Union monuments at Gettysburg • Maine at Gettysburg
The monument to Company D, 2nd United States Sharpshooters (the Maine Sharpshooters) is south of Gettysburg on the road to the Slyder farm. (Tour map: Bushman Hill & Slyder Farm)
Col. Hiram Berdan’s two regiments of sharpshooters were unique in the Union army, using different uniforms, weapons, equipment and tactics from the “line units”. Although operating as United States Army units, each company within the regiments was formed of recruits from a single state. After the war the states (Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin) erected monuments to their respective companies.
The Maine Sharpshooters were attached to the 2nd Regiment of United States Sharpshooters, 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Corps.
The 2nd Regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Homer R. Stoughton. It brought 204 men to the field and lost 5 killed, 23 wounded and 15 missing.
From the monument:
Company D
Maine Volunteers
2nd U.S. Sharpshooters
July 2, 1863.
Killed – 1
Wounded – 5
Missing – 5
Location of the monument to the Maine Sharpshooters at Gettysburg
The monument is south of Gettysburg on Slyder Farm Lane, the driveway leading from Emmitsburg Road to the Slyder Farm. It is on the south side of the lane about 475 yards east of Emmitsburg Road.(39°47’26.3″N 77°14’58.7″W)
See more about the history of the 2nd United States Sharpshooters in the Civil War.