83rd New York Infantry
Posted to the Project on 18 Aug 07
Today’s monument study takes us to the First Day’s battlefield and Oak Ridge.
The 83rd New York Infantry was nicknamed the “9th Milita” and the “City Guards.” Recruited from New York City, the regiment numbered just over 200 at Gettysburg. Their commander was Lieutenant Colonel Joseph A. Moesch (1829-1864), a native of Switzerland who was later killed at the battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864.
Although the 83rd New York was a small regiment, they have a very large monument at Gettysburg.
The shaft stands 51 feet tall and consists of alternating red and white granite blocks. The base of the shaft features a bronze medallion with the regimental badge and the motto “Ratione Aut Vi” — By reason or by force. At the top of the shaft, a 700 pound bronze eagle with a wing span of nearly six feet balances on top a large cannonball.
This monument cost $6,000.00 and was dedicated at a very large cermony on July 1, 1888. It was the third New York monument erected at Gettysburg and the first to a regiment recruited from New York City.
83rd New York Infantry “City Guards” “9th Milita”
Members of the 1st Corps, 2nd Division, 2nd Brigade
Commanded by Lt. Col. Joseph A. Moesch (1829-1864)
Numbered: 215; 6 killed, 18 wounded, 58 missing
Monument: Doubleday Avenue, Oak Ridge