Union monuments at Gettysburg > West Virginia
The monument to the 3rd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry is west of Gettysburg on Buford Avenue. (Buford Avenue tour map) The State of West Virginia dedicated the monument on September 28, 1889.
Monument to the 3rd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry
The 3rd West Virginia Cavalry at Gettysburg
At the time of the battle the regiment had detachments serving in four different departments. Companies A and C were at Gettysburg as part of Colonel Thomas C. Devin’s 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division. Captain Seymour B. Conger, a farmer from Lexington, Ohio, commanded the two companies. They brought 59 men to the field and lost four men missing.
Devin’s Brigade arrived in Gettysburg on June 30, causing a Confederate detachment to turn back towards Cashtown. On July 1 the brigade fought for two hours, holding back Heth’s Confederate Division until Federal infantry arrived. Devin picketed the York Pike, then was ordered to take a position on Emmitsburg Road. They spent the night in front of Little Round Top. On July 2 they withdrew with the rest of Buford’s cavalry to Westminister.
About the monument
The rough-hewn granite monument is 7′ 6″ tall. The front face has an inset archway. The inside of the the arch is polished and inscribed with text underneath the crossed sabres symbol of the cavalry.
From the monument:
Erected by the state of
West Virginia
to commemorate the
valor and fidelity
of the
Third West Virginia Cavalry
Location of the monument
The monument is northwest of Gettysburg on the east side of Buford Avenue about 0.33 mile north of Reynolds Avenue. Buford Avenue is one way northbound. (39°50’36.9″N 77°14’52.5″W)
See more on the history of the 3rd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry in the Civil War