10th New York Cavalry

The 10th New York Cavalry’s monument features a bronze horse head sculpture atop a simple square granite die. It is located on the Hanover Road between Gettysburg and the East Cavalry battlefield. The monument marks the regimental position on July 2 from 3 to 8 P.M.

The 10th was raised from the counties of Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Fulton, Erie, and Onondaga; it mustered in at Elmira on December 23, 1861. Nicknamed the Porter Guard, the regiment was commanded by Maj. Matthew H. Avery (1835-1881). He was later a pioneer in the oil business.

10th New York Cavalry

Cavalry Corps, 2nd Division, 3rd Brigade

Engaged: 392; 2 killed, 4 wounded, 3 missing

Monument: Hanover Road

3d Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery

The 3d Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, Battery H were members of the 2nd Division of the Cavalry corps. This battery was raised in Lebanon County in September 1862. Also known as the 152nd Volunteers, this battery was stationed in Baltimore for the duration of it’s service, with the notable exception of the Gettysburg Campaign.

The battery was under the command of Capt. William D. Rank (1838-1872), a Philadelphia clerk. It consisted of 2 Ordnance Rifles and 52 men. The battery’s monument is located on the Hanover Road, not far from the East Cavalry field. The monument’s main feature is a bronze relief on the front of the memorial. A marker is also located on Hancock Avenue.

3d Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery (Battery H)

Horse Artillery, Cavalry Corps

52 men and 2 Ordnance Rifles; 1 missing

Monument: Hanover Road

1st Maine Cavalry

The monument to the 1st Maine Cavalry is located along the heavily traveled (and extremely dangerous) Hanover Road near the park entrance to the East Cavalry battlefield.

The monument consits of a large bas relief of a cavalryman mounting his steed.

The 1st Maine Cavalry came from the counties of Aroostook, Cumberland, Franklin, Kennebec, Penobscot, Somerset, and York.

It was formed at Augusta in the fall of 1861.

Their commander at Gettysburg was Lt. Col. Charles H. Smith (1827-1902), a teacher and law student in Eastport, Maine at the beginning of the War.

Smith was wounded at the battle of Saint Mary’s Church on June 24, 1864 and was later awarded a Medal of Honor for that fight. He remained in the Army after the War.

(Company L served at First Corps Headquarters while Company I served at Cavalry Corps headquarters.)

1st Maine Cavalry

Cavalry Corps, 2nd Division, 3rd Brigade

Lt. Col. Charles H. Smith (1827-1902)

Engaged: 438; 1 killed, 4 wounded

Monument: Hanover Road

Purnell Legion (Maryland Cavalry)

The Purnell Legion Maryland Cavalry, Company A came from Hartford County and was raised in the fall of 1861.  The Legion numbered under 80 men at Gettysburg.  Their commander was Capt. Robert E. Duvall (1812-1890), a farmer and state legislator from Bel Air.

The Legion’s monument is located along Gregg Avenue on the East Cavalry battlefield.  It is a bas relief of a cavalry soldier kneeling with his carbine, a “tribute” to Maryland’s “loyal sons.”

Purnell Legion (Maryland Cavalry)

Cavalry Corps, 2nd Division, 1st Brigade

Capt. Robert E. Duvall (1812-1890)

Engaged 78; no loss

Monument: Gregg Avenue East Cavalry Field

3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry

Nicknamed the “Kentucky Light Cavalry” or the “60th Pennsylvania Volunteers,” the 3d Pennsylvania Cavalry was raised in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and from the Pennsylvania counties of Allegheny, Cumberland, and Schuykill. The regiment recieved it’s nickname because it was formed by Col. William H. Young of Kentucky during the summer of 1861.

At Gettysburg it was commanded by Lt. Col. Edward S. Jones (1818-1886), a publisher from Germantown.

The monument is located on the East Cavalry battlefield near the Cavalry Shaft Monument along Gregg Avenue opposite the Michigan Brigade monument. This monument marks the location that the regiment fought from on the battlefield engaging in mounted and dismounted action on July 3, 1863.

There is also a marker along Low Dutch Road to this regiment on the East Cavalry battlefield.

The monument’s main feature is a large bas relief of a cavalryman charging into battle atop his trusty warhorse.

3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry

Cavalry Corps, 2nd Division, 1st Brigade

Lt. Col. Edward S. Jones (1818-1886)

Engaged 394; 15 wounded, 6 missing

Monument: Gregg Avenue, East Cavalry Battlefield. Flagpole honoring Brooke Rawle.

1st New Jersey Cavalry

Raised from the counties of Burlington, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, and Sussex in the fall of 1861, this regiment was commanded at Gettysburg by Maj. Myron H. Beaumont (1837-1878), a man who proved to be a rascal after the War (he deserted his wife with his brother in law’s wife and ended up in various criminal activity). This monument on the East Cavalry field marks the location of the regiment on July 3 where it fought both mounted and dismounted for several hours.

Company L of the 1st New Jersey Cavalry was at 6th Corps headquarters; companies E & G were headquartered in defense of Washington DC.

1st New Jersey Cavalry

Cavalry Corps, 2nd Division, 1st Brigade

Maj. Myron H. Beaumont (1837-1878)

Engaged 269; 9 wounded

Monument: Gregg Avenue, East Cavalry Battlefield

1st United States Artillery Batteries E & G

1st United States Artillery Batteries E & G were horse artillery units attached to the cavalry corps. The unit was raised from New York City and Suffolk County, Massachusetts and dated to 1821. The unit was consolidated in February 1862.

The commander at Gettysburg was Capt. Alanson M. Randal (1837-1887), an 1860 graduate of West Point.

The unit consisted of 4 Ordnance Rifles and 84 men at Gettysburg. It was engaged in the East Cavalary battle on July 3, 1863.

1st United States Artillery Batteries E & G

Cavalry Corps, 2nd Division

Capt. Alanson M. Randal (1837-1887)

Engaged: 4 Ordnance Rifles and 84 men; no loss

Monument: East Cavalry Battlefield

5th New York Cavalry

One of the least accessible monuments at Gettysburg belongs to the 5th New York Cavalry.  The 11 companies were raised from New York City and the counties of Essex and Tioga.  Known as the “First Ira Harris Guard,” Company I was in Washington during the battle.

The back of this monument features a plaque detailing the unit’s service.  The front contains an excellent relief carving of a calvary man mounted upon his horse.  The New York seal is also featured.

The monument is stained green from the trees around it.  It is nearly impossible to keep it clean for a long time.

One of the circa 1890s bronze Park Service signs points out the single track path to this monument and an associated battery of United States artillery (E - 4th US Horse).  The path takes the visitor back through the woods and up part of Big Round Top.  This monument is probably one of the least visited at Gettysburg.

The commander of the 5th New York Cavalry at Gettysburg was Maj. John Hammond (1827-1889), a iron manufacutuer in Crown Point who later served in Congress during  1879 to 1883.

5th New York Cavalry

Cavalry Corps, 3rd Division, 1st Brigade

Maj. John Hammond (1827-1889)

Engaged: 468; 1 killed, 1 wounded, 4 missing

Monument: knoll southwest of Big Round Top.  Accessible via South Confederate Avenue

16th Pennsylvania Cavalry

The 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry was also known as the 161st Pennsylvania Volunteers. Raised from the city of Philadelphia and mainly from the counties of Erie, Fayette, Franklin, Juniata, Venango, and Washington in the fall of 1862, the regiment numbered 411 men at Gettysburg. This regiment a broad section of Pennsylvania.

Their commander was Lt. Col. John K. Robinson (1829-1917), a farmer in Patterson.

The regiment suffered modest casualties at the battle of Gettysburg. It suffered further casualties during the campaign.

The monument to the 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry is located well off the beaten path on Highland Avenue.

Highland Avenue is located not far from the East Cavalry Battlefield off of the Hanover Road (current route 116). Thanks to Eric Wittenberg, cavalry guru, for directions to it. Because of its location, this monument is a canidiate for the least visited at Gettysburg.

The stone monument is located today next to a church. The main feature is a large stone statue of a dismounted cavalryman. The monument also features, as do all Pennsylvania monuments, a bronze state seal.

The monument stands at the position held by the regiment on July 3. The regiment guarded the extreme right wing of Meade’s Army as part of J. Irvin Gregg’s Brigade.

The monument was dedicated on October 15, 1884.

16th Pennsylvania Cavalry

Cavalry Corps, 2nd Division, 3d Brigade

Lt. Col. John K. Robinson (1829-1917)

Engaged: 411; 2 killed, 4 wounded

Monument: Highland Avenue

1st, 5th, 6th, 7th Michigan Cavalry

Located on the East Cavalry Battlefield, this tall monument is to the “Wolverine Brigade.”

A few regiments at Gettysburg don’t have individual regimental monuments, but rather are honored with a single larger monument to the brigade. Such is the case of the 1st, 5th, 6th, and 7th Michigan Cavalry Regiments. Members of Custer’s Brigade, their monument is located near the center of the East Cavalry battlefield, along a grass avenue known as “Custer Avenue.”

The 1st Michigan Cavalry was commanded by Colonel Charles Town (1828-1865) and lost 10 killed, 43 wounded, and 20 missing out of a little over 500 engaged. The 5th Cavalry was commanded by Colonel Russell A. Alger (1836-1907) — who would later serve in the U.S. Senate, Governor of Michigan, and as the Secretary of War. The 5th lost 8 killed, 30 wounded, and 18 missing out of over 750 engaged.

The 6th Cavalry took just over 600 men into action under the command of Colonel George Gray, a Grand Rapids attorney. They lost 1 killed, 26 wounded, and 1 missing.

Detail of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade Monument

Finally, the smallest unit at about 460 men, the 7th Michigan took ten companies into battle at Gettysburg under Colonel William D’Alton Mann of Sandusky Ohio (1839-1920). It lost 13 killed, 48 wounded, and 39 missing.

The monument was erected by the spring of 1889 and stands along a swath of cut grass known by an iron park sign as “Custer Avenue.” Note the detail of the horse heads along the top of the monument.

Members of the Cavalry Corps, 3rd Division, 2nd Brigade

Brigade commanded by General George A. Custer

Engaged: 1,934

Casualties: 32 killed, 147 wounded, 78 missing

Monument: “Custer Avenue,” East Cavalry Battlefield