The was also known as Bainbridge’s Battery. During the battle of Gettysburg, it served as a member of Muhlenberg’s Brigade in the Twelfth Corps, Army of the Potomac. The unit was commanded by Lieutenant David H. Kinzie (1841-1904). Kinzie was born in Chicago, but entered West Point from the Kansas Territory. USMA 1861. Career soldier. This unit had 4 Napoleons and 86 men engaged at Gettysburg having five men wounded.
The Battery K, 5th U.S. Artillery - US Regulars Tablet is located at the south side of Hunt Avenue by curve, west of Baltimore Pike. If traveling in a westerly direction it is on the left or south side of the road, just before the bend in the road. The monument faces the north. The structure is identical to the other monument located at the summit of Culp's Hill, next to the observation tower. Draw the Sword, with descriptive help from the NPS site, offers the following description: Locates position occupied by Kinzie’s Battery K, 5th U.S. Artillery, during Battle of Gettysburg, July 2-3, 1863. One of 45 monuments erected to units of the United States regular army on the battlefield. Red granite monolith with gabled top and rough hewn sides and back consists of polished Jonesboro granite 24 by 50 inches and 7 feet high. Set upon a concrete foundation with a descriptive 3’6" x 3’7" bronze tablet and the coat of arms of the United States in bronze. I noticed this particular monument is shiny, almost brand new compared to the other ones of this ilk I found at the battlefield. This one is either new or has been refurbished.
Both of these Battery K monuments have identical inscriptions. This one reads:
Army of the Potomac
Twelfth Corps
Battery K Fifth U.S. Artillery
Four 12 Pounders
Lieut. David H. Kinzie Commanding
July 1 Marched to within a mile and half of Gettysburg.
July 2 At daylight took position to command a gap between the First and Twelfth Corps. At 5 p.m. one section was placed on the summit of Culp's Hill and assisted in silencing Confederate Batteries on Benner's Hill. At 6 p.m. rejoined the Battery at the foot of Powers's Hill.
July 3 At 1 a.m. posted with Lieut. S.T. Rugg's Battery F, 4th U.S. Artillery on the south side of Baltimore Pike opposite the centre of the line of the Twelfth Corps. At 4.30 a.m. opened fire on the Confederates in possession of the line vacated by the Twelfth Corps the preceding night. Firing continued at intervals until after 10 a.m. when the Confederates were driven out. Remained in the same position exposed to the severe shelling which came over Cemetery Hill in the afternoon.
Casualties Wounded 3 men.
There are nine different variations of similar monuments (not including the inverted canons which signal headquarters) for the various Confederate States & Union brigades/batteries/divisions which fought at Gettysburg. Many of the tablets are made of granite, bronze and concrete. Some are made of all iron (position tablets). All of these tablets were designed by architect E.B. Cope. He designed pretty much every tablet for both the Union and Confederate armies, each one distinct, with aforementioned varieties. The monuments were erected just after the turn of the century, continuing to the first couple of years of the second decade (1912 the latest) of the 20th century. Most been preserved (waxing or power washed) or restored since the turn of the 21st century.
Information about these specific types of monuments:
Regimental and Battery Monuments for United States/Union Regular Units
Forty-two monuments honor units of the regular army to fight at Gettysburg. These regiments and batteries were designated as United States Regulars as opposed to the state volunteer forces. These polished granite monuments with bronze plaques affixed to the front were fabricated by the Van Amringe Granite Company, of Boston and authorized in 1907. They were completed in the autumn of 1908. Each consists of Jonesboro granite, 24 by 50 inches and 7 feet high, set upon concrete foundations, and upon each is fastened a descriptive bronze tablet and the coat of arms of the United States.
These monuments are similar in appearance to and often mistaken for headquarters, since they have the same curved-and-scrolled top on the bronze tablet as corps and army headquarters. The difference is that instead of being square, the stone comes to a peak in the center on the U.S. Regulars monuments, with a brass Great Seal of the United States centered within the peak.
A number of Confederate and at least one Union headquarters have more than one marker. This monument for this waymark has an identical monument elsewhere in the Military Park. In many cases these follow the design rules, but sometimes a secondary marker is a tablet mounted on a metal post.
SOURCE & SOURCE
The Kinzie’s Brigade - US Brigade Tablet 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 tablet is designated as contributing structure number MN688.
From the nomination form:
Short Physical Description:
Red granite monolith w/rough-hewn sides & back, 4'2"x2', 7" high. Gable top. Bronze inscription tablet, 3'6"x3'7", mounted on polished face. Bronze seal of US Coat of Arms, 1' in diameter, on face above tablet.
Long Physical Description
Located south side of Hunt Avenue by curve, west of Baltimore Pike.
My Sources
1.
NRHP Narrative
2.
Stone Sentinels
3.
Virtual Gettysburg
4.
Draw the Sword
5.
Historical Marker Database