Union monuments at Gettysburg • Maine
There are two monuments to the 4th Maine Infantry Regiment south of Gettysburg. The main monument is at the Devil’s Den (Devil’s Den tour map). A smaller marker is on the east side of Hancock Avenue across from the Copse of Trees. (Hancock Avenue at The Angle tour map)
About the 4th Maine at Gettysburg
The 4th Maine brought 332 men to Gettysburg with Colonel Elijah Walker in command. He was wounded on July 2nd, shot in the leg, but continued to lead for some time. Major Eben Whitcomb was been mortally wounded, so Captain Edwin Libby eventually took command.
The regiment defended its position in the Valley of Death with fixed bayonets, holding off Confederate attackers until it began to be outflanked and was forced to fall back. All of the members of the color party were killed or wounded except Sergeant Henry O. Ripley. The colors were pierced 34 times.
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Attached to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Corps, Army of the Potomac |  |
The 4th Maine Monument at Devil’s Den
The monument marks the position where the regiment fought in the afternoon of July 2nd.
About the monument
Colonel Walker designed the regiment’s Devil’s Den monument, an obelisk with five sides. (It was very hard for me to figure out it was five sided. I had to count several times.) A relief of the diamond symbol of the Third Corps is halfway up each side.
Text from the front of the five-sided Devil’s Den monument:
4th Maine Infantry
Colonel Elijah Walker
Text from the right front of the monument:
3d Corps
1st Division
2d Brigade
Text from the right rear of the monument:
22 killed and died
38 wounded
56 missing
Text from the left rear of the monument:
Erected by
the State of Maine
The view looks north from in front of the Devil’s Den up the Valley of Death. Houck’s Ridge is on the left.
From the left front of the monument:
In remembrance
of our casualties
July 2d, 1863
Right flank marker for the 4th Maine in the Devil’s Den
Location of the main monument to the 4th Maine Infantry at Gettysburg
The main monument to the 4th Maine is south of Gettysburg at the Devil’s Den just north of the eastern end of the parking area along Sickles Avenue. (39°47’30.8″N 77°14’29.1″W)
The 4th Maine Monument on Cemetery Ridge (Hancock Avenue)
The marker shows the regiment’s location supporting the Union defensive line during Pickett’s Charge
From the front of the Hancock Avenue marker:
4th Maine Regiment
From the left (north) side of the market:
July 2 engaged at Devil’s Den.
Colonel Elijah Walker
in command wounded.
From the right (south) side of the marker:
July 3 in support here.
Captain Edwin Libby in command.
Location of the position marker for the 4th Maine at Gettysburg
The Hancock Avenue marker to the 4th Maine is south of Gettysburg on the east side of Hancock Avenue directly across from the Copse of Trees. (39°48’45.0″N 77°14’07.0″W)