88th Pennsylvania Infantry

The 88th Pennsylvania’s monument is located on the regiment’s July 1 battle line on Oak Ridge along current day Doubleday Avenue. The monument was designed by the regiment’s surviving members. It cost $3,000.00 and consists of Quincy and Concord granite. It was dedicated on September 11, 1889.

The monument is supposed to represent a “remembrance of the suffering and sacrifice of the citizen-soldier.” A large eagle with outstretched wings perches atop a stack of virtually every war article you can imagine (nearly twenty in all) that a soldier might carry. A symbolic laurel wreath of victory is also included.

The sculptor was John Lacmer, an artist from San Francisco.

The 88th was also known as the Cameron Light Guards; it was recruited from Philadelphia and Berks County in September 1861. The regiment went through several commanders. The first was Maj. Benzet F. Foust (1840-1870), a Philadelphia lawyer. When Foust was wounded on July 1, Capt. Edmund A. Mass (1834-1894), a railroad baggage master from Reading, took command until he was captured. The final commander was Capt. Henry Whiteside (1835-1905), a cooper in Reading.

A secondary monument is located at Ziegler’s Grove.

88th Pennsylvania Infantry

1st Corps, 2nd Division, 2nd Brigade

Maj. Benzet F. Foust

Engaged: 296; 4 killed, 55 wounded, 51 missing

Monument: Oak Ridge

Tags: Gettysburg, I Corps, Monument Project, oak ridge, Pennsylvania