MONUMENTS AND MEMORIALS.
A Lasting Testimony To Bravery.

Almost as soon as the smoke cleared from the battle, efforts to commemorate those who fought arose. Within two weeks, Gettysburg lawyer David McConaughy began his quest to preserve the land. He purchased Steven’s Knoll with the intent of building a memorial there, and to enlarge the adjoining cemetery. His efforts were bolstered by the support of another local attorney, David Wills. Wills pursued the development of a national cemetery for the Union soldiers at Gettysburg, while McConaughy went his own way to form the first organization dedicated to preserving a portion of the battlefield. The Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association continued to purchase the land for preservation until 1896, when it deeded the land and transferred the responsibility for it to the War Department. When the National Park Service came into being, stewardship shifted to them.

The first monument at Gettysburg was erected in 1869 to honor the 1st Minnesota Infantry. As years went on, more monuments and markers were strategically placed by veterans of the battle, based on where their units fought during the conflict. Regimental monuments were generally erected in the center of that unit’s line, with the flank markers indicating the ends of the line.

For years after the war, many Union veterans wanted no Confederate monuments on the battlefield. But over time the bitterness faded, and in the late 1800s, the War Department began to encourage the erection of monuments to Confederate troops.

Today, nearly 1,400 statues, sculptures, markers, and tablets stand where the armies fought, honoring both sides of the battle, and making Gettysburg National Military Park the steward of the world’s largest collection of outdoor sculpture.

Battlefield rehabilitation is underway right now, to return the landscape as closely as possible to its condition during the battle. Soon, visitors will be able to stand at any of the markers or monuments and picture the battlefield from the perspective of the units that fought on that piece of land.

That was the intent of the Civil War veterans who originally initiated the effort to preserve the battlefield. In effect, the park is preserving their vision. It is how they wanted their comrades to be remembered. And it is how they, themselves, wanted to be remembered.

 

Did You Know?

  • The contributions of two canines are recognized on the battlefield. Sallie, the 11th Pennsylvania's unofficial mascot, is remembered in a bronze likeness on the regiment’s monument at Gettysburg. The loyal canine that accompanied the 1st Maryland was given a proper burial alongside the dead of 1st Maryland.
  • The North Carolina monument was designed by sculptor Gutzon Borglum, best known for the four presidents on Mount Rushmore. John Burns is the only civilian honored with a statue at Gettysburg. The 70 year-old veteran of the War of 1812 took up his musket, walked out to the battlefield and fought beside the members of the Iron Brigade. He was injured in battle and became a national hero.
  • Abner Doubleday didn’t really invent baseball -- but this Union Major General does have a bronze monument dedicated to him on the Gettysburg Battlefield.