General John Geary
Posted to the Project on 29 Aug 07
Gettysburg monuments rarely make the news except when something bad happens (i.e. vandalism). This monument made the news recently because it was finally dedicated. (Better late than never?)
General John Geary (1819-1873) was a division commander in the XII Corps from the Keystone state. His monument sits at the intersection of three avenues: Slocum, Williams, and Geary avenues, approximately at the “saddle” between upper and lower Culp’s Hill.
Geary was a Mexican War veteran who put together a pretty distinguished Civil War career that included not only many of the major battles in the East (including Gettysburg) but also Sherman’s March to the Sea. Post-War, he was elected as a Republican governor in his home state of Pennsylvania, but died suddenly.
Additionally, Geary had an interesting antebellum career beyond distinguished service in Mexico; he also became the first mayor of San Francisco and as territorial governor of Kansas.
Geary’s monument was erected on Culp’s Hill in 1915 at the rather unusual exact cost of $6,666.00. The sculptor was J. Otto Schweizer; the monument is a standard bronze.
For some reason the monument was not dedicated after it was erected in 1915. This oversight was corrected on August 6, 2007 when the monument was given a formal dedication.
The wreathes in the pictures I took on August 17, 2007 are from that dedication ceremony.
August 29th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
I was sort of wondering if they gave it a good cleaning before the ceremony - I stopped by it on August 4th to show my kids and for some reason it never seemed to stand out like it did that day. It was almost as if it were new.
Interesting side note: Geary’s son, Edward, was a Lieutenant in Knap’s Independent Battery (their monument is at the top of the hll near the tower). Edward was killed in action at Wauhatchie, TN in a rare night battle in October 1863.