Grant's Brigade - US Brigade Tablet - Gettysburg, PA
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Math Teacher
N 39° 47.103 W 077° 13.957
18S E 308819 N 4406284
This tablet is 1 of 75 Civil War US Brigade Tablets @ Gettysburg and records the movement & itinerary of Grant's Brigade during the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-2, 1863..
Waymark Code: WMHGHE
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/08/2013
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member iconions
Views: 3

The 6th Corps, 2nd Division, 2nd Brigade was also known as Grant’s Brigade. During the battle of Gettysburg, it served as a member of Howe’s Division in the Sixth Corps, Army of the Potomac. The brigade was commanded by Brigadier General Lewis Addison Grant (January 17, 1828 – March 20, 1918). Grant was a teacher, lawyer, and later after the war, Assistant U.S. Secretary of War. He was among the leading officers from the state of Vermont, and received the Medal of Honor for “personal gallantry and intrepidity.” On May 11, 1893, he received the Medal of Honor for "Personal gallantry and intrepidity displayed in the management of his brigade and in leading it in the assault in which he was wounded," at Salem Church, Virginia, May 3, 1864. He died at Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is buried in Lakewood Cemetery (Section 8, Lot 416, Grave 2) in that city.

The Grant's Brigade - US Brigade Tablet is located on Wright Avenue, on the right or northeast side of the road if traveling southwest along the Avenue. This is the third monument on Wright Avenue. The tablet is .15 miles from the intersection of Taneytown Road (Route 134) and Wright/Howe Avenues. As a point of reference, at the intersection, a left turn is Wright Avenue and a right turn is Howe Avenue, even though they are the same road, if traveling north. The tablet is 61 feet northwest of the 1st Vermont Brigade Monument, and then further northwest of the 3rd Massachusetts Battery Monument and its accompanying two 12-pounder Napoleon Guns. Parking is on Wright Avenue. Stay off the grass or anything green or you will be ticketed by the Park Police. I visited this site on Monday, July 1, 2013 on the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg @ 1:34 PM, EDT & @ an altitude of 532 feet, ASL. As always, I used my trusty and oft abused Canon PowerShot 14.1 Megapixel, SX210 IS digital camera for the photos.

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

These battery tablets were cast by Calvin Gilbert. Gilbert joined the 87th Pennsylvania Volunteers when the "Rebellion" broke out. Since he was musically inclined, he was made a member of the regimental band. In early 1863, he was promoted to the rank of Captain and sent to Washington D.C. for commissary duty. He served in that capacity until the war ended in 1865, and at war’s end earned the brevet rank of Major. After returning home to Gettysburg, Major Gilbert moved his family to the town of Chambersburg, where he served as the Superintendent of Schools. He also opened an iron foundry there in 1868. When Calvin learned, nearly thirty years later, in 1894, that the Gettysburg Foundry was available, he purchased it with a business partner & moved his family back to Gettysburg. For the next twenty years, the Calvin Gilbert Foundry created ironworks that are still seen today on many historic forts and national battlefields (this tablet), from upstate New York to Florida to Lookout Mountain. Gilbert lived to be 100 years old and attended the Last Reunion of the Blue and Gray for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg when he was 99. He was a most remarkable man and lived an amazing life.

There is an excellent excerpt in the American Guide Series about Gilbert attending the 75th reunion anniversary.

Look carefully on the reverse side of one of these tablets and his name might be there; I found a tablet or two like this. This one of course is devoid of his name. The inscription on the monument reads:

Army of the Potomac
Sixth Corps Second Division
Second Brigade

Col. Lewis A. Grant
2d. 3d. 4th. 6th. Vermont Infantry

July 2 Arrived about 5 p.m. after a march of 33 miles from Manchester Md. Moved to the left later and at dark to the extreme left with one regiment the 5th Vermont on picket.

July 3 The Brigade advanced a short distance and took position with its right on east slope of Round Top its left on the Taneytown Road and remained until the close of the battle under no fire except that from Artillery.

Casualties Wounded 1 Man.

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 and 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 and regimental monuments for United States Regulars & Confederate have their own distinct design (2), bringing the total to ten designs at the battlefield. The bronze tablets (the brigade monuments) were created by Albert Russell & Sons Co. of Newburyport, Massachusetts. The granite bases which accompany the various tablets were created by the Van Amringe Company out of Boston, Massachusetts. The cast iron tablets were of course manufactured by the aforementioned 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 and Confederate armies, each one distinct, with 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/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

Most of the Commission reports have been digitized and can be found HERE. The initial 1893 report up to and including 1921 can be found here. 1922 to 1926 are missing and 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)
The Brigade Headquarters (and Confederate artillery battalions, equivalent to Union artillery brigades) are bronze tablets mounted at an angle on a stone pedestal and describe the movements and itinerary of each memorialized unit. Union headquarters have rounded tops and square bases. Confederate headquarters have flat tops and round bases. 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 Union's various brigades. (Other sources say there are seventy-five). There are sixty-four brigade markers honoring the Army of North Virginia's various brigades. The Union Brigade tablets 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. They were built by Albert Russell & Sons Co. of Newburyport, Massachusetts and Charles Kappes. The Confederate Brigade tablets 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. They were built by Van Amringe Granite Company (pedestals), Albert Russell & Sons Co., Newburyport, Mass (tablets) and Charles Kappes (foundations). SOURCE & SOURCE


The Grant'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. MN497.

From the Nomination Form:
1 of 75 Civil War US Brigade Tablets in Park. Records movement & itinerary of Grant's Brigade during Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-2, 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.

Long Physical Description:
Located on N side of Wright Avenue.

Source
1. NRHP Nomination Form
2. Stone Sentinels
3. Virtual Gettysburg
4. Draw the Sword
5. Historical Marker Database

Website pertaining to the memorial: [Web Link]

List if there are any visiting hours:
8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.- November 1 through March 31 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.- April 1 to October 31


Entrance fees (if it applies): 0

Type of memorial: Monument

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