Gettysburg

In July of 1863 the Union Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia met around the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg in the largest battle of the Civil War.

When you tour the Gettysburg battlefield the first thing you see are the monuments and markers. A few were erected right after the battle. More were added each year. Land was purchased, rules developed for their placement and display and Gettysburg National Military Park was created. After almost 150 years, the result is a giant outdoor classroom where hyperlinks in stone and bronze help visitors explore one of the great turning points in history.

Tour the Battlefield or Search by State or Type

Use the menus to find monuments and markers by army, state and type. Or tour the battlefield via interactive maps that show the locations of monuments, markers, battlefield farms and terrain features.

Union State, Regiment, Battery and Brigade Monuments

Almost all of the several hundred Union regiments and batteries are represented by a monument at Gettysburg. Most are to individual units, but two or more sometimes share a monument.

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

Many monuments have extensive text, stories from the survivors of an incredible time in American history carved in stone to be passed down to future generations.

Confederate State and Regiment Monuments and Battery Markers

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 commissions made up mostly of 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 individual regiments had passed on by then, so southern 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 identify the type of headquarters marker you're viewing and whether it is for a Union or Confederate unit.

Monuments to an Individual

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 of standing figures are are mostly for 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 into stone.

Other monuments

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

Battlefield Farms and Other Buildings

The heaviest fighting of the Battle of Gettysburg took place around the buildings and in the fields and orchards of the area's farms. Trostle and Codori and Bliss are not just places on a map, but people whose lives were forever changed when the Civil War's bloodiest battle came into their homes.