Draw the Sword

Location: Meredith Avenue, West McPherson Ridge.

Claim to Fame: John Burns was a Gettysburg civilian who joined the battle on July 1st and got himself wounded fighting alongside the 150th Pennsylvania and the Iron Brigade.

Monument Specifications: A portrait of Gettysburg resident John Burns standing on the skirmish line on First Day’s Field. He is dressed in civilian clothes and carries his musket in his proper right hand. The sculpture is mounted on a square granite boulder adorned with a bronze Pennsylvania state seal on the side and an inscription plaque on the front. On July 1, 1863, John Burns joined Col. Owen Wister’s 150 Pennsylvania Infantry on the skirmish line near where the sculpture is installed. The granite boulder was selected and cut by Col. E. B. Cope. The monument was raised by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Bureau used a photograph of Burns to model the face. The monument cost $1,500.00.

Dedication Date: July 1, 1903.

Sculptor/Artist/Company: Bureau, Albert George, b. 1871, sculptor.

Other Monuments and Memorials: None.

Brief Bio: John Lawrence Burns (September 5, 1793 – February 4, 1872), veteran of the War of 1812, became a 70-year-old civilian combatant with the Union Army at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. He was wounded, but survived to become a national celebrity. General Doubleday even mentioned Burns in his after-action report.