Michigan Sharpshooters Monument - Gettysburg, PA
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Math Teacher
N 39° 47.509 W 077° 14.263
18S E 308401 N 4407046
This monument, 1 of 9 monuments in the Park to companies in Berdan's sharpshooters., marks the position occupied by Michigan's Companies C, I & K (1 USS) & Co. B (2 USS) on July 3, 1863. Precariously located on the western slope of Little Round Top.
Waymark Code: WMHGYW
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/10/2013
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member iconions
Views: 6

The 1st United States Sharpshooters, Companies C, I, and K AND 2nd United States Sharpshooters, Company B (Michigan) served as a member of Ward’s Brigade in Birney’s Division of the Third Corps, Army of the Potomac, a Fighting 300 Regiment. Hiram C. Berdan of New York state created the Sharpshooters. Berdan began recruiting men for the first Sharpshooter regiment in 1861. He recruited men from New York City and Albany and from the states of New Hampshire, Vermont,Michigan and Wisconsin. The volunteer recruits had to pass a rifle test in order to qualify to be a member of the Sharpshooters; each man had to be able to place ten shots in a circle of 10 inches (250 mm) in diameter from 200 yards (180 m) away. The first regiment of volunteers began service in late November of 1861. During their service they fought in every Eastern battle up until autumn of 1864. At Gettysburg, there were 371 men engaged and among them 6 were killed, 37 were wounded and 6 went missing. All totaled, they suffered the following casulaties: ten of the regiment's officers and 143 enlisted men were killed in action or mortally wounded and 1 officer and 128 enlisted men died of disease, for a total of 282 casualties.

The 4 companies in this unit was commanded by Colonel Hiram Berdan (1824-1893) who was an American engineer, inventor and military officer, world-renowned marksman, and the guiding force behind and commanding colonel of the famed United States Volunteer Sharpshooter Regiments during the American Civil War. He was the inventor of the Berdan rifle, the Berdan centerfire primer and numerous other weapons and accessories. He also commanded the Company F, 1st US (Vermont) Sharpshooters to which there is a Monument (MN074). Those four companies were individually commanded by: Company B - Captain Stephen Martin, New York; Company C - Captain Benjamin Duesler, Michigan; Company I - Captain A. M. Willet, Michigan; Company K - Captain S. J. Mather, Michigan.

The Michigan Sharpshooters Monument is located on the western slope of Little Round Top overlooking the Valley of Death, Devil's Den & Houck's Ridge. The only way to get to the monument is to start up at the walking trail which skirts Little Round Top and find the trail that moves downward. You will come to the 16th Michigan Infantry Monument (MN095-B), which is 242 feet due south of the Sharpshooters monument. Continue north along the trail, along the slope of Little Round Top. You will weave in and out, climb boulders and generally risk life and limb. It can be treacherous if you are not careful or have trouble walking. Looking down from a satellite view, the entire immediate area is strewn with huge boulders pushed here by the last Ice Age. The location of this are is near the Vincent's Spur on the southern slope of the hill, but this position is more westerly. This monument gives one of the best views, if not the best view, of the 2nd day Gettysburg Battlefield. There is also an outstanding view of the Major General G. K. Warren Statue (MN099). Parking is on Sykes Avenue(RD362) which is 488 feet southeast of this position via the NPS walking trail. One of those trails begins at the Vincent' Brigade Tablet (MN488) located at N 39° 47.446 W 77° 14.197. When parking on Sykes 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 @ 2:09 PM, EDT & @ an altitude of 599 feet, ASL. As always, I used my trusty and oft abused Canon PowerShot 14.1 Megapixel, SX210 IS digital camera for the photos.

The landform here figured prominently in the battle and the strategies employed to keep or take the mountain. The igneous landforms of Little Round Top was created 200 million years ago when the "outcrop of the Gettysburg sill" intruded through the Triassic "Gettysburg plain". Subsequent periglacial frost wedging during the Pleistocene formed the hill's extensive boulders. "Geologic Resources Inventory Report" (Denver, Colorado: Natural Resource Program Center (NPS). 2009. pp. 12, 16, 24.)

Draw the Sword, using descriptive help from the NPS site and the SIRIS site, offers the following description: Rock-faced monument of stacked granite, five course die, and cross gable cap and bronze state shield. Inscriptions are incised into polished panels on the fourth course. The monument sits atop a boulder. 5.4 foot square on a boulder. Overall height is seven foot. A bronze shield is on the west side. $500.00 was set aside by the state monument commission to honor these four companies.

The monument was dedicated on July 12, 1889 by the State of MIchigan. The monument is composed of Westerly granite with bronze used for the state shield on the front face. The base is a natural boulder. The monument is approximately 7 feet x 5 feet 4 inches² and the base is approximately 11 inches x 4 feet 8 inches x 4 feet 9 inches. The monument was manufactured by the Gettysburg Battlefield-famous Smith Granite Company, out of Westerly, Rhode Island., which always worked with Westerly granite. The fact Westerly granite was used for the monument and it was manufactured by the Smith Granite Company is no coincidence. Smith Granite Company In 1845 Orlando Smith discovered a granite outcrop on the property owned by Joshua Babcock in Westerly, Rhode Island, and a year later purchased the site from him. He established a granite quarry shortly there after and by the 1850s was cutting granite monuments. In 1887 the Smith Granite Company was incorporated, with family members holding all the stock.. One might say the Westerly granite was their trademark. There are inscription on all four sides, incised on granite-polished panels, which read

(At Top of Monument):

Michigan
Sharpshooters

(At Base):
2d Brig. 1st Div. 3d Corps
(Front):
Company C,
1st Regiment U.S. Sharpshooters.
Mustered into U.S. service
at Detroit Mich. Aug. 26, 1861
Served until war ended
Fought upon this field
July 2d near Sherfy House
Here July 3d
Wounded 1 officer, 5 men
Missing 1 man.
Total 7.

(Left):
Company I,
1st Regiment U.S. Sharpshooters.
Mustered into U.S. service
at Detroit, Mich. Mar. 4, 1862.
Served until war ended.
Fought upon this field
July 2d near Pitzer's Run
here July 3d.
Killed 1 officer.
Wounded 1 officer 3 men.
Total 5.

(Back):
Company K,
1st Regiment U.S. Sharpshooters.
Mustered into U.S. service
at Detroit, Mich. Mar. 20, 1862.
Served until war ended.
Fought upon this field.
July 2d near Sherfy House.
Here July 3d.
4 men wounded.

(Right)
Company B,
2nd Regiment U.S. Sharpshooters.
Mustered into U.S. service
at Detroit, Mich. Oct. 4, 1862.
Served until war ended.
Fought upon this field
July 2d near Slyder House on extreme left
afterwards at this point.
July 3d on Cemetery Ridge near centre of line.
4 men wounded.


The Michigan Sharpshooters 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 MN098.

From the Nomination Form:
Marks position occupied by Michigan's Companies C, I & K (1 USS) & Co. B (2 USS) on July 3, 1863. 1 of 9 mns in Park to companies in Berdan's sharpshooters. Located on W slope of Little Round Top.

Short Physical Description:
Rough hewn base, 5'4" by 5'4" on boulder. Rough hewn shaft w/ 5 courses & cross gable cap. All 7' high. Inscriptions are incised into polished panels in 4th course. Bronze shield on W. side.

Long Physical Description:
Monument is a rough hewn granite shaft with five courses and a cross gable cap set on a rough hewn base, 5.4 foot square on a boulder. Overall height is seven foot. Inscriptions are incised into polished panels in the fourth course. A bronze shield is on the west side. Located on the west slope of Little Round Top.


My Sources
1. NRHP Nomination Form
2. SIRIS
3. Stone Sentinels
4. Virtual Gettysburg
5. Draw the Sword
6. Historical Marker Database
7. Wikipedia
8. Wikipedia
9. Find a Grave

Date Installed or Dedicated: 06/12/1889

Name of Government Entity or Private Organization that built the monument: State of Michigan

Union, Confederate or Other Monument: Union

Rating (1-5):

Related Website: [Web Link]

Photo or photos will be uploaded.: yes

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