WAR DEPARTMENT,
GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK COMMISSION,
Gettysburg, Pa., August 1, 1902.
SIR: The Gettysburg National Military Park Commission respectfully submit the following report of their work, its progress during the past year and its present condition, with suggestions as to what is needed for its further prosecution.
MILITARY AVENUES.
Pleasonton avenue, which was in course of construction at the date of our last report, was completed soon thereafter. It runs eastward from Hancock avenue near the point where General Hancock was wounded to the headquarters of the Union cavalry on the Taneytown road.
Chamberlain and Warren avenues have also been constructed. The former runs southward from near the summit of Little Round Top along the crest of Vincent Spur and the battle line of the Union troops in their defense of that position in the afternoon of July 2, 1863, and then, curving down the slope, connects with Sykes avenue in the gap between Round Top and Little Round Top. Warren avenue starts from Sykes avenue at that same point and runs westward along the base of Little Round Top to Plum Run Valley and crossing that run joins Crawford avenue near the Devil's Den.
Buford avenue is now under contract, and the work upon it is proceeding and will soon be completed. It runs from the north end of Reynolds avenue in a northwesterly direction to the Mummasburg road along the line of the Union cavalry which menaced the left flank of the Confederate forces as they advanced into the first day's battle.
These avenues, like all others on the field, are constructed on the Telford plan in the most durable style, and will last for centuries. The total length of the Telford avenues now constructed on the field is about 17 miles.
There are several others which should be constructed, among them Wright avenue along the line of Wright's Division, on the left of Sedgwick's Corps, from between the Round Tops southeastwardly across the Taneytown road; another along the lines of Meredith's and Stone's brigades on the first day's field; one also on Oak Hill and vicinity, where the infantry and artillery of Rodes's Division of Ewell's Corps debouched and took position in the first day's battle, and another leading from the Hanover road east of Rock Creek to Benner's Hill, where a number of Confederate batteries were posted on the second and third days.
Two avenues of no great length have been projected in and near the Wheatfield, one running from the Wheatfield road, near Plum Run Valley, southward along the line of the Pennsylvania Reserves to Sickles' avenue; the other starting from Sickles avenue and running along the Union line in the southwest border of the Wheatfield; then crossing the Western Branch of Plum Run and following the line of Gen Brooke's brigade on the summit of Rose Hill. Avenues are also needed to connect the cavalry battlefields both east and south of Gettysburg with the battlefield of the infantry. In some of the cases mentioned the Government owns the land; in others it will be necessary to acquire the lands on which to construct the proposed avenues.
The legislature of Pennsylvania having granted to the United States the right to convert public roads into Telford avenues within the limits of the battlefield, the Secretary of War has authorized this to be done on the Taneytown road, as it will soon be, from the borough line of Gettysburg to a point south of General Meade's headquarters. The same should be done on the Mummasburg road from Howard avenue to Buford avenue; also the Fairfield or Hagerstown road from the south end of Reynolds avenue to West Confederate avenue; also the road leading from the north end of Crawford avenue to United States avenue, and the so-called Wheatfield road running from east to west across the entire battlefield.
TABLETS AND GUNS.
Since our last report monumental tablets have been prepared and erected along the Confederate avenue on Seminary Ridge to mark the positions of each and all the Confederate brigades which occupied that ridge from the Wheatfield road on the right to the Hagerstown road on the left, viz: Barksdale's Mississippi and Wofford's Georgia brigades of McLaw's Division; Kemper's, Garnett's, and Armistead's Virginia brigades of Pickett's Division; Wilcox's Alabama, Perry's Florida, Wright's Georgia, Posey's Mississippi, and Mahone's Virginia brigades of Anderson's Division; Archer's Tennessee, Pettigrew's North Carolina, Davis's Mississippi and North Carolina, and Brockenbrough's Virginia brigades of Heth's Division, commanded there by General Pettigrew; Scales's and Lane's North Carolina, McGowan's South Carolina, and Thomas's Georgia brigades of Pender's Division. These tablets, like all the other monumental tablets on the field, are 3 3/4 by 2 1/2 feet in dimensions, with carefully prepared inscriptions cast in raised letters describing the part taken in the battle by each brigade and stating its numbers and losses so far as practicable to obtain. They are mounted on iron pillars about 3 feet high, grouted in the ground, and the tablets are inclined at a suitable angle so that the inscriptions can easily be read by persons riding or driving on the avenue.
Guns of like class and caliber with those which composed the several batteries along the avenue have been mounted there in the respective positions occupied by the batteries, viz, two batteries of
ALEXANDER'S BATTALION.
Moody's Battery, "The Madison (La.) Artillery."
Rhett's Battery, "The Brooks (S. C.) Artillery"
ESHLEMAN'S BATTALION.
Millers's, Squires's, Richardson's, and Norcom's batteries, "The Washington (La.) Artillery."
DEARING'S BATTALION.
Stribling's Battery, "The Farquier Artillery."
Caskie's Battery, "The Hampton Artillery."
Macon's Battery, "The Richmond Fayette Artillery."
Blount's (Va.) Battery.
POAGUE'S BATTALION.
Ward's Battery, "The Madison (Miss.) Artillery."
Brooke's (Va.) Battery.
Wyatt's Battery, "The Albemarle (Va.) Artillery."
Graham's Battery, "The Charlotte (N. C.) Artillery."
LANE'S BATTALION.
Patterson's, Wingfield's, and Ross's batteries, "The Sumter (Ga.) Artillery."
PEGRAM'S BATTALION.
Marye's Battery, "The Fredericksburg Artillery."
Crenshaw's (Va.) Battery.
Zimmerman's Battery, "The Pee Dee Artillery."
McGraw's Battery, "The Purcell Artillery."
Brander's Battery, "The Letcher Artillery."
GARNETT'S BATTALION.
Grandy's Battery, "The Norfolk Light Artillery Blues."
Moore's Battery, "The Huger Artillery."
Lewis's Battery, "The Lewis Artillery."
Maurin's Battery, "The Donaldsonville Artillery."
DANCE'S BATTALION.
Griffin's Battery, "The Salem Artillery."
The guns mounted to mark the positions of the above-named batteries are 24 Napoleons, 15 3-inch rifles, 11 10-pounder Parrotts, 4 20-pounder Parrotts, 4 12-pounder howitzers, and 2 24-pounder howitzers; in all, 60 guns. Iron tablets of the same dimensions as those of the infantry brigades are erected for each artillery battalion and each battery with inscriptions briefly recording the services rendered by each in the battle, the number of rounds fired, the losses suffered, and other important facts.
Nine itinerary tablets have been erected on East Cemetery Hill, along the Baltimore pike, describing the movements and positions of the Union Army and each of the commands comprising it on each day from June 29 to July 7, 1863.
Ten Confederate itinerary tablets, for which the inscriptions have been prepared, are now being cast and will be erected at a suitable point alongside of the Confederate avenue on Seminary Ridge. They will record the movements of the Confederate Army and its several corps, divisions, and brigades on each day from June 26, 1863, when the last of its forces crossed the Potomac into Maryland, until after the close of the battle and the retreat of the Confederates from Gettysburg, July 5, 1863.
The monumental tablets erected this year to mark the positions and record the services of infantry brigades and of artillery battalions and batteries, together with the itinerary tablets of the Union and Confederate commands, are 84 in number.
The number of guns, Union and Confederate, which have been mounted by the Commission on this field to date is 290.
WORK OF ENGINEER'S DEPARTMENT.
There have been constructed on the field 8 1/2 miles of pipe fencing and over 5 miles of post and rail fencing, a large part of both having been done this year. Nearly 4 miles of stone walls and stone fences have also been rebuiIt, much of them during the past year. Nearly all of these served as breastworks and defenses in the battle either for Union or Confederate troops. There, have also been nearly 5 miles of gutters or drains alongside the Telford avenues paved with stones in a durable manner.
Besides attending to the many other duties devolving upon him, both in the office and on the field, the engineer, Lieut. Col. E. B. Cope, and his assistants, have been engaged in mapping the battlefield. A map of the first day's field has been completed showing with accuracy and distinctness the positions and movements of each command, whether of infantry, cavalry, or artillery, of both the Union and Confederate armies at each and, every hour of that day. The same will be done with reference to the other two days of the battle.
MONUMENTS.
The Hancock equestrian statue which was struck by lightning and the pedestal damaged, has been taken down by the Van Amringe Granite Company and is being repaired. This is being done at the expense of the State of Pennsylvania.
On Stevens Knoll a foundation has been laid and a pedestal erected, upon which will shortly be placed an equestrian statue of Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum, at the expense of the State of New York.
Two monuments of stone have been erected a short distance east of Sedgwick avenue, one marking the position of Candy's Brigade of Geary's Division in the evening of July 1, 1863, and the other the headquarters of General Sykes, commander of the Fifth Corps.
A stone monument has been placed alongside of Hancock avenue to mark the position of the One hundred and forty-eighth Regiment of Pennsylvania Infantry of July 3, 1863.
A bronze statue has also been erected on Stone avenue, just north of Reynolds Woods, at the expense of the State of Pennsylvania, in honor of John Burns, a citizen of Gettysburg, who, though 70 years old, took his musket and went out into the first day's battle and was severely wounded.
ACQUISITIONS OF LANDS.
The proceeding, which was pending at the date of our report of 1901, for the condemnation of a parcel of land containing about 12 acres, situate between the Round Tops and not far from the Devil's Den, has since been concluded by the owner of the land withdrawing his appeal from the verdict of the jury of view which awarded him $6,150. This money has been paid, the title made to the Government, and Warren avenue, which has since been constructed, runs across said land.
Eight acres of land situate on the slope of Seminary Ridge, adjacent to the Union line in the first day's battle has been purchased from Martin Winter, the owner, for $2,500, and the title made to the Government.
Condemnation proceedings have been begun, with the approval of the Department, for the condemnation of four small parcels of land, containing in all about 10 acres, situate on both sides of Hancock avenue, near Ziegler's Grove, and occupied at times during the battle by Union commands. The case has already been before a jury of view, composed of excellent citizens, who awarded $5,975 for the land. From this award the owner appealed to the United States circuit court for the middle district of Pennsylvania, and there the matter is now pending and will doubtless be disposed of at the next term of said court.
The Commission is gratified to say that tens of thousands of visitors from all sections of the country continue to throng the Gettysburg National Park, and are unstinted in their approbation of the Government's purpose to make of this field a great national monument and of the manner in which that purpose is being carried out.
Respectfully,
JOHN P. NICHOLSON,
Chairman.
WM. M. ROBBINS,
CHAS. A. RICHARDSON,
Commissioners.
The SECRETARY OF WAR.
LIST OF BLUEPRINTS TO ACCOMPANY REPORT OF 1902.
453.-Foundation for the One hundred and forty-eighth Pennsylvania marker.
454.-Plan of Buford avenue, from Reynolds avenue to Mummasburg road.
455.-Property of John Rosensteel along Wheatfield road on the Gettysburg battlefield.
456.-Map showing the location of the John Burns statue.
457.-One hundred and forty-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry marker.
458.-Plan of Meredith avenue, from property line on Springs road to Chambersburg pike.
459.-Plan showing proposed repairs to Hancock pedestal.
460.-Plan showing proposed repairs to capstone on Hancock pedestal.
461.-Rock base for the John Burns statue.
462.-Bridge over Plum Run at Devil's Den.
463.-West end of the Memorial Church.
464.-Map showing the positions of the infantry, artillery, and cavalry, United States Army on the battlefield of Gettysburg.
465.-Plan of Chamberlain and Warren avenues.
466.-Property of George E. Stock on the Hanover road, showing land needed to mark Andrew's Artillery Battalion.
467.-Map showing location of monument erected to Brig. Gen. S. K. Zook in the wheat field.
468.-Plan of roller and storage house.
468 1/2.-Woods belonging to Sarah A. C. Plank.
469.-Woods belonging to B. F. Redding.
469 1/2.-Tracts of land belonging to Gettysburg Springs and Hotel Company.
470.-Plan of storage and roller building.
471.-Storage and roller building.
472.-Tablets erected by the Commission in various towns.
473.-Tablets at Littlestown and Two Taverns.
474.-Public square, Hanover, Pa.
475.-Land conveyed by J. Bender to the United States.
476.-Tract of land conveyed by J. S. Forney to the United States.
LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS TO ACCOMPANY REPORT OF 1902.
1.-One hundred and forty-eighth Pennsylvania marker, Hancock avenue.
2.-Fifth Corps headquarters marker.
3.-Candy's Brigade marker.
4.-Wall west of Sedgwick avenue, looking south.
5.-Entrance to Chamberlain avenue from below Forty-fourth New York monument.
6.-Chamberlain avenue looking south, showing Twentieth Maine and Round Top.
7.-Chamberlain avenue looking north, showing Twentieth Maine.
8.-Warren avenue west from Sykes avenue.
9.-Warren avenue east from railroad.
10.-View of bridge over Plum Run, looking north.
11.-View of bridge over Plum Run, looking south.
12.-Itinerary tablets in front East Cemetery Hill.