Draw the Sword

Location: North Hancock Avenue.

Commanded: 3rd Division of the 2nd Corps.

Monument Specifications: A standing portrait of General Hays holding a sword in each hand. The sculpture is mounted on rough granite base adorned with an inscription tablet on the front and a bronze tablet of bearing the Pennsylvania State seal. The monument is one of several that the Pennsylvania State Assembly appropriated money for on July 24, 1913. In September 2004, this monument was vandalized when thieves stole the sword.

Dedication Date: Erected around 1915.

Sculptor/Artist/Company: Schweizer, J. Otto, 1863-1955, sculptor.

Other Monuments and Memorials: None.

Brief Bio: Alexander Hays (July 8, 1819 – May 5, 1864) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War, killed in the Battle of the Wilderness. USMA 1844. Hays was wounded during the Seven Days. Promoted to general, he commanded the 3d Division of the 2nd Corps at Gettysburg. As such, his unit was one of those assailed by “Pickett’s Charge.” A soldier recalled of Hays at Gettysburg: “When the smoke cleared, Hays, who was unhurt but had had two horses shot out from under him, kissed his aide in the exhilaration of the moment, grabbed a captured Rebel battle flag and riding down the division’s line dragged it in the dirt.” Hays was a native of Franklin, Pennsylvania.