Union Monuments at Gettysburg > Massachusetts
The monument to the 13th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment is northwest of Gettysburg on the eastern slope of Oak Ridge along Robinson Avenue. (Doubleday – Robinson Avenues tour map)
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Attached to the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac |  |
The 13th Massachusetts at Gettysburg
Colonel Samuel Haven Leonard of Boston commanded the 13th Massachusetts Infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was wounded on July 1. Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel W. Batchelder then took command. The regiment brought 284 men to the field.
The 13th Massachusetts suffered heavily on the northern edge of Seminary Ridge near Mummasburg Road. After an hour of heavy fighting a successful bayonet charge captured over 130 Confederates. But it took the regiment dangerously far from their lines and cost them dearly as they fought their way back. Then the collapse of the Union defensive line forced the 13th into a dangerous retreat south along the eastern edge of Seminary Ridge and back through the streets of the town. It lost 7 men killed, 77 wounded and 101 missing. Only 99 men reformed on Cemetery Hill that evening.
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See Lieutenant Colonel Batchelder’s Official Report on the 13th Massachusetts Infantry in the Gettysburg Campaign
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From the front of the monument:
13th Mass. Vols.
From the rear of the monument:
13th Mass. Vol’s
1st Brig – 2nd Div – 1st Corps
July 1st 1863
View down Robinson Avenue from the top of Seminary Ridge. The 13th Massachusetts monument is to the left of the curve at the bottom of the hill. Gettysburg is in the distance on the right. The rail line did not exist at the time of the battle.
Location of the monument
The monument to the 13th Massachusetts infantry is northwest of Gettysburg on the inside of the loop of Robinson Avenue, which connects Robinson Avenue and Mummasburg Road. (39°50’34.1″N 77°14’28.3″W)