Company F, 1st US (Vermont) Sharpshooters Monument - Gettysburg, PA - American Civil War Monuments and Memorials on Waymarking.com

The 1st United States Sharpshooters served as a member of Ward’s Brigade in Birney’s Division of the Third Corps, Army of the Potomac, A Fighting 300 Regiment. The unit was commanded by Colonel Hiram Berdan (1824-1893) who was an American engineer, inventor and military officer, world-renowned marksman, and the guiding force behind and commanding colonel of the famed United States Volunteer Sharpshooter Regiments during the American Civil War. He was the inventor of the Berdan rifle, the Berdan centerfire primer and numerous other weapons and accessories. The regiment had 371 men engaged at Gettysburg with a total of 6 killed, 37 wounded, and 6 who went missing.

The Vermont Sharpshooters Monument is located at the intersection of Berdan Avenue and Southwest Confederate Avenue, on the left when traveling west on Berdan Avenue, at the north end of Pitzer Woods. The monument is 375 feet from the S.W. Confederate Avenue. The road is rather small, leading into the woods which loops around like a cul-de-sac and then comes back out to the main road again. The monument faces west. Parky is easy enough; just park along the circle's edge but stay off of the grass. I visited this monument on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 2:51 PM, just before the clocks were set ahead for the Spring. I was at a 553 foot ASL elevation.

The Draw the Sword site helped out by the NPS narrative and the SIRIS site offers the following description: Monument is a 4.5 foot-in-circumference Vermont marble shaft that is seventeen foot high topped with a sculptured eagle. The base is 5.9 foot square with inscriptions. A tall fluted Corinthian column topped by an eagle with wings spread.

The monument marks the advanced site occupied by Co. F on the morning of July 2, 1863, when they advanced from the III Corps lines to the woods on the Fairfield (Millestown) Road, where they met Confederate skirmishes.

The monument was erected on July 2, 1889 by the State of Vermont. The monument is made of Rutland Vermont marble with a regular, old stone base. The memorial is 17 feet in height. The are inscriptions on all four sides which read:

(Front):The State of
Vermont
to the officers and men of
Co. F.
1st U.S. Sharpshooters.
2nd Brig. 1st Div. 3rd Corps.

(Left):Engaged at this point
on the morning of July 2, 1863.
and on Cemetery Ridge July 3.
Also on the skirmish line July 4.
Present for Duty 44.
Killed 1.
Wounded 4.

(Right):Co. F.
1st U.S. Sharpshooters.
Organized in Vermont in 1861:
assigned to the 5th Corps in 1862.
to the 3rd Corps in 1863.
and to the 2nd Corps in 1864.

(Back):Battles.
Yorktown. Antietam. Wilderness.
Hanover C.H. Fredericksburg. Todd's Tavern.
Mechanicsville. Chancellorsville. Spottsylvania.
Gaines' Mill. Gettysburg. Cold Harbor.
Malvern Hill. Kelly's Ford. Petersburg.
Second Bull Run. Locust Grove. Weldon R.R.
And many other minor engagements.
Total number of men enlisted. 177.
Killed. 32. Wounded. 45. Total. 77.

The Company F, 1st US (Vermont) Sharpshooters 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 MN074.

From the Nomination Form:
Short Physical Description:
Base 5'9" square. Shaft 4'5" in circumference, 17' high, fluted column topped with sculptured eagle. Inscriptions cut into base.

Long Physical Description:
Monument is a 4.5 foot-in-circumference Vermont marble shaft that is seventeen foot high topped with a sculptured eagle. The base is 5.9 foot square with inscriptions. Designed by F. Moyneham. Located on the north end of Pitzer Woods north of Berdan Avenue. The monument was extensively damaged by a tree fall in 1995.

To log a visit, a waymarker must visit the monument or memorial in person and post a photo. Personal observations and comments will be appreciated.