The First Shot of the Battle of Gettysburg Marker is on Chambersburg Pike (US 30) at Knoxlyn Road, three miles west of Gettysburg. The monument is on the north side of U.S. 30 next to the Ephraim Wisler house.
There are several claims as to which Union soldier fired the first shot at the Battle of Gettysburg. Three men from the 8th Illinois Cavalry felt their claim was strong enough to erect their own monument.
Lieutenant (later Captain) Marcellus Jones’ Company E of the 8th Illinois Cavalry Regiment was picketing the Chambersburg Pike at this location on the morning of July 1 when he saw a strong force of Confederate infantry begin to cross Marsh Creek about a half mile to the west. Jones borrowed a carbine from Sergeant Levi S. Shafer and fired a single shot at a mounted officer, who might have been Colonel Birkett Fry of the 13th Alabama Infantry Regiment. Jones apparently missed.
In 1886, Jones, Shafer and Riddler had the five-foot limestone shaft hewn in a Naperville, Illinois quarry and brought it the 600 miles to Gettysburg. They erected it on land purchased from the owner of the house which still stands behind it.
Jones’ first shot claim ignited a controversy that raged for years, primarily with the 9th New York Cavalry.
Text from the front (south) side of the monument:
First shot
Gettysburg
July 1st 1863
7:30 a.m
Text from the west side:
By
Capt. Jones,
Lieut Riddler,
Sergt. Shafer
Text from the east side:
Fired by Cap. Jones
with Sergt. Shafer’s carbine.
Co. E 8th Ills. Cavalry.
Text from the north side:
Erected
1886
The Ephraim Wisler House
Ephraim Wisler was a Master Blacksmith who lived in the house with his wife Louisa and children George and Andrew. For many years it was a private residence. It has been purchased and restored to its 1863 appearance by the National Park Service, and a small parking area has been added.
Location of the First Shot marker at Gettysburg
The First Shot at Gettysburg Marker is west of Gettysburg on the north side of Chambersburg Road (U.S.30) at the intersection with Knoxlyn Road. There is a parking area north of Chambersburg Road and east of the Wisler House. (39°51’03.5″N 77°16’50.6″W)