Smyth's Brigade - US Brigade Tablet - Gettysburg National Military Park Historic District - Gettysburg, PA
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Math Teacher
N 39° 48.846 W 077° 14.116
18S E 308673 N 4409514
This monument represents 1 of 75 Civil War US Brigade Tablets at Gettysburg and records the movement & itinerary of Smyth's 2nd Brigade during the Battle of Gettyburg, July 1-3, 1863.
Waymark Code: WMF6HV
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/31/2012
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member silverquill
Views: 5

The Second Brigade was also known as Smyth’s Brigade. During the battle of Gettysburg, it served as a member of Hays’ Division in the Second Corps, Army of the Potomac. The brigade was commanded by Colonel Thomas Alfred Smyth (December 25, 1832 – April 9, 1865), a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was the last Union general killed in the war. Early in the Appomattox Campaign, Smyth commanded the 2nd division of the corps until Francis C. Barlow was assigned to lead it. In April 1865 at Farmville, Virginia, Smyth was shot through the mouth by a sniper, with the bullet shattering his cervical vertebra and paralyzing him. Smyth died two days later, concurrent with the surrender of Robert E. Lee and his army at Appomattox Court House. He was promoted posthumously to brevet major general. Smyth was the last Union general killed or mortally wounded during the war, and is buried in Brandywine Cemetery in Wilmington, Delaware.

The Smyth's Brigade - US Brigade Tablet, also known as the Army of The Potomac 2 Corps 3 Div 2 Brig Tablet, is located on Hancock Avenue, on the right or east side of the road of traveling north. The monument 600 feet north of the High Water Mark of the Rebellion at Copse of Trees as well as The Angle. The General Meade Equestrian Monument is very close by, immediately to the right or east side of this monument. The 39th New York Monument is to the left or north of this monument, a thirty-two feet away. This area is an absolute beehive of activity as this site represents the best of what Gettysburg has to offer, both historically and monumentally. Parking is plentiful and is available road-side at intermittently enlarged shoulder cut-outs, usually marked with white striping. Be sure to keep vehicles off the grass or you will be ticketed by park police. I visited this monument on Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at 5:48 PM. I was at an elevation of 635 feet, ASL. I used a Canon PowerShot 14.1 Megapixel, SX210 IS digital camera for the photos.

The monument work was completed 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. According to the NRHP narrative, this monument was built in 1911, which according to my experience is questionable. I can't resolve if the 1911 date represents a completion of the physical construction of the tablet or when it was started with an unknown installation date. Other sources have it at 1910 & 1912. I don't know if anyone actually kept exact records of when these things were installed.

Draw the Sword, with descriptive help from the NPS site, offers the following description: One of 74 (or 75 depending who you listen to) brigade monuments erected at Gettysburg by the War Department to describe the movements and itinerary of each Union brigade of the Army of the Potomac. 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. 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. The monuments were designed by E.B. Cope. Many of the inscription tablets were made of bronze melted down from Civil War cannons. The Trefoil symbol of the 2nd Corps, is at the top of the tablet, just above the main inscription. I also noticed remnants of something once attached to the top of the monument, a singular occurrence. Sure enough, it is mentioned in the narrative (below). The inscription on this tablet reads:

Army of the Potomac
Second Corps Third Division
Second Brigade

Col. Thomas A. Smyth
Lieut. Col. Francis E. Pierce
14th. Connecticut, 1st. Delaware
12th. New Jersey, 10th. 108th. New York Infantry

July 2 Took position early in the morning along a stone fence on Cemetery Ridge at the left of Ziegler's Grove supporting Battery I 1st U.S. on the right. Sharp skirmishing during the day and Artillery firing at intervals in the afternoon. At night the line of the Brigade was extended to the Angle to cover the portion previously occupied by the Third Brigade.

July 3 In the afternoon the Bliss Barn having been occupied by the Confederate sharpshooters the 14th Conn. by order of Brig. Gen. A. Hays recaptured and burned the barn. At 1 p.m. a terrific cannonade was opened by the Confederates in front which continued for two hours followed by a charge of the Divisions of Major Gen. Pickett, Brig. Gen. Pettigrew and Major Gen. Pender which was repulsed by the Brigade reinforced by the Third Brigade. More than 1,200 prisoners and 9 stand of colors were captured by the Brigade.

July 4 The Brigade remained in position until the close of the battle with sharp skirmishing during the day.

Casualties Killed 6 Officers 55 Men. Wounded 34 Officers 245 Men. Captured or missing 1 officer 25 men. Total 366.

There are hundreds of non-sculpted monumentation for the various Confederate States & Union units which fought at Gettysburg. There are about 10 different variations of tablets, markers & monoliths by my reckoning. Six designs represent brigade (2), division (2), corps (2), & army headquarters (2), each different in a subtle way so as to distinguish between armies. Battalion/battery/advance position markers & regimental monuments for U.S. Regulars & Confederate have their own distinct design (2), bringing the total to 10 designs at the battlefield. The bronze tablets were created by Albert Russell & Sons Co. of Newburyport, Mass. The granite bases which accompany the various tablets were created by the Van Amringe Company from Boston, Mass. The cast iron tablets were manufactured by Calvin Gilbert. The 1910 Gettysburg Commission report lists the awarded contracts to these companies (not Gilbert) for the tablets. 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 & Rebel armies, each one distinct, w/ several different varieties. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg, as well 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 were erected just after the turn of the century during the first & 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 & tablets were erected by the Gettysburg Park Commission (established by the War Dept.). 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 & 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

Most of the Commission reports have been digitized and can be found HERE. The initial 1893 report up to & including 1921 can be found here. 1922 to 1926 are missing & have yet to be discovered. The years 1927 to 1933 were discovered in 1996 and are also included. To my knowledge this is the most comprehensive list of documents that illustrated the development and formation of the park.

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 Smyth's Brigade - US Brigade Tablet is a contributing feature to the Gettysburg Nat'l Military Park H.D. which is nationally significant under NR Criteria A, B, C & D. Areas of Significance: Military, Politics/Gov't, Landscape Architecture, Conservation, Archeology-Historic. Period of Significance: 1863-1938. The monument is designated as structure no. MN478.

From the Nomination Form:
1 of 75 Civil War US Brigade Tablets in Park. Records movement & itinerary of Smyth's 2nd 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. Remains of experimental "Bird Guard" (1930s) attached crown of bronze tablet.

Long Physical Description:
Located east side of North Hancock Avenue near Cyclorama and Brian buildings.

My Sources
1. NRHP Nomination Form
2. Stone Sentinels
3. Virtual Gettysburg
4. Draw the Sword
5. Historical Marker Database
6. Wikipedia

Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Gettysburg National Military Park Historic District

Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link]

NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): [Web Link]

Address:
Gettysburg National Military Park Hancock Avenue Cemetery Ridge Gettysburg, PA 17325


How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below)

Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]

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