Draw the Sword

Heckman’s Battery

Location: Carlisle and Lincoln Streets, town of Gettysburg

Order of Battle: 11th Corps Artillery Brigade

Number Engaged: 4 Napoleons and 118 men; 2 killed, 11 wounded, 2 missing

Commander: Capt. Lewis Heckman (1823-1872)

Raised: Cuyahoga and Washington counties.

Monument Specifications: Square marker with a saddle finial stands on a rough-hewn base. The front and rear faces of the marker bear inscriptions and reliefs appear on the two sides. The relief on the right side is a wheel with crossed rammers and the relief on the left side is a wreath with crossed swords. There is a relief of the corps insignia of a crescent on the front and upward facing cannon pilasters on the corners. The monument marks the location, now Gettysburg College near Huber Hall, of Captain Lewis Heckman’s Battery astride Carlisle Pike on July 1, 1863 as they repulsed the enemy.

Dedication Date: September 14, 1887.

Sculptor/Artist/Company: Frederick & Field, fabricator.

Main Inscription: BATTERY K/FIRST OHIO LIGHT ARTILLERY/ARTILLERY BRIGADE 11TH CORPS/ARRIVING ABOUT NOON JULY 1, 1863./THIS BATTERY/CAPT. LEWIS HECKMAN COMMANDING/WENT INTO POSITION HERE IN RESERVE/WHEN THE 11TH CORPS BEGAN TO RETIRE,/ENGAGED THE ENEMY WITH GREAT GALLANTRY./WITH SEVERE LOSS IT WAS WITHDRAWN/CASUALTIES:/2 KILLED, 11 WOUNDED, 2 MISSING.

Other Monuments and Memorials: None.

Supplemental Materials: After Action Report of Capt. Lewis Heckman (will open a pop up window).

Regimental History ~ Dyer’s Compendium of the War of the Rebellion:

Organized at Cleveland, Marietta and Camp Dennison, Ohio, and mustered in October 22, 1861. Left State for West Virginia February, 1862. Attached to Cheat Mountain District, West Virginia, to March, 1862. Cheat Mountain District, Dept. of the Mountains, to June, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 1st Army Corps, Pope’s Army of Virginia, to September. 1862. Artillery, 1st Division, 11th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1863. Reserve Artillery, 11th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1863. Artillery Brigade, 11th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to September, 1863, and Army of the Cumberland to December, 1863. Garrison Artillery, Bridgeport, Ala., Dept. of the Cumberland, to April, 1864. Unattached Artillery, Dept. of the Cumberland, to May, 1864. Stevenson, Ala., District of North Alabama, Dept. of the Cumberland, to October, 1864. 3rd Brigade, Defences Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, Dept. of the Cumberland, to March, 1865. Post of Stevenson, Ala., Dept. of the Cumberland, to July, 1865.

SERVICE.–Battle of McDowell May 8, 1862; Franklin May 28. Pursuit of Jackson up the Shenandoah Valley, Strasburg and Staunton Road June 1-2. Harrisonburg June 6; Cross Keys June 8; Port Republic June 9: at Middletown until July, and at Sperryville until August. Pope’s Campaign in Northern Virginia August 16-September 2. Fords of the Rappahannock August 21-23. Freeman’s Ford, Hazel River and Leary’s Ford August 22. Waterloo Bridge August 23-25. Battle of Groveton August 29; Bull Run August 30. Duty in the Defences of Washington, D.C., until December, Expedition from Centreville to Warrenton Junction and Bristoe Station September 25-28. March to Fredericksburg, Va., December 10-16. Burnside’s 2nd Campaign, “Mud March,” January 20-24. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5. Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 11-July 24. Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3. Duty on line of the Rappahannock until September. Moved to Bridgeport, Ala., September 24-October 3. Reopening Tennessee River October 26-29. Battle of Wauhatchie October 28-29. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Lookout Mountain November 23-24. Mission Ridge November 25. Assigned to Reserve Artillery and Garrison duty at Bridgeport and Stevenson, Ala., December, 1863, to July, 1865. Ordered home July 3. Mustered out July 17, 1865. Battery lost during service 1 Officer and 5 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 14 Enlisted men by disease. Total 20.