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Confederate Monuments at Gettysburg

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The State of Georgia monument is southwest of Gettysburg on Warfield Ridge. (West Confederate Avenue – Part 5 tour map) The monument is near the location where Brigadier General Semmes’ Georgia Brigade began its attack toward the Wheatfield on July 2nd. Semmes was mortally wounded in that charge, the highest raking Georgin to die at Gettysburg.

During the centennial of the Civil War in 1961 Georgia erected identical statues on the battlefields of Gettysburg and Antietam honoring her Confederate veterans. They were dedicated in September of that year.

About the monument

The monument is composed of Georgia blue granite quarried at Elberton. It stands 15 1/2 feet high, with the state seal of Georgia on the front and back.

Sculptor Harry Sellers created the monument, and Marietta Memorials of Atlanta fabricated it. It was presented to the National Park Service by Georgia Governor Samuel Ernest Vandiveer Jr., and was dedicated on the battlefield on September 21, 1961.

Georgia at Gettysburg

Georgia sent over 13,000 men to the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg. Georgia regiments were in all three Army Corps and in Stuart’s Cavalry Division. The Army’s second in command, James Longstreet, was from Georgia. Over 2,700 Georgians became casualties in the battle. This was the third largest contingent and the third highest casualties of the Confederate states in the battle (see the States at Gettysburg).

Text from the monument:

Georgia

Georgia Confederate
Soldiers

We sleep here in obedience;
When duty called, we came;
When country called, we died

Location of the Georgia monument at Gettysburg

The State of Georgia monument is south of Gettysburg on the west side of South Confederate Avenue. It is about 320 yards south of Millerstown Road and a short distance south of the Longstreet observation tower. South Confederate Avenue is one way southbound at this point. (39°47’55.9″N 77°15’21.6″W)