7th West Virginia Infantry - Gettysburg, PA
N 39° 49.302 W 077° 13.738
18S E 309233 N 4410344
Beautiful, full length figurative union soldier statue top this West Virginia Civil War memorial. The monument to the 7th West Virginia Infantry Regiment is southeast of Gettysburg on East Cemetery Hill. It was dedicated in 1898 by the State of WV.
Waymark Code: WM9WH8
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 10/05/2010
Views: 4
The monument is a full-length figure of a uniformed Union soldier stands atop a tall tiered base. The figure wears a long caped coat, cap and moustache. He holds his rifle in front of him, with both hands around the barrel, the butt by his proper left foot.
Three position markers are also on East Cemetery Hill and Cemetery Ridge surrounding this monument which marks the relative position of this regiment during the three day Battle of Gettysburg. The regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan H. Lockwood. It brought 319 men to the field, losing 5 killed, 41 wounded and 1 missing. The monument is right across the street from Gettysburg National Cemetery and right near a massive equestrian monument.
From the front of the monument:
Sons of the Mountains
7th W Va Veteran
Romney to Appomattox
1st Brigade Carroll
3rd Division 2nd Corps.
At dusk July 2nd Carroll's
Brigade was ordered by
General Hancock to this point.
On arriving there we found the
Battery about to be taken charge
of by the enemy who were in large
force. Whereupon we immediately
charged on the enemy and succeeded
in completely routing their
entire force and driving them
beyond our lines.
Seventh W. Va. Infantry
From the back:
Erected by the
State of West Virginia
to commemorate
the
valor and fidelity
of the
Seventh West Virginia
Infantry
Other important particulars:
Artist: W. E. Spragg Granite and Marble Works, fabricator.
Dates: Dedicated Sept. 28, 1898.
Medium: Figure: granite; Base: granite with bronze elements.
Dimensions: Overall: approx. 15 ft. x 72 in. x 45 in.
Recently, nearly 50 people attended the rededication ceremonies of West Virginia's monuments on the Gettysburg battlefield on Saturday, October 3, 1998. The rededication was held in honor of the 100th anniversary of their dedication. The event was held at the site of the 7th West Virginia Infantry monument on East Cemetery Hill. The special event was sponsored by the Kanawha Valley Civil War Roundtable, the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, the West Virginia Book Company, and Gauley Mount Press.
From the Smithsonian site:
Erected by the State of West Virginia, this monument marks the point to which the 7th West Virginia Infantry was ordered by General Hancock on the evening of July 2, 1863. It was there where they met the Infantry of Hay's Louisiana Brigade who had captured Wiedrich's Battery. The 7th West Virginia forced Hay's Brigade to fall back beyond the crest of the hill. The sculpture (referred to as MN 304) is referenced in the Gettysburg National Military Park Archives, vol. 38.