3, 1863, just in time to take command of the regiment and lead it at Gettysburg that summer. During the bloodletting at Cold Harbor in June 1864, the 82nd suffered 173 casualties, half of its effective strength. Bassett was among the casualties. His left index finger was mangled by an enemy shell and a bullet pierced the palm of his left hand close to the thumb, lodging in his arm near the elbow joint. A surgeon amputated his damaged finger after the battle. The bullet eventually worked its way down toward the opening of his wound and was then extracted. The subsequent surgery left him unable ever to clasp his left hand again.

On December 12, 1864, Bassett was brevetted brigadier general, although the brevet was not confirmed until February 14, 1865. He was later recognized “for distinguished services in the assault on the enemy’s lines near Petersburg, April 2, 1865, and for conspicuous gallantry at the battle at Little Sailor’s Creek, Va., April 6, 1865.” With stars adorning his shoulders, won for his capable leadership and bravery during the war, Bassett led the battle-hardened veterans of the 82nd with their bullet-riddled colors, draped with crape to honor President Abraham Lincoln, during the Grand Review in Washington, D.C., in 1865. The regiment was mustered out on July 13, 1865.
Source: Historynet.com