Union monuments at Gettysburg > New York > Artillery & Engineers
“Ames’ Battery”
The monument to Battery G, 1st New York Light Artillery is south of Gettysburg in the Peach Orchard. (Peach Orchard tour map) A marker on Hancock Avenue (Hancock Avenue Part 1 tour map) shows the battery’s position on July 3rd.
Monument to Battery G, 1st New York Light Artillery at Gettysburg
About the monument
The monument was informally dedicated on the anniversary of the battle in 1893. According to Ames, “Thirteen of the survivors of the battery were present, and we dedicated the noble monument in silence and in tears. No one wanted to make a speech, and none was made. Our meeting was like the meeting of a family, and formalities seemed out of place. We dedicated the monument with our tears…”*
(*Edmund J. Raus, A Generation on the March: The Union Army at Gettysburg“, p.87)
Battery G at Gettysburg
Captain Nelson Ames commanded the battery at the Battle of Gettysburg. It brought 132 men to the field serving six 12-pounder Napoleons, and lost seven wounded. Battery G was part of the Artillery Reserve – 4th Volunteer Brigade.
From the front of the monument:
Battery G
(Ames’)
1st N.Y. Light Artillery
—–
Engaged here with 3rd Corps
3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. July 2, 1863.
July 3, on Cemetery Ridge
with 1st Div., 2d Corps.
—–
Casualties, 7 wounded.
From the back:
Mustered in Sept. 22, 1861.
Principal Engagements.
Fair Oaks
Peach Orchard
Savage’s Station –
White Oak Swamp
Malvern Hill
Antietam
Fredericksburg
Chancellorsville
Gettysburg
Auburn Hill
Bristoe Station
Robertson’s Tavern
Wilderness
Po River
Spottsylvania
North Anna
Totopotomoy
Cold Harbor
Petersburg June 16, 1864 to Apr. 3, 1865.
Mustered out June 19, 1865.
Location of the monument to Battery G at Gettysburg
The monument to Battery G, 1st New York Light Artillery is south of Gettysburg in the Peach Orchard, on the east side of Emmitsburg Road 40 yards south of Whestfield Road. (39°48’04.7″N 77°15’00.4″W)
Position marker for Battery G
Marker showing the position of Battery G, 1st New York Artillery on July 3
From the marker:
Battery G
(Ames)
1st N.Y.L.A.
July 3rd 1863
The marker for the 1st New York Light Artillery, Battery G on Hancock Avenue, with the Weickert farm in the background
Location of the position marker for Battery G
The marker to Battery G of the 1st New York Light Artillery is south of Gettysburg on the west side of Hancock Avenue about 80 yards north of United States Avenue. (39°48’10.2″N 77°14’04.2″W)
See more on history of Battery G, 1st New York Light Artillery in the Civil War