Monument to the state of Pennsylvania at Gettysburg.
About the Main Monument
When was it dedicated? Memorial begun summer 1909. Memorial dedicated Sept. 27, 1910.
Who made it? Cottrell, W. Liance, architect. Harrison Granite Company, fabricator. Gorham Manufacturing Company, founder. Van Amringe Granite Company, fabricator.
What does it depict? The memorial is topped by a dome adorned with a bronze female figure representing the Goddess of Victory and Peace. Above each archway are granite monoliths containing battle scenes honoring the four branches of the service. And in the spandrels flanking each archway are classical maidens, each holding either a trumpet or a wreath of victory. In 1907, $150,000 was appropriated to erect a suitable memorial to honor all Pennsylvanians who participated in the battle at Gettysburg. The design submitted by architect W. Liance Cottrell was selected and the Harrison Granite Company was chosen to execute the design. Construction on the memorial began in the summer of 1909. However, at the time of the dedication on Sept. 27, 1910, the eight portrait statues Cottrell envisioned for the niches on either side of each archway were missing due to the lack of funds. In the year following the dedication, an additional $40,000 as appropriated to create the statues, and the Van Amringe Granite Company as given the contract. The statues were cast at the Gorham Manufacturing Company and were installed in April of 1913. The total cost for the memorial was $200,000. There is also a monument to the Goddess of Victory placed at the top of the monument. Murray, Samuel, 1870-1941, sculptor. The figure representing the Goddess of Victory and Peace weighs 7,500 lbs. and was cast with bronze melted down from cannons used in the war. Samuel Murray created not only the Goddess of Victory and Peace, but also the monolith and spandrel reliefs. The monument sits on top of the dome of the Memorial.
When was this photograph taken? June 3, 2010.
Where is it located? Located Gettysburg National Military Park, Hancock, Pleasanton & Humphrey Avenues, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325.
Is this monument located along the NPS Auto Tour route? Yes.
Has this monument been moved or changed? This monument has not been changed or moved. Monument was recently restored.
Monument Details, Alternative Views, and Contextual Views
Secondary Monuments and Markers
Name: Major General George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872). George G. Meade was the commander of the Army of the Potomac during the battle at Gettysburg. Meade was born in Cádiz, Spain, but his family hailed from Philadelphia. Meade died in Philadelphia from complications of his old wounds, combined with pneumonia, and is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery there. The General Meade Society of Philadelphia gathers annually on December 31 to celebrate the anniversary of the general’s birth.
Photographed: September 2, 2007.
Sculptor: Lee Oskar Lawrie, 1877-1963.
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Name: Major General Alfred Pleasonton (July 24, 1824 – February 17, 1897). Commander of the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps at Gettysburg. Pleasonton was born in Washington, D.C. and died there. Why he was included on the Pennsylvania Monument is a mystery; it is possible that this represents Alfred’s older brother, Augustus, a native of Pennsylvania and West Point graduate, who was a general in the Pennsylvania militia at the time of the battle.
Photographed: March 24, 2008.
Sculptor: J. Otto Schweizer, 1863-1955.
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Name: Major General John F. Reynolds (September 8, 1820-July 1, 1863). Commander of the Army of the Potomac’s Left Wing. Reynolds was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He is buried in Lancaster. There is also a monument to Reynolds in front of Philadelphia City Hall.
Photographed: September 2, 2007.
Sculptor: Lee Oskar Lawrie, 1877-1963.
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Name: Major General Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824-February 9, 1886). Commander of the Army of the Potomac’s Second Corps. Winfield Scott Hancock and his identical twin brother Hilary Baker Hancock were born on February 14, 1824, in Montgomery Square, Pennsylvania, a hamlet just northwest of Philadelphia in present-day Montgomery Township. He is buried in Montgomery Cemetery in West Norriton Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, near Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Photographed: March 24, 2008.
Sculptor: Cyrus Edwin Dallin, 1861-1944.
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Name: Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin (April 22, 1817-October 7, 1894). Governor of Pennsylvania, 1861-1867, including during the Gettysburg Campaign. Curtin was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. He was the uncle of John I. Gregg and cousin of David McMurtrie Gregg, both Union generals in the Civil War. He died at his birthplace of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and is buried there in Union Cemetery.
Photographed: December 11, 2006.
Sculptor: W. Clark Noble, 1858-1938.
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Name: Major General David Birney (May 29, 1825-October 18, 1864), temporary commander of the Union Army of the Potomac’s Third Corps. Birney was born in Huntsville, Alabama, the son of an abolitionist from Kentucky, James G. Birney. His father published an anti-slavery newspaper, and the Birney family was forced to move to Michigan, and finally to Philadelphia. Birney entered the Union army just after Fort Sumter as lieutenant colonel of the 23rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, a unit he raised largely at his own expense. He is buried in Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Photographed: September 3, 2007.
Sculptor: Lee Oskar Lawrie, 1877-1963.
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Name: President Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809-April 15, 1865), President of the United States. Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He had no direct relationship to the state of Pennsylvania.
Photographed: December 11, 2006.
Sculptor: J. Otto Schweizer, 1863-1955.
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Name: Major General David M. Gregg (April 10, 1833-August 7, 1916), commander of 2nd Cavalry Division, Army of the Potomac. Gregg was born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. He was the first cousin of future Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin and the grandson of Pennsylvania Congressman Andrew Gregg. Gregg was active in state and local affairs and raised funds to preserve Valley Forge as a national shrine. He visited Gettysburg Battlefield numerous times and gave speeches at events. He died in Reading, Pennsylvania, one of the oldest survivors of the war in the state, and is buried there in Charles Evans Cemetery.
Photographed: March 24, 2008.
Sculptor: J. Otto Schweizer, 1863-1955.
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Other Union State Monuments at Gettysburg
Delaware State – Indiana State – Kentucky State – Maryland State – New York State – Pennsylvania State
One Comment
Naturally, Andrew Curtin had to be included ;)