Farnsworth's Brigade - US Brigade Tablet - Gettysburg National Military Park Historic District - Gettysburg, PA - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

The 1st Brigade was also known as Farnsworth’s Brigade. During the battle of Gettysburg, the brigade served as a member of Kilpatrick’s Division in the Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac. The brigade was commanded by Brig. Gen. Elon John Farnsworth (July 30, 1837 – July 3, 1863), a Union Army cavalry general in the American Civil War, and killed here, at the Battle of Gettysburg. During the charge at this site (ordered by Kilpatrick and deemed hopeless & suicidal by Farnsworth) against the rebels, the unit lost 3 commissioned officers (killed) with 4 wounded, and 2 missing. Of the enlisted men, 17 were killed, 26 wounded, and 55 went missing. This information is according to the after action report of Col. Nathaniel P. Richmond, who took over command of the brigade when Farnsworth was killed during the charge.

The Farnsworth Brigade Monument is located 36 feet from South Confederate Avenue, on the right or south side if traveling east. The marker is inside a small patch of grass, with Bushman Hill to the rear. The monument is on a curve resembling a sine wave. This marker would be just to the west of the upper peak of the first oscillation (upper maximum amplitude), just where the wave of a turn finishes its first cycle. The monument faces the north. Parking is tricky around here so exercise caution. Please do not park on the grass, park on the side of the road. I cannot emphasize that enough! I visited this monument on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 4:58 PM, just before the clocks were set ahead for the Spring. I was at a 572 foot ASL elevation.

These monuments were first built in 1900 and concluded in 1906 according to the NRHP nomination form. One site has the monument being erected in 1912; the NRHP also has it at 1911. It is amazing with all the work and effort exerted to make the Gettysburg National Military Park a reality, no one took the time to keep accurate records and correct installation dates. The work was done under the direction of the Gettysburg National Park Commission (established by the United States Department of War), after they took over the administration of the park from the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association (whose funds had expired) on March 3, 1893, and whose stewardship was then transferred to the National Park Service in 1933) SOURCE.

Draw the Sword, with descriptive help from the NPS site, offers the following description: One of 74 brigade monuments erected at Gettysburg by the United States War Department to describe the movements and itinerary of each Union brigade of the Army of the Potomac. Monuments were designed by E.B. Cope. Pedestals: Monolith consisting of polished smooth sea-green granite pedestal with a square 36" by 36" base. Base tapers to a smaller dimension at the tablet. On each pedestal is mounted a bronze inscription tablet measuring 4’0? x 3’8” with rounded corners weighing 300 pounds. Each brigade monument stands 5’4" high and weigh 3,500 pounds. Completed between 1911 and 1912. The inscription on this tablet reads:

Army of the Potomac
Cavalry Corps Third Division
First Brigade
Brig. Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth
Col. Nathaniel P. Richmond
5th. New York 18th. Pennsylvania
1st. Vermont 1st. (10 Cos.) West Virginia Cavalry
June 30 Arrived at Hanover about noon and was attacked by Major Gen. Stuart's Cavalry and Horse Artillery which first encountered the 18th Penna. in the rear of the column later the Brigade was engaged and Major Gen. Stuart having been forced from the town retired with the loss of a battle-flag and over 70 men.

July 1 & 2 Not engaged.

July 3 Moved to the left to attack the Confederate right and rear arriving about 1 p.m. and became engaged with the Confederate skirmishers being supported at 3 p.m. by the Reserve Cavalry Brigade on the left. At 5.30 p.m. the 18th Pa. 1st Vt. and 1st West Virginia charged the Confederate left through woods and among stone fences held by superior forces of Infantry and Artillery but were repulsed with heavy loss including Brig. Gen. Farnsworth killed.

Casualties. Killed 3 officers 18 men. Wounded 6 officers 28 men. Captured or missing 1 officer 42 men. Total 98.

There are scores of similar monuments for the various Confederate States & Union units which fought at Gettysburg. Four designs represent brigade, division, corps and army headquarters, and each has elements which identify it as Union or Confederate. Many of the tablets were created by Albert Russell & Sons Co. of Newburyport, Massachusetts and are made of granite, bronze and concrete or like this one, cast iron. 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 several different varieties. The monuments were erected just after the turn of the century during the first and beginning of the second decade of the 20th century. Each one has since been preserved or restored at least twice since the turn of the 21st century. The plaques and tablets were erected by the Gettysburg Park Commission (established by the War Department). The Gettysburg Park Commission is also referred to as the Gettysburg National Military Park Commission or the Gettysburg National Park Commission, to clear up any confusions, especially my own.

On October 1, 1898, the Gettysburg National Park Commission in a letter to the Secretary of War set gave recommendations for continuing the task of organizing and progressing the work of the Gettysburg National Military Park. Every November they wrote their annual report which outlined the work of the GNPC for that year. The following is an excerpt from that report relevant to this waymark. The link at the end of the paragraph will take you to the entire report. The method of marking the positions of troops on this field, as approved by the War Department, is to place the principal tablet or monument of each command at the position occupied by the command in the main line of battle, and to mark the several important positions subsequently reached by each command in the course of the battle by subordinate and ancillary tablets, with appropriate brief inscriptions giving interesting details and occurrences and noting the day and hour as nearly as possible. SOURCE

Information about these specific types of monuments:
BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS MARKERS (FOR UNION & CONFEDERATE TABLETS)
Brigade Headquarters (and Confederate artillery battalions, equivalent to Union artillery brigades) are bronze tablets mounted at an angle on a stone pedestal. They are the most numerous headquarters at Gettysburg, with over 70 Union and over 60 Confederate examples on the field. Union headquarters are marked with their corps or service branch symbol (like a cross, clover or crescent moon), while Confederate headquarters are simply labeled "C.S.A.". There are seventy-four brigade markers at Gettysburg honoring the AOP’s various brigades. (Other sources say there are 75). They were built by Albert Russell & Sons Co. of Newburyport, Massachusetts and Charles Kappes. The pedestals consist of sea-green granite with a square 36” x 36” base; they weigh 3500 pounds. On each pedestal is mounted a bronze tablet with rounded corners weighing 300 pounds. There are sixty-four brigade markers honoring the Army of North Virginia's various brigades. They were built by Van Amringe Granite Company (pedestals), Albert Russell & Sons Co., Newburyport, Mass (tablets) and Charles Kappes (foundations). The last was completed in December 1910. The 1910 date is disputed by other sites listing the end dates as 1912. The monuments consist of red circular Maine granite bases 34 1/2 inches diameter and weighing 3,000 pounds. On each base is mounted a 300 pound bronze tablet. SOURCE & SOURCE

The Farnsworth'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 monument is identified as structure number MN520.

From the Nomination Form:
1 of 75 Civil War US Brigade Tablets in Park. Records movement & itinerary of Farnsworth's Brigade during Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863.

Short Physical Description:
Bronze inscription tablet, 4”0’ x 3’8”, attached to slant face of polished sea green granite monolith. 3’0” squared base of monument tapers to a smaller dimension at the tablet. All 5’4” H.

Long Physical Description:
Located on S side of South Confederate Ave, near Bushman Hill.