The Gettysburg Military Park Commission or whatever the equivalent of the National Park Service was in approximately 1900 (I think it was the War Department) took an inventory of all the existing monuments in the eventual historic district. I have found hundreds of these pictures on Virtual Gettysburg, a comprehensive website which pictorially inventories all the monuments, providing a text of all inscriptions and minor narratives. All the photos look the same as if they were taken by the same camera and in the same approximate time period. Even the angles are all the same, positioning the monument at a slight right angle, revealing a little of the left part of the monument. The entire park looks so young and immature when the photos were taken. After all, the Battle of Gettysburg was 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.
Clearly it is evident, through a survey of historical pictures and other archival information, much change has occurred at Gettysburg Battlefield. With the passage of legislation affording historical status to this site as well as placing it under the auspices of the National Park Service, its patrons and caretakers had to groom and prepare the area to make it more authentic as well as educational. Today the battlefield has managed to maintain an authentic 1863 feel, but back then, as evident in the many photos, it was a desolate, empty place of green fields broken only by the occasional farmstead, their outbuildings and fields of crops. With the emergence and dedication of hundreds of monuments since 1900, and the development of farmland, some change has occurred but nothing too dramatic. After almost 125 years, these two pics are still pretty darn close and line up nicely. I was unable to discern any dramatic difference. There are a few scraggly trees in the background, the only difference to be seen.
The 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument is located on the east side of the Althoff/John Weikert farm lane in the Valley of Death, north of Wheatfield Road. The monument faces due north (with the farmhouse to the rear) but I faced southwest when I snapped my picture, approximately 10 feet away, capturing the monument at an angle, doing my best to match up with the old picture from 1900. My picture was taken Saturday, March 10th, 2012 @ 6:09 PM (Daylight Savings Time) at an elevation of 530 feet ASL. I used my General Electric 10.1 megapixel model # A1050 digital camera.
From a previous waymark about this monument:
The 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry served as a member of Wheaton’s Brigade in Newton’s Division of the Sixth Corps, Army of the Potomac, a Fighting 300 Regiment. The 93rd Pennsylvania was commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Major John I. Nevin (1837-1884), a teacher in Sewickley. The 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment lost 11 officers and 161 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded and 1 officer and 111 enlisted men to disease during the Civil War.
The 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument is located on the east side of the Althoff/John Weikert farm lane in the Valley of Death, north of Wheatfield Road. The monument is on Crawford Avenue (Driveway to John Weikert Farm), on the right when traveling north. There are two monuments to the 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment about 300 yards apart on the battlefield of Gettysburg. The original monument (not this one) on Sedgwick Avenue was dedicated in 1884 by the surviving members of the regiment. The monument marks the starting point of the regiment's advance on the evening of July 2 after its grueling march from Manchester, Maryland. The waymark for that monument can be found HERE.
The Draw the Sword site helped out by the NPS narrative and the SIRIS site offers the following description: Monument: granite, fronted with bronze tablet and seal of State of Pennsylavnia. Granite monument with relief of military insignia, crossed flags, rifles, and infantry accouterments and metal tablet on front, topped by finial of VI Corps Cross, symbol of the Union 6th Corps Army. The monument is mounted on a two-tiered base, set atop a boulder. The boulder is actually part of the the original regimental monument, which was relocated to Munshowser’s Knoll in 1888. Overall height is 15.4 foot. The flanking markers are flat topped and are one foot square.
The monument marks the position held by the 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry after counter attack on Confederates in Wheatfield on evening of July 2, 1863.
The monument was dedicated on October 3, 1888 by the the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The monument is composed of granite, with a bronze tablet and was fabricated by P. F. Eisenbrown & Sons. The sculpture has the following dimensions: Overall: approx. H. 15 ft. 2 in.; Base: approx. W. 6 ft. 9 in. x D. 6 ft. 9 in. The various inscriptions read:
(Front):93d Penna. Infantry.
3d Brigade, 3d Division, 6th Corps.
July 2nd & 3rd 1863.
(Left):After
charging with
the Brigade from
the right of Little Round
Top in the evening of July 2d
and assisting in the repulse
of the enemy and in the capture
of a number of prisoners
the regiment retired to and
held this position until after
the close of the battle
(Back):Organized
at Lebanon as the
Lebanon Infantry
Mustered in Oct. 28th. 1861
Re-enlisted January 1st. 1864
Mustered out June 27th. 1865
(Right):Present at Gettysburg
270 officers and men
Loss 1 officer and 9 men
(1 mortally) wounded
The 93rd Pennsylvania 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 MN119-B.
From the Nomination Form:
Marks position held by 93rd Pennsylvania after its counterattack on remnants of Confederates in the Wheatfield on evening of July 2, 1863. 1 of 110 mns in Park to PA commands at Gettysburg. Located on E side of F. Althoff/John Weikert Farm Lane.
Short Physical Description:
Mn & 2 flank markers. Mounted on relocated boulder. Base, 6'9" square. Granite shaft 4' square. Topped w/ VI Corps insignia. All 15'4" high. Shaft decorated w/ sculpted infantry accoutrements, bronze tablet & inscriptions. Flank markers, flat topped,1'x1'x1'
Long Physical Description:
Monument that has two flanking markers. Monument is a four foot square granite shaft topped with the Sixth Corps insignia and set on a 6.9 foot base that is mounted on a relocated boulder. Overall height is 15.4 foot. The shaft is decorated with sculpted infantry accoutrements, a bronze tablet and inscriptions. Flanking markers are flat topped, one foot square. Located on the east side of F. Althoff/John Weikert farm lane.
My Sources
1.
NRHP Narrative
2.
SIRIS
3.
Stone Sentinels
4.
Virtual Gettysburg
5.
Draw the Sword
6.
Historical Marker Database