The 1st New York Artillery, Battery D was also known as Winslow’s Battery. During the battle of Gettysburg, it served as a member of Randolph’s Brigade in Third Corps, Army of the Potomac. The unit was commanded by Lt. Captain George B. Winslow (1832-1883). Winslow had a hardware business in Gouverneur, New York. He was wounded at the Battle of Wilderness. Under his command, 116 men (and six Napoleon cannons) served at Gettysburg with 10 wounded and 8 who went missing.
The Battery D, 1st New York Artillery Monument is located inside the Wheatfield off of Ayres Avenue which gives the best access. The Wheatfield was quite overgrown with weeds and wild flowers when I visited and as such, I had to use small dirt paths to get in and out, which were only accessible form Ayres Avenue. If traveling southwest along the road, the monument will be on the right or northwest part of the road. The monument is 603 feet from the road but the walk is longer as the path is not straight but windy so as to visit the other monuments located inside this patch of land. Viewing the Wheatfield from GoogleEarth, the sculpture is about dead center in this rectangular patch of land. There are two 12-pounder Napoleons which flank the monument and which serve to mark the location of Winslow's Battery in the Wheatfield. The Napoleon gun to the left of the monument is registered as No. 72 out of the Alger Foundry of Boston, Massachusetts. I neglected to get the information of the right cannon. The monument is also accompanied by two small, granite, flank markers which are not too far away form the main marker. Parking is available at small, cutout shoulders along the road, some wide, some narrow. Be sure to stay off the grass or you will be ticketed by park police. I visited this monument on Thursday, July 5, 2012 at 1:23 P.M. I was at an elevation of 537 feet, ASL. I used a Canon PowerShot 14.1 Megapixel, SX210 IS digital camera for the photos.
The Draw the Sword site helped out by the NPS narrative and the SIRIS site offers the following description: Monument that has two flanking markers and two bronze twelve-pound Napoleon cannons. Granite monument topped by a polished granite sphere. On the front of the monument is a bronze relief of a carriage wheel, two half-cannon tubes, bails and rammers, and bronze corps badge, a diamond symbol of the Third Corps which appears in the upper front. The monument has a tiered base. Overall height is eleven foot. The shaft has a bronze state seal at the lower center, carriage wheel, two half-cannon tubes, balls, rammers, and corps badges on the south side. The monument marks the position of Battery D on July 2, 1863.
The monument was erected on July 2, 1888 by the State of New York. The monument is of granite with bronze adornments. The granite monument's dimensions are approximately: Monument: approx. 11 ft. 2 in. x 7 ft. x 4 ft. 8 in.; Base: approx. 1 ft. x 8 ft. x 5 ft. 8 in. The monument was fabricated by the very popular (at the time) Frederick & Field, fabricator. I spotted their name incised on the lower left rear of the monument. There are inscriptions on the front and back of the monument which read:
(Front):Battery D
1st N.Y.
Light Artillery,
Artillery Brig. Third Corps.
(Back):This Battery (Winslow's)
held this position during
the afternoon of July 2d 1863.
Casualties:
10 wounded, 8 missing.
Mustered in Sept. 6, 1861.
Engaged in 32 battles,
Mustered out June 16, 1865.
The Battery D, 1st New York Artillery 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 MN140-D.
From the Nomination Form:
Marks position of Battery D, NY Artillery on July 2, 1863 & fired upon Confederates in woods. 1 of 90 mns in Park to NY commands at Gettysburg. Located in Wheatfield near W end between Sickles Ave & Wheatfield Rd.
Short Physical Description:
Mn, 2 flnk mrkrs, 2 cannons. Rough base 8'x5'8". Granite shaft surmounted w/ polished sphere. All 11'H. Shaft hs brnze state seal, carriage wheel, 2 half-cannon tubes, balls, rammers & corps badges on S face. Flnk mrkrs, 1'x1'x1' flnkd by brnze 12-lb Napoleon cannons mounted on cast-iron carriages.
Long Physical Description:
Monument that has two flanking markers and two bronze twelve-pound Napoleon cannons. Monument is a granite shaft surmounted with a polished sphere set on a 8x5.8 foot rough base. Overall height is eleven foot. The shaft has a bronze state seal, carriage wheel, two half-cannon tubes, balls, rammers, and corps badges on the south side. Flanking markers are one-foot square flanked with cannon mounted on cast iron carriages. Located in the Wheatfield near the west end between Sickles Avenue and Wheatfield Road.
My Sources
1.
NRHP Nomination Form
2.
SIRIS
3.
Stone Sentinels
4.
Virtual Gettysburg
5.
Draw the Sword
6.
Historical Marker Database
7.
New York State Military Museum