Reply of the Philadelphia Brigade Association to the Foolish and Absurd Narrative of Lieutenant Frank A. Haskell

In the quiet of a September evening in 1909, veterans of the famed Philadelphia Brigade gathered at their headquarters to confront a growing controversy. A pamphlet attributed to Lieutenant Frank Haskell had been circulating, portraying the brigade’s actions at Gettysburg in a manner many survivors found starkly inaccurate. The association’s reply unfolds as a formal protest, rooted in firsthand letters from General Alexander Webb, the brigade’s former commander.

The document painstakingly outlines a resolution to form a committee of former officers and rank‑and‑file men, each named with solemn pride, to examine the contested claims. It details Haskell’s military career, noting his service and eventual death, while challenging the credibility of his narrative as “reckless and unreliable.” Listeners will hear a vivid snapshot of post‑war veteran politics, the desire to protect collective memory, and the meticulous, sometimes bitter, process of setting the historical record straight.