Union Monuments, Massachusetts

First Massachusetts Infantry Regiment

The monument to the First Massachusetts Infantry Regiment is south of Gettysburg on Emmitsburg Road just across from Sickles Avenue. (see map) A marker shows the position of the regiment's skirmish line 200 yards west of the main monument, on the path to the State of Virginia monument.

The regiment was commanded during the Battle of Gettysburg by Lieutenant Colonel Clark B. Baldwin. It brought 384 men to the field, losing 16 killed, 83 wounded and 21 missing.

The monument was erected in 1886 by the State of Massachusetts and depicts a skirmisher stepping over a rail fence with Seminary Ridge in the background. The diamond shape if the symbol of the Union 3rd Army Corps. At the time of the battle the Rogers house stood just to the south of the monument.

Form the front of the main monument:

First Mass.
Infantry

From the rear:

On
July 2, 1863
from 11 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.
the First Regiment
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
Lieut. Col. Clark B. Baldwin commanding
occupied this spot in support of its skirmish line
80 feet in advance. The regiment subsequently took position in the brigade line and was engaged
until the close of the action.

First Brig. Second Div.
Third Corps

From the marker to the skirmish line:

Right of the
Skirmish line
First
Massachusetts
Infantry
Left resting on
Spangler's Lane
11 a.m. to 6,30 p.m. July 2, 1863
*****
Loss on skirmish line
Killed 8, Died of wounds 2,
Wounded 32, Prisoners 10
Total 52

See more about the First Massachusetts Infantry Regiment during the Civil War