Gettysburg

Gettysburg: in July of 1863 over 175,000 men of the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia fought here in the largest battle of the Civil War.

When you travel to Gettysburg the first thing you see on the battlefield are the monuments. They first appeared in the 1870's. As the historical importance of the Battle of Gettysburg was understood, land was purchased or donated, official commissions were created, and elaborate rules devised for where and how they could be displayed. The result is a giant outdoor classroom where 19th century hyperlinks in stone and metal help visitors explore the landscape.

Union State, Regiment, Battery and Brigade Monuments

Almost every Union regiment and battery - several hundred in all - is represented by a monument at Gettysburg. Most are to individual units, although two or more sometimes share a monument. There also monuments to many, but not all, of the Union states whose troops fought at Gettysburg.

A regiment or battery's monument was required to be placed where its main line of battle fought. Many units have a secondary monument or smaller markers showing different locations where the unit fought..

Each Union army corps at Gettysburg had a symbol that is often worked into a monument's design, as well as seals of the various states and the branches of service.

Confederate State and Regiment Monuments

There are fewer Confederate monuments. Although the first (the 2nd Maryland monument) was dedicated in 1884, it took years for the next to follow. There were several reasons: Southern states were impoverished from the war, Gettysburg was a Union victory on Union soil, and monument placement was controlled by Union veterans.

As time went on the importance of the battle to history and a spirit of reconciliation combined to bring some southern monuments to this northern field. Many of the veterans who strongly associated with their regiments had passed on by then, so efforts were concentrated in state monuments.

Virginia was the first to be placed on the field, in 1917, followed by a burst of activity. But the last Confederate state monument, that of Tennessee, was not dedicated until 1982. Very recently, a handful of Confederate regimental monument have joined the original 2nd Maryland.

Confederate and Union Headquarters

In the years after 1900 the War Department began erecting almost 200 markers to the brigades, divisions, and corps headquarters of both armies. These were located in the areas where the units fought and add to the story told by the unit monuments. Four designs and various features allow you to quickly identify the type of headquarters marker you're viewing and whether it is Union or Confederate.

Individuals

Many monuments are dedicated to a single individual. Towering above the others are the equestrian statues, reserved for commanders of armies and army corps. Bronze statues are a second group - mostly commanders of divisions, but they also include a Chaplain and a civilian who grabbed his musket from above the fireplace and went out to defend his town. Other individuals are honored by a bronze tablet or a name carved in stone.

Other monuments

Some monuments do not fit into any category. They honor the women who shared the suffering of the war and concepts such as peace and brotherhood. There is even a monument to a speech; one that is as great as it is brief, and not the least memorable of the results of those three days in July 1863.

Looking for more views of Gettysburg? Visit Tom Eishen's Gettysburg Photographs.com to see panoramas, a pictorial tour of the battlefield, sunrise and sunset galleries, the battlefield day by day, and much more.

Interested in World War II history? Join the 801st Engineers as they sail two oceans, take part in a secret operation still in few history books, shoot at kites, meet a heroic movie star, lose an LST, save some Portuguese militia from a horrible fate, and survive both an Atlantic hurricane and a Pacific typhoon.