I just could not resolve why the Lincoln HIghway appeared slightly closer or why the railroad cut was a little more north. Turns out the monument was slightly moved to make way for progress. Above the monument to the northwest, about 70 feet away is a bridge. This bridge was built in 1960 when North Reynolds Avenue was piked. It must have been restored or rebuilt in 2008 in consequence of the dated stone present on the southern end. As a result of the construction, a few monuments had to be moved east or west, depending on what side of the road they were located. The pictures still match up rather well thanks to endless fields of green.
Some obvious changes are the hundred year growth of the forest way in the background. Also obvious is the development of the historical park, also seen in the distance. I faced east, southeast, with the railroad cut to my left, the Lincoln Highway to my right and the bridge to my back when I snapped my photo on April 20, 2011 in the late afternoon, about 5:00 PM.
I have a strong feeling the Gettysburg Military Park Commission or whatever the equivalent of the National Park Service was in 1900 took an inventory of all the existing monuments in the eventual historic district over the next couple of decades. I have found hundreds of these pictures on Virtual Gettysburg, a nice website which inventories all the monuments. All the photos look the same as if it was the same camera and in the same approximate time period. I am not sure if this photo is included in the inventory archive or if it was found separately. The entire park looks so young and immature when the photos were taken, especially this one as evident by the small forest in the background. After all, the Battle of Gettysburg was only thirty-seven years old at the time and war veterans were only in their fifties. I have never been able to find any photo credits but I know they are public domain. This picture can be found HERE.
From my previous waymark:
The granite monument/sculpture marks the approximate location where the 6th Wisconsin Infantry along w/ the 95th & 84th New York Regiments charged & captured the 22 Mississippi Regiment on the afternoon July 1 1863 at the railroad cut. The position on Culp's Hill marks the line on July 2 & 3 1863. The monument is located east of N. Reynolds Ave. and south of the RR cut.
There is a couple of small dirt cuotouts on the side of Reynolds Avenue where visitors can pull off. The terrain on this is a little higher than a 1 as you have to walk down a small slope to get to this and several other monuments on both sides of the road, south of the railroad cut. This one is in the grass, fifty-seven feet from the road. The Lincoln Highway can be seen in the close distance. Another monument is a few feet away, marking this the only position I have seen where two monuments share the same piece of real estate. There is a good reason for this as the monument was moved 50 feet east of its original location when Reynolds Avenue was piked, or when the bridge was installed in 1960. I have the old coordinates being approximately 39° 50.243'N 77° 14.898'W.
At the top of this red granite sculpture is the five-sided symbol which represents the Iron Brigade, and a circle is the symbol of the Union First Army Corps. I have seen several other Wisconsin monuments with the same star up top. The Iron Brigade insignia tops a polished marker which stands on a two-tiered, smooth and rough-hewn base. Decorative elements on three faces of the die include an eagle over crossed flags, figures standing on each side of a shield and crossed rifles on a knapsack. Flanking and position markers are smooth with flat polished tops. At the very edge of the cut, north of this position, are two flank markers, one for N.Y. and one for Wisconsin, side by side.
The monument was dedicated June 30, 1888 by the State of Wisconsin and is one of 6 honoring Wisconsin troops who participated in the Gettysburg campaign. The sculpture is approximately 11 feet 7 inches by 2 feet 2 inches (squared). The two-tiered base is approximately 4 feet 6 inches, squared. The monument was fabricated by the B & M Granite Company. The regiment was command by Lieutenant Colonel Rufus R. Dawes, grandson of William Dawes who rode with Paul Revere. It brought 340 men to the field and lost 30 killed, 116 wounded and 22 missing.
The various inscriptions read:
(Front):
6th Wis. Vol.
1st Brigade,
1st Division,
1st Corps.
—————
July 1, 1863.
Iron Brigade(Left):In the charge made on this R.R. cut
the 2nd Miss. Regt. officers,
men and battle flag
surrendered to the 6th Wis.
Loss in the 6th Regt.
Killed ————— 30.
Wounded ———— 116.
Missing ————22.
Aggregate ——— 168.(Right):On July 2. & 3. this Regt. lay on Culp's
Hill on the evening of the 2. it move
to the support of Greenes Brigade and
assisted to repulse Johnson's Division.
Number who lost their lives in battle,
in the 6th Wis. Regt. during the war
Killed ————— 163,
Died of Wounds ——— 71,
Total ———— 234.
The 6th Wisconsin Infantry Monument is a contributing feature to the Gettysburg National Military Park Historic District which is nationally significant under NR Criteria A, B, C & D. Areas of Significance: Military, Politics/Government, Landscape Architecture, Conservation, Archeology-Historic. Period of Significance: 1863-1938. The original National Register Nomination was approved by the Keeper March 19, 1975. An update to this nomination was approved by the Keeper on January 23, 2004. The monument is identified as structure number MN026-C.
From the nomination form:
Short Physical Description:
Mn, 2 flank markers, 1 position marker. Rough hewn base, 4'6" sq. shaft w/ incised inscriptions, 2'2" sq, & topped w/ Iron Brigade insignia. Flank & position markers smooth w/ flat polished tops. Inscription on top.
Long Physical Description
A monument that has two flanking markers and one position marker. Monument is a red granite shaft of 4.6 foot on a rough hewn base. It is incised with inscriptions and topped with the Iron Brigade insignia. Flanking and position markers are smooth with flat polished tops. Monument and flanking markers are located east of north Reynolds Avenue south of the Western Maryland Railroad cut. They were moved in 1960 at the time the new bridge over the cut was built. The position marker is located on Culp's Hill.
My Sources
1.
Draw the Sword
2.
SIRIS
3.
Virtual Gettysburg
4.
Historical Marker Database
5.
Stone Sentinels
6.
NRHP Narrative