Union Monuments at Gettysburg > Maryland
The monument to Company A of the Maryland Purnell Legion is east of Gettysburg on the East Cavalry Field. (East Cavalry Battlefield – south tour map) The State of Maryland dedicated the monument in 1890 .
The Purnell Legion is also honored by a marker and monument at Antietam.
Captain Robert E. Duvall commanded the company at Gettysburg. It brought 78 men to the field and had no casualties. The company was temporarily attached to the Cavalry Corps, 2nd Division, 1st Brigade.
Company A was not technically part of the Army of the Potomac. At the start of Lee’s invasion it had been guarding the bridge over the Monocacy River outside of Frederick, Maryland with a section of the 3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. The detachment was retreating to the safety of the Baltimore garrison when they were almost snapped up by Stuart’s Cavalry raid in the rear of the Union army. They joined with McIntosh’s Cavalry Brigade when it passed by the next day, which brought them to the field outside Gettysburg.
From the front of the monument:
Co. A Purnell Legion
Maryland Cavalry
Maryland’s Tribute to her loyal sons.
Rear view of the monument
From the rear of the monument:
This detached Company commanded by Capt. Robert E. Duvall,
served in the cavalry engagement on this flank, July 2nd and 3rd, 1863.
Organized at Pikesville Md.
Sept. Oct. and Nov. 1861
Mustered out at Fort Monroe Va.
July 28, 1865
Location of the monument to the Purnell Legion at Gettysburg
The monument to the Purnell Legion (Maryland) Cavalry is east of Gettysburg on the East Cavalry Battlefield on the south side of Cavalry Field Road about 550 yards west of Low Dutch Road. (39°49’35.3″N 77°09’52.6″W)