Union Monuments at Gettysburg * Massachusetts
The monument to the 1st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment is south of Gettysburg on Emmitsburg Road across from Sickles Avenue. (Emmitsburg Rd. & Sickles Ave. tour map) The Commonwealth of Massachusetts erected the monument on June 30th. It was dedicated on July 2nd, 1886.
A marker shows the position of the regiment’s skirmish line 200 yards west of the main monument, on the path to the State of Virginia monument. (Emmitsburg Rd. – Codori Farm position map) The Commonwealth of Massachusetts erected the marker in 1913.
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Attached to the 2nd Division, 3rd Corps, Army of the Potomac |  |
About the 1st Massachusetts monument
The 9′ wide base of the granite monument supports the diamond symbol of the Third Corps, standing a total of 13′ 3″ high . The front of the diamond has a relief of a skirmisher climbing over a split rail fence. The 1st Massachusetts maintained a skirmish line on the army’s front on July 2nd. At the time of the battle the Rogers house stood just to the south of the monument; the yard where the monument is located was the location for the skirmish reserve.
The 1st Massachusetts at Gettysburg
The regiment was commanded during the Battle of Gettysburg by Lieutenant Colonel Clark B. Baldwin, a Boston merchant. It brought 384 men to the field, losing 16 killed, 83 wounded and 21 missing.
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Corporal Nathaniel M. Allen of Company B earned the Medal of Honor at Gettysburg. “When his regiment was falling back, this soldier, bearing the national color, returned in the face of the enemy’s fire, pulled the regimental flag from under the body of its bearer, who had fallen, saved the flag from capture, and brought both colors off the field.” |
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See Lt. Colonel Baldwin’s Official Report on the 1st Massachusetts in the Gettysburg Campaign
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From the front of the main monument:
First Mass. Infantry
Rear view of the monument
From the rear:
On July 2, 1863 from 11 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. the First Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Lieut. Col. Clark B. Baldwin commanding occupied this spot in support of its skirmish line 80 feet in advance. The regiment subsequently took position in the brigade line and was engaged until the close of the action.
First Brig. Second Div. Third Corps
Location of the monument to the 1st Massachusetts Infantry at Gettysburg
The main monument to the 1st Massachusetts Infantry is south of Gettysburg on the west side of Emmitsburg Road, 85 yards northeast of its intersection with Sickles Avenue. (39°48’31.4″N 77°14’37.4″W)
Marker for the 1st Massachusetts Infantry
From the marker for the skirmish line:
Right of the Skirmish line
First Massachusetts Infantry
Left resting on Spangler’s Lane
11 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. July 2, 1863
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Loss on skirmish line
Killed 8, Died of wounds 2,
Wounded 32, Prisoners 10
Total 52
Location of the position marker for the 1st Massachusetts at Gettysburg
The position marker for the 1st Massachusetts is south of Gettysburg along a fenceline in the fields on the west side of Emmitsburg Road, about 220 yards northwest of the main monument. (39°48’34.3″N 77°14’44.9″W)
See more on the 1st Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.