16th Maine Infantry

The monument to the 16th Maine Infantry is a simple oblesik located along Doubleday Avenue, Oak Ridge. This was the regiment’s position on July 1 from 1:00 until 4:00. The 16th was told to hold the position near the Mummasburg Road “at all costs.” Much of the regiment was captured as a result.

The 311 men of the 16th Maine were commanded by Col. Charles W. Tilden (1832-1914), a merchant from Castine. When Tilden was captured leading the regiment on July 1, Capt. Daniel Marston (1813-1891), a grocer from Phillips, took command.

The 16th was recruited from the counties of Androscoggin, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford, Penobscot, and Somerset. It mustered in at Augusta on August 14, 1862.

A marker is located near the monument marking the position the 16th was told to hold at all cost.

16th Maine Infantry

1st Corps, 2nd Division, 1st Brigade

Engaged: 311; 9 killed, 59 wounded, 164 missing

Monument: Doubleday Avenue

High Water Mark Monument

The “High Water Mark Monument” is located behind the famous clump of trees at the Angle. Appropriately, the monument was designed by John Bachelder — the man who was probably most important in establishing this area as of central importance to the battle.

Bachelder was the Superintendent of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association. He played an important role in establishing and determining the location of many of the park’s monuments and tablets.

Bachelder is important to anyone studying the history of Gettysburg and the monumentation of the Park.

The monument consists of a large open book which lists the names of the Union and Confederate units that participated in the assault and repulse. The large book is propped open by cannon balls.

Two cannons with a stack of cannonballs piled next to them are also part of the memorial.

The High Water Mark Monument was dedicated on June 2, 1892. The $6,500.00 cost was borne by the 14 states listed on a plaque on the monument. The monument consists of Fox Island and Quincy granite and standard bronze.

157th New York Infantry

The 157th New York was raised from the counties of Cortland and Madison in September 1862.

Their commander was Col. Philip P. Brown (1823-1881), the principal of Madison University school.

This regiment has two monuments at Gettysburg.

The first, and largest, was erected by the regiment. It stands at the intersection of Howard Avenue and the Carlise Road. This was the second position held by the regiment during the afternoon of July 1, 1863 with the rest of the brigade.

A second, smaller monument was erected using the state appropriation money. This monument is located on Howard Avenue near its intersection with the Mummasburg Road.

It is located where the regiment first held on the extreme left of the 11th Corps line on July 1, 1863.

About 300 yards in front of the larger monument to the 157th New York is a marker that denotes the forward position on July 1. This marker is located along the Carisle Road.

157th New York Infantry

11th Corps, 3rd Division, 1st Brigade

Col. Philip P. Brown (1823-1881)

Engaged: 431; 27 killed, 166 wounded, 114 missing

Monument: Two; Howard Avenue at the Carlisle and Mummasburg Roads

Stannard’s Vermont Brigade

There were two Vermont Brigades at Gettysburg. The more famous “First Vermont Brigade” was part of the Sixth Corps reserve. The second Vermont Brigade, commanded by General George Stannard, was part of the First Corps. These were nine month volunteers nearing the end of their enlistments. They missed the first day battle, but found themselves flanking “Pickett’s Charge” on July 3. This brigade is sometimes called “The Paper Collar Brigade.”

The brigade monument is located along Hancock Avenue. It was dedicated on October 9, 1889 at a cost of $11,750.00. The monument consists of a tall granite column (the column is 55′ high topped by a 11′ tall statue) topped by a bronze statue of General Stannard. The sculptor of the statue was Karl Gerhardt. The sculptor’s work was hindered by the fact that no good likeness of Stannard existed; however, his cast was approved by the General’s wife and daughter. Stannard is depicted missing his right arm; he lost it at Fort Harrison, after Gettysburg.

The monument honors the 12th Vermont (which guarded trains at Rock Creek Church), 13th Vermont (under the command of Col. Francis V. Randall; this unit has a separate monument as well), the 14th Vermont (commanded by Col. William T. Nichols (1829-1882) an attorney in Rutland), the 15th Vermont (under Col. Redfield Proctor (1831-1908) a Boston attorney later elected to the U.S. Senate and as Vermont’s governor), and the 16th Vermont (under the command of Col. Wheelock G. Veazey (1835-1898), who won a medal of honor at Gettysburg).

The men of this Vermont brigade came from the counties of Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Franklin, Lamoille, Orleans, Orange, Rutland, Washington, Windsor, and Windham.

12th, 13th, 14th,15th, and 16th Vermont Infantry Regiments

1st Corps,3d Division, 3d Brigade

Engaged: 12th (not at Gettysburg) / 13th (see separate post) / 14th 722; 19 killed, 67 wounded, 21 missing / 15th 637; no loss (guarding trains on July 3); 16th 715; 16 killed, 102 wounded, 1 missing

Monument: Hancock Avenue

John Burns

The statue to John Burns, a Gettysburg civilian who joined the battle on July 1st and got himself wounded fighting alongside the 150th Pennsylvania and the Iron Brigade, is located along Stone Avenue near the McPherson Barn. The monument cost $1,500.00 and was dedicated on July 1, 1903. The sculptor was Albert G. Bureau. Bureau used a photograph of Burns to model the face.

The base of the monument is a natural granite boulder from the battlefield, while the statue itself is what is termed “standard bronze.” The monument was raised by the Pennsylvania General Assembly.

John Burns was 70 at the time of the battle. He was mentioned in General Doubleday’s battle report and became a national hero.

Burns died in 1872 and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg.

94th New York Infantry

The 94th New York Infantry was recruited in Jefferson County and was known as the Belle Jefferson Rifles. The 94th was formed from a consolidation of the 94th and 105th Regiments.

The 445 men of the 94th were commanded by Col. Adrian R. Root (1833-1899), a native of Buffalo. When Root was wounded on July 1, Maj. Samuel A. Moffett took command. Moffett (d. 1917) had been a clerk in Rodman prior to the War.

Much of the 94th New York was captured after desperate fighting on Oak Ridge on July 1. Their monument is located near the present-day Doubleday Inn along Doubleday Avenue.

94th New York Infantry

1st Corps, 2nd Division, 1st Brigade

Engaged: 445; 12 killed, 58 wounded, 175 missing

Monument: Doubleday Avenue

32nd Massachusetts Infantry

The 32nd Massachusetts Infantry was one of the Fifth Corps, 1st Division units engaged in the Wheatfield. Their monument is located on the Loop. It was dedicated in October 1894 and cost only $500.00. It was designed by S.C. Spaulding, a veteran of the unit.

The main monument is the second picture in this post. It is shaped like a soldier’s pup tent — a simple shelter used while on active campaign.

The pup tent monument is located on the 32nd’s main firing line during the Wheatfield fighting.

Nearby is a bronze plaque (the first picture in this post) on a large boulder behind the monument to the 5th Michigan Infantry. The plaque, placed in 1895, marks the location of an advanced position field hospital established by the regimental surgeon.

The 32nd was raised from the counties of Essex, Middlesex, Plymouth, and Suffolk during the fall and winter of 1861-1862.

It was commanded by Col. George L. Prescott (1829-1864), a lumber dealer from Concord who later was mortally wounded in one of the early assaults on Petersburg.

32nd Massachusetts Infantry

5th Corps, 1st Division, 2nd Brigade

Engaged: 406; 13 killed, 62 wounded, 5 missing

Monument: Sickles Avenue

14th Indiana Infantry

The monument to the 14th Indiana Infantry is located on East Cemetery Hill, off the Baltimore Pike. The simple granite memorial sits at the spot where color bearer Isaac Morris was killed.

The 14th was raised from the counties Greene, Knox, Martin, Monroe, Owen, Parke, Vanderburgh, and Vermillion. It mustered in at Terre Haute on June 7, 1861.

Their commander at Gettysburg was Col. John Coons (1828-1864), a lawyer from Vincennes. He was killed leading the 14th at Spotsylvania on May 12, 1864.

The 14th Indiana numbered 236 at Gettysburg and did their main fighting on Cemetery Hill on the evening of July 2.

14th Indiana Infantry

2d Corps, 3d Division, 1st Brigade

Engaged: 236; 6 killed, 25 wounded

Monument: East Cemetery Hill. Right flank position.

5th United States Cavalry

The 5th United States Cavalry was organized in 1855 at Louisville as part of the 2nd Cavalry. It became designated the 5th Cavalry in August 1861. The men came from New York City, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Suffolk County (Massachusetts), and Hamilton County (Ohio).

The regiment numbered 454 under the command of Capt. Julius W. Mason (1835-1882), an engineer from Towanda. The 5th suffered 5 casualties at Gettysburg.

It was engaged on July 3 on the South Cavalry battlefield.

5th United States Cavalry

Cavalry Corps, 1st Division, Reserve Brigade

Engaged: 454; 4 wounded, 1 missing

Monument: South Cavalry Battlefield

1st New York Artillery Battery C

The 1st New York Artillery, Battery C was recruited from Jefferson County in September 1861. At Gettysburg, the battery consisted of four Ordnance Rifles and 88 men. They were in reserve and suffered no loss.

The battery was commanded by Capt. Almont Barnes (1835-1918), a graduate of National Law School (Washington D.C.) and a journalist in Watertown.

The monument to Battery C is located along Sedgwick Avenue behind the Valley of Death. This was the unit’s position from 4:30 in the afternoon of July 2 until approximately 4 AM on July 3. There is a marker along Howe Avenue denoting the position held on July 3 on the left flank of Big Round Top.

1st New York Artillery Battery C

5th Corps Artillery Brigade

4 Ordnance Rifles and 88 men; no loss

Monument: Sedgwick Avenue [Alternate Image]