Union monuments at Gettysburg > New Jersey
(1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 15th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiments)
The monument to the New Jersey Brigade is south of Gettysburg. It is on the east side of Sedgwick Avenue south of the intersection with United States Avenue. (Sedgwick Avenue tour map) It was dedicated on June 30, 1888 by the State of New Jersey.
The monument honors the five regiments of the New Jersey Brigade, one of the few brigades in the Union army made up entirely of regiments from the same state. After the war the survivors of the brigade purchased the George Weickert Farm to preserve the ground they held at Gettysburg. It has since become part of the park.
About the monument
The granite monument is in the form of a medieval watchtower 7′ in diameter and 40′ high. Bronze tablets with inscriptions are inset in portals on the front and rear near the base of the monument. Tablets of brigade commanders Philip Kearney and A.T.A. Torbert are on the same level on the monument’s two sides. A bronze band around the monument above the tablets has a design incorporating the state shield with three plows emblazoned and the numbers of the regiments that made up the brigade. The Greek Cross symbol of the Sixth Corps is on the top lintel of the front portal.
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From the front of the monument
First Brigade New Jersey Volunteers.
Brig. Gen. Alfred T.A. Torbert.
1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, and 15th Regiments Infantry
1st Brigade, 1st Div., 6th Corps.
July 2 in reserve.
July 3 and 4 detached from the corps, held this position.
Erected by the State of New Jersey, A.D. 1888, in testimony of the patriotism, courage and patient endurance of her volunteer soldiers.
From the rear:
Kearny’s New Jersey Brigade fought in all important battles of the Army of the Potomac from May 1861 to the end of the war at Appomattox Court House in 1865. Total Strength 13,805, including 10th, 23rd, and 40th Regiments New Jersey Volunteers, which were attached to the brigade.
This site rededicated July 1, 1963
Civil War Centennial Commission
Richard J. Hughes Governor
Brass bas-relief of Alfred Torbert from the monument to the New Jersey Brigade
The brigade was commanded at Gettysburg by Brigadier General A.T.A. Torbert, whose bas-relief is on the side of the monument. General Philip Kearny, the brigade’s original commander who was killed at the Battle of Chantilly in 1862, is also honored with a bas-relief on the monument .
Bronze bas-relief of General Kearney from the monument to the New Jersey Brigade
Regiments of the New Jersey Brigade
1st Regiment: Commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg by Lt. Col. William Henry. It brought 292 men to the field and suffered no casualties. See more about the 1st New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.
2nd Regiment: Commanded at Gettysburg by Lt. Col. Charles Wiebecke. It brought 405 men to the field and suffered six wounded. See more about the 2nd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.
3rd Regiment: Commanded at Gettysburg by Col. Henry W. Brown. It brought 325 men to the field, losing two wounded. See more about the 3rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.
Marker for the 4th New Jersey Volunteers, who guarded the Artillery Train along Granite Schoolhouse Road.
4th Regiment: Commanded at Gettysburg by Maj. Charles Ewing, it brought 386 men to the field, suffering no casualties. The 4th was detached from the brigade during the Battle of Gettysburg. Companies A, C, and H acted as Provost Guard and the remainder of the regiment guarded the Reserve Artillery train, shown by a marker near School House Road. (39.804759° N, 77.217991° W ; map) See more about the 4th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.
15th Regiment: Commanded at Gettysburg by Col. William H. Penrose. It brought 441 men to the field and lost three men wounded. See more about the 15th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War.
Location of the monument to the new Jersey Brigade at Gettysburg
The monument to the New Jersey Brigade is south of Gettysburg about 100 yards east of Sedgwick Avenue
and about 200 yards south of United States Avenue. (39°48’02.2″N 77°14’00.2″W)
The New Jersey Brigade is also honored by a monument at Crampton’s Gap on South Mountain and a monument and a marker at Antietam.
The 15th New Jersey is also honored by a monument on the Spotsylvania Battlefield at the Bloody Angle.