Confederate Monuments at Gettysburg > State Monuments
The State of Virginia monument is southwest of Gettysburg on West Confederate Avenue. (West Confederate Avenue – Part 3 tour map) The monument was the first of the Confederate State monuments at Gettysburg. It was dedicated on June 8, 1917 and unveiled by Miss Virginia Carter, a niece of Robert E Lee.
Virginia contributed over 19,000 men to the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg, the largest contingent from the twelve Confederate states. Almost 4,500 of these – almost 1 out of 4 – became casualties, the second highest state total (see the States at Gettysburg).
State of Virginia monument at Gettysburg, topped with the statue of Robert E. Lee
The monument stands 41 feet high, with the statue of Lee and Traveler standing 14 feet high. It is the largest of the Confederate monuments on the Gettysburg battlefield, a fitting tribute to the state that provided the largest contingent to the Army of Northern Virginia, its commander, and its name. Lee’s figure, stands atop the monument astride his favorite horse, Traveler. The statue was created by sculptor Frederick Sievers from photographs and life masks of the general. Sievers even went to Lexington, Virginia to study Traveler’s skeleton, preserved at Washington and Lee University. The total cost of the monument was $50,000.
From the monument
Virginia to her sons at Gettysburg
Confederate soldiers from the State of Virginia monument at Gettysburg
Below Lee as he studies the distant Union lines are seven Confederate soldiers. According to the marker at the base of the monument:
The group represents various types who left civil occupations to join the Confederate Army. Left to right;
a professional man, a mechanic, an artist, a boy, a business man, a farmer, a youth.
Three of the representative Virginians from the monument: a professional man, a mechanic, an artist.
From the right side of the monument: a business man, a farmer, a youth
Robert E. Lee on Traveler
Location of the Virginia monument at Gettysburg
The State of Virginia monument is south of Gettysburg on West Confederate Avenue 1.1 miles south of West Middle Street-Fairfield Road. West Confederate Avenue is one way southbound. (39°48’51.0″N 77°15’01.2″W)