This Battery was part of Cabell’s Battalion and served as a member of McLaws’ Division in the First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. The Battalion commander was Lieutenant Colonel William Lewis Cabell (1827-1911) who was a Civil War Confederate Brigadier General. He was an 1850 United States Military graduate and in the beginning of the Civil War he served as Major and Chief Quartermaster to General P.G.T. Beauregard during the First Bull Run Campaign. Afterwards, he served on the staff of General Joseph E. Johnson and helped these two officers design the Confederate Battle Flag. He was promoted to Brigadier General, PACS in January 1863. After the war he studied law and served three terms as Mayor of Dallas, Texas (1874 to 1876, 1877 to 1879, 1883 to 1885).
This battery (the subject of this waymark) however, was commanded by Basil Charles Manly (1839 - 1882), the son of former NC Governor (1848-50) Charles Manly of North Carolina. Manly volunteered in Company A of the 10th North Carolina State Troops at Raleigh N.C. in April 1861, and was commissioned a 1st Lieutenant. He was promoted to Captain of his battery on April 16, 1862 when the original Captain, Steven Ramseur, was appointed colonel of the 49th NC Infantry. After the war, He was elected Mayor of Raleigh in 1875 for seven consecutive 1-year terms. He died during his last term of office on May 15, 1882.
The Manly's North Carolina Battery - CS Battery Marker is located on West Confederate Avenue, on the right or west side of traveling west. To the rear or north of this position is the Confederate Avenue Observation Tower. 
The monument faces the east. Parking can be had at the side of the road at small, intermittently placed cutouts. Please do not park on the grass, park on the side of the road. I cannot emphasize that enough! You will be ticketed. I visited this monument on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 4:08 PM, just before the clocks were set ahead for the Spring. I was at a 589 foot ASL elevation.
These monuments were first built in 1900 and concluded in 1906 according to the NRHP nomination form. Some sites have the monuments being erected in 1910 or later; the NRHP also has this specific one at 1893 ending in 1900 so it would seem the current NPS is clueless about the installation date. 1910 seems to be the most reasonable date so we will go with that. 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: Cast iron tablet, 3’8" x 3’4", with raised inscription painted in a contrasting color and mounted on fluted cast iron post. All 4’4" H. Tablets casts by Calvin Gilbert. The inscription on the 3.8' x 3.4' tablet narrates the events associated with Battery during the Battle. There is also a 10-Pound Parrott rifle/cannon to the right of the marker in a carriage. The one to the left is missing and all that remains is the concrete pad. The inscription on the tablet reads:
Army of Northern Virginia
Longstreet's Corps McLaws's Division
Cabell's Battalion Manly's Battery
First North Carolina Artillery
Two Napoleons, Two 3 inch Rifles
July 2 Took position here 3.30 p.m. and became actively engaged. At 5 p.m. advanced to Peach Orchard and continued firing until dark. Returned here after night.
July 3 The Napoleons remained here. The two rifles with the two rifles of Fraser's Battery took position at 5 a.m. under Capt. Manly on crest beyond Emmitsburg Road and North of Peach Orchard were engaged in the great cannonade and after Longstreet's assault aided in checking pursuit. Continued firing at intervals until 7.30 p.m. Then resumed this position.
July 4 At 10 a.m. aided in checking an advance of three regiments. After night withdrew from the field.
Ammunition expended 1146 rounds.
Losses killed 3, wounded 4, missing 4.
Horses killed or disabled 20.
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 Colonel Emmor Bradley Cope (July 23, 1834 - May 28, 1927). He designed pretty much every tablet for both the Union and Confederate armies, each one distinct, with several different varieties. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg, as well as he should be as this park and most of the things seen here today were designed by him and as such, are his legacy. These monuments/tablets 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:
CONFEDERATE BATTERY AND BRIGADE TABLETS (ADVANCED POSITION)
These tablets are 3’8" x 3’4" in dimensions, with carefully prepared inscriptions cast in raised letters painted in white (contrasting the black background) describing the part taken in the battle by each brigade, their position and stating its numbers and losses so far as practicable to obtain. They are mounted on iron pillars or fluted cast iron posts about 3 feet high, grouted in the ground, and the tablets are inclined at a suitable angle so that the inscriptions can easily be read by persons riding or driving on the avenue. Every tablet is 4’4" in height. The advance position markers were cast by Calvin Gilbert. SOURCE & SOURCE
The Manly's North Carolina Battery - CS Battery Marker 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 MN569-B.
From the Nomination Form:
Civil War tablet that marks position of Manly's CS Battery on July 2-4, 1863. Narrates events associated w/ Battery during Battle.
Short Physical Description:
MN & 2 Cannons. Cast iron tablet, 3'8" x 3'4", with raised inscription painted in a contrasting color and mounted on fluted cast iron post. All 4'4" H. Tablets cast by C. Gilbert.
Long Physical Description:
Located on W side of West Confederate Ave, S of Millerstown Rd & observation tower.
My Sources
1.
NRHP Nomination Form
2.
Stone Sentinels
3.
Virtual Gettysburg
4.
Draw the Sword
5.
Historical Marker Database
6.
Antietam on the Web