11th Mississippi Infantry Monument - Gettysburg, PA - American Civil War Monuments and Memorials on Waymarking.com

11th Mississippi Infantry served as a member of Davis’ Brigade in Heth’s Division of the Hill’s Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. The regiment was commanded by Colonel Francis M. Green (1823-1864) who was a lawyer in Oxford. Green was mortally wounded at Spotsylvania. The 11th Mississippi did not fight with the rest of Joseph Davis’ Brigade on the first day at Gettysburg. The monument claims that they entered the fight on July 3, 1863 with 394 members. 110 men were killed or mortally wounded with 193 were wounded, 37 captured which all totaled, equals 86% of the 340 men who fought here from this unit. The main sculpture is of Sergeant William O'Brien, the color bearer. William O’Brien of Company C. was the first of eight color bearers of the 11th Mississippi killed or wounded during the charge on July 3, 1863. SOURCE

There are actually two monuments to the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment at Gettysburg, both were dedicated in 2000 by the 11th Mississippi Memorial Association. The other one is a position marker. This one is the more prestigious (bearing a bronze sculpture) of the two, despite it being heavily criticized by bloggers and Park enthusiasts. This monument is located on the west side of West Confederate Avenue, southwest of town. There is plenty of parking available on the side of the road but please be sure to park on asphalt and not grass or anything else green lest you be ticket by park police. I visited this monument on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 1:02 PM, just before the clocks were set ahead for the Spring. I was at a 561 foot ASL elevation.

The Draw the Sword site helped out by the NPS narrative and the SIRIS site offers the following description: The sculpture depicts a color bearer (Sgt. William O'Brien), stepping out on the march toward the stone wall. The Monument consists of a granite base, rough cut tapered sides and polished, smooth cut top, approx 5' wide by 12' +/- deep by 4' high with tapers approx 6? in. Bronze plaques applied to four faces. The monument was sculpted by Bill Beckwith from Taylor, Mississippi, and dedicated on May 27, 2000. There is a terrific website which gives close-up detail of the statue, far beyond anything I reckoned form my visit. The are four bronze plaques on all four sides of the base which inscriptions all read:

(Front):Davis' Brigade - Heth's Division
A.P. Hill's Corps
Army of Northern Virginia
Confederate States of America
Afternoon July 2 - July 4, 1863
(Back):The 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, under the command of Col. Francis M. Green and Maj. Ruben O. Reynolds, formed west of the tree line on Seminary Ridge behind Maj. William Pegram's Battalion of artillery and immediately south of McMillan's Woods on July 3, 1863. Shortly after 3:00 p.m., Color Sgt. William O'Brien of Company C, memorialized on this monument, raised the colors and the regimented stepped forward. Although clusters of men reached the stone wall near Brian's Barn, the attack was driven back with heavy loss, and the remnants of the Regiment reformed in this vicinity.

(Left):Combatants - 393
Killed in Action / Died of Wounds - 110
Wounded / Wounded Captured - 193
Captured unwounded -37
Non-casualty - 53
(Right):11th Mississippi Regiment
Company A - University Greys
Lafayette County - 1st Lt. Johnathan V. Moore

Company B - Coahoma Invincibles
Coahoma County - Capt. William D. Nunn

Company C - Prairie Rifles
Chickasaw County - Capt. George W. Shannon

Company D - Neshoba Rifles
Neshoba County - Capt. Jonathan R. Prince

Company E - Prairie Rifles
Lowndes County - Capt. Henry P. Halbert

Company F - Noxubee Rifles
Noxubee County - Capt. Thomas J. Stokes

Company G - Lamar Rifles
Lafayette County - Capt. William O. Nelms

Company H - Chickasaw Guards
Chickasaw County - Capt. Jamison H. Moore

Company I - Van Dorn Reserves
Monroe County - Capt. Stephen C. Moore

Company K - Carroll County Rifles
Carroll County - Capt. George W. Bird, Jr.

The 11th Mississippi 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 MN833.

From the Nomination Form:
Monument consisting of granite base, rough cut tapered sides and polished, smooth cut top, approx 5' wide by 12' +/- deep by 4' high with tapers approx 6" in. Bronze plaques applied to four faces. Centered in top is bronze statue of Mississippi flagbearer infantryman.

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