Union monuments at Gettysburg > Michigan


The monument to the 1st Michigan Infantry Regiment is south of Gettysburg on Sickles Avenue on the Stony Hill east of the Rose farmhouse. (Sickles Avenue at the Rose Woods tour map)

Monument to the 1st Michigan Infantry in the Rose Woods at Gettysburg

Monument to the 1st Michigan Infantry Regiment at Gettysburg

About the Monument to the 1st Michigan

The monument is a granite shaft on a four foot square rough hewn granite base, and stands a little over ten feet tall. The front has a carved relief of crossed rifles hung with a cap, canteen, and cartridge box. An inscription of the Maltese Cross symbol of the Fifth Corps is on the left side, and a brass tablet with the Seal of the State of Michigan is on the front base. The monument was erected in 1888 and dedicated on June 12,1889 by the State of Michigan.

The 1st Michigan Infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg

The First Michigan was commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Colonel Ira C. Abbott, a merchant from Burr Oak, Michigan. He was wounded on July 2nd, and Lieutenant Colonel William A. Throop took command, despite also being wounded. The regiment brought 21 officers and 240 men to Gettysburg, and lost First Lieutenant Amos Ladd of Company K and four enlisted men killed, 6 officers and 27 men wounded, and 4 men missing.

5th Corps Headquarters Flag Attached to the 1st Brigade, 1st Division5th Corps, Army of the Potomac Flag for the First Division, Fifth Corps
Text from the front of the monument:

First Mich. Inftry.

1st Brig., 1st Div. 5th Corps

From the rear:

 Mustered in at Detroit Mich. May 1, 1861 for 3 months.
Mustered in at Ann Arbor, Mich. Aug. 17, 1861 for 3 years.
Re-enlisted as Veterans Feb. 23, 1864.
Mustered out at Jefersonville, Ind. July 9, 1865.

Total enrollment 2144 officers and men.
Killed in action officers 12, men 135.
Died of wounds officers 6, men 22.
Died of disease 
officers 1, men 95.
Total 252.
—-
From the first to the last.”
Entry into Virginia and capture
of Alexandria May 24, 1861
to Appomattox April 8, 1865.
Participated in 54 skirmishes
and general engagements.
—-
This monument marks the position
where the regiment fought, July 2, 1863.
Present for duty 21 officers 240 men, total 261.
Killed 1 officer 4 men. Wounded 6 officers 27 men.
Missing 4 men. Total 42

Location of the monument to the 1st Michigan Infantry at Gettysburg

The monument to the 1st Michigan Infantry is south of Gettysburg about 30 feet west of Sickles Avenue in the Rose Woods at The Loop. Sickles Avenue is one-way west and north, and must be entered from Ayers Avenue or the Devils Den area. (39°47’50.5″N 77°14’47.6″W)

See more on the history of the 1st Michigan Infantry Regiment in the Civil War