Brigadier General A. S. Webb Monument - Gettysburg National Military Park Historic District - Gettysburg, PA - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

Webb commanded the 2nd Corps, 2nd Division, 2nd Brigade, also known of course as Webb’s Brigade. During the battle of Gettysburg, it served as a member of Gibbon’s Division in the Second Corps, Army of the Potomac. Brigadier General Alexander Stewart Webb (February 15, 1835 – February 12, 1911) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War who won the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg in defense of the Union line held along Hancock Avenue during the ill-fated Pickett's Charge. After the war, he was president of the City College of New York for thirty-three years. Webb died in Riverdale, New York. He is buried in West Point National Cemetery. A statue of Gen Webb was dedicated in the Gettysburg National Military Park in 1915.

The Brigadier General A. S. Webb Monument, is located along Hancock Avenue (RD310), on the right or east side of the road if traveling traveling north. The monument is 31 feet to the south of the Webb's U.S. Brigade tablet. This position is also exactly 180 feet north northeast of the High Water Mark Monument (MN230). The monument faces due west, in the direction where Webb defended the Union position on July 3, 1863. 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 approximately 4:48 P.M. I was at an elevation of 620 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: A standing portrait of General Webb with his proper left hand resting at his hip and his proper right hand holding a sword. The sculpture is installed atop a square base adorned on the front with an inscription plaque that details the general’s accomplishments. Statue is a bronze figure of Webb in full uniform atop a three-part granite shaft that rests on a 12×11.3 1/2 foot stepped base. The shaft has a bronze tablet on the front and a medallion on the rear with trefoil Corps symbols on the sides.

The monument was dedicated October 12, 1915 by the State of New York. The monument is composed of granite, with a bronze tablet (inscribed) and the bronze statue and has the following dimensions: The sculpture is approximately 16 feet in height and the base is approximately 9 X 12 X 11 feet. A team of artisans were employed to produce this monument. The statue was sculpted by John Massey Rhind (1860 - 1936) and finished at the Jno. Williams, Inc. foundry. An engineer, A.J. Zabriskie was employed for this undertaking. The Worden-Crawford Company was contracted to see the project through to the end. There is an inscription on a bronze tablet on the front side of the monument which reads:

Alexander Stewart Webb
Brevet Major General U.S. Army
1835 - 1911
Commanded 69th, 71st, 72nd, and 106th
Pennsylvania Infantry (Philadelphia
Brigade) which resisted Longstreet's
Assault - July 3, 1863
Cadet U.S.M.A. July 1, 1851, Brevet Second Lieutenant Forth U.S. Artillery July 1, 1855, Second Lieutenant Second Artillery Oct. 20, 1855, First Lieutenant April 26, 1861, Captain Eleventh Infantry May 14, 1861, Lieut.-Colonel Forty-Fourth Infantry July 28, 1866, Fifth Infantry March 15, 1869, Honorably discharged at his own request Dec. 5, 1870.

Major First Rhode Island Light Artillery Sept. 14, 1861, Lieut-Colonel Asst. Inspector General by assignment, Aug. 20, 1862 to June 28, 1863.

Brig.-General U.S.V. June 23, 1863, Honorably mustered out of volunteer service Jan. 15, 1866.

In command of 2nd Division, 2nd Corps in the Rapidan Campaign, and 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 2nd Corps in the Wilderness. Severely wounded at Spotsylvania May 12, 1864. Chief of Staff, Army of Potomac Jan 11, 1865 to June 28, 1865. Asst. Inspector General, Division of the Atlantic July 1, 1865 to Feb. 21, 1866.

Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor "for distinguished personal gallantry at the battle of Gettysburg" where he was wounded.

Brevetted Major, U.S.A. July 3, 1863, "for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Gettysburg, Pa." Lieut.-Colonel Oct. 11, 1863 "for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Bristoe Station, Va." Colonel May 13, 1864, "for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of Spotsylvania, Va." Brig.-General March 13, 1865 "for gallant and meritorious services in the campaign terminating with the surrender of the insurgent army under General R.E. Lee." Major-General March 13, 1865 "for gallant and meritorious services during the war."

Brevetted Major-General U.S.V. Aug. 1, 1864 "For gallant and distinguished conduct at the battles of Gettysburg, Pa., Bristoe Station, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania, Va."

The Brigadier General A. S. Webb 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 MN224.

From the Nomination Form:
1 of 16 statues in Park. Commemorates Medal of Honor winner near point where he stood face-to-face w/ CSA General Armistead & his forces when they crossed wall. Located E side of Hancock Av opposite the Angle.

Short Physical Description:
Mn w/stepped base 12'x11'3-1/2" & 3-part granite shaft topped w/ bronze statue of Webb in full uniform. Shaft w/ bronze tablet on front, medallion on back w/trefoil Corps symbols on sides.

Long Physical Description:
Statue is a bronze figure of Webb in full uniform atop a three-part granite shaft that rests on a 12x11.3 1/2 foot stepped base. The shaft has a bronze tablet on the front and a medallion on the rear with trefoil Corps symbols on the sides. Sculptured by J. Massey Rhind. Located on the east side of Hancock Avenue opposite to the Angle.