Union monuments at Gettysburg • Maine at Gettysburg
The monument to the 16th Maine Infantry Regiment is northwest of Gettysburg on Doubleday Avenue. (Doubleday & Robinson Avenues tour map) It was dedicated by the State of Maine on October 3, 1889.
A small stone marker at the north end of Doubleday Avenue shows the position where the regiment made its stand covering the withdrawal of the division at 4 p.m. on July 1st.
The photo looks northwest. The monuments in the distance are along Buford Avenue, with South Mountain on the horizon.
About the monument to the 16th Maine
The granite monument is a 5′ square obelisk that stands 24′ high. The front of the monument has a relief of the First Corps symbol surrounded by the laurel leaves of victory. The left side of the monument has a relief of the Seal of the State of Maine (bottom left), and the right side has a relief of banners furled over military equipment.
The 16th Maine at Gettysburg
The 16th Maine Infantry was commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Colonel Charles W. Tilden. He was captured with the majority of the survivors of the regiment on July 1st., and Captain Daniel Marston took over command of the survivors of the regiment. Colonel Tilden eventually escaped from Libby Prison in Richmond and returned to the regiment.
The 16th Maine fought for much of the afternoon of July 1st at the location of its main monument. When the Union position collapsed the regiment was moved to the point along Mummasburg Road shown by the marker and ordered to serve as the rear guard to buy time for for Doubleday’s Division to withdraw from Oak Ridge. The regiment held out as long as they could and then conducted a fighting retreat to the Railroad Cut, where they were surrounded and overwhelmed.
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See Lieutenant Colonel Augustus B. Farnham’s Official Report on the Sixteenth Maine in the Gettysburg Campaign. |
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Text from the main monument:
16th ME. Inf’y
1st Brig. 2d Div. 1st Corps
July 1st, 1863, fought here from 1 o’clock until 4 p.m. when the division was forced to retire. By command of General Robinson to Col. Tilden, the regiment was moved to the right near the Mummasburg Road, as indicated by a marker there, with orders “to hold the position at any cost.”
July 2d & 3d, in position with the division on Cemetery Hill.
Casualties
Killed 2 officers 9 men
Wounded 9 officers 54 men
Captured 11 officers, 148 men
Strength of regiment 25 officers, 250 men
Location of the monument to the 16th Maine Infantry
The monument to the 16th Maine is northwest of Gettysburg on the west side of Doubleday Avenue 0.15 mile south of Robinson Avenue. (39°50’29.7″N 77°14’34.2″W)
Position marker for the 16th Maine
Position marker for the 16th Maine Infantry
Text from the position marker:
Position held July 1, 1863, at 4 O’Clock, p.m., by the
16th Maine Infantry.
1st Brig. 2nd Div. 1st Corps,
while the rest of the division was retiring, the regiment having moved from the position at the left where its monument stands, under orders to hold this position at any cost. It lost on this field, killed 11, wounded 62, captured 159 out of 275 engaged.
Seal of the State of Maine from the side of the monument
Flank markers for the 16th Maine Infantry and the 107th Pennsylvania Infantry
Location of the position marker
The position marker for the 16th Maine is northwest of Gettysburg on the east side of Doubleday Avenue. It is just south of Robinson Avenue. (39°50’40.4″N 77°14’31.2″W)