15th and 50th New York Engineers

The monument to the 15th and 50th New York Engineers is located along Pleasanton Avenue. It was dedicated on September 17, 1890 and cost $3,000.00. It consists of Quincy granite and stands 12 feet high. The monument is shaped like a turreted castle. A castle was the traditional symbol of the Engineer branch. The monument was built with the combined state appropriations of these two units.

The engineer branch was responsible for designing defenses, drawing maps, building roads, and spanning rivers.

This monument contains a relief in bronze of the massive pontoon bridge erected to span the Potomac River to allow the Army of the Potomac to pursue the Army of Northern Virginia into the North.

Both units were mustered in during the late summer and early fall of 1861. The 15th had only three companies left during the Gettysburg Campaign attached to the Army of the Potomac.

It was part of Benham’s Engineer Brigade along with a battalion of United States engineers.

15th and 50th New York Engineers

Benham’s Brigade, Attached to the Army of the Potomac

Tags: AOP HQ, Gettysburg, Monument Project