Monuments to those who were absent from the battle

infomanpa

1st Lieutenant
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Location
Pennsylvania
What do you guys think of the 4 regimental monuments to the 2nd brigade of the 2nd division of Union cavalry located in a central location on Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg? Should they be there in light of the fact that this division commanded by Colonel Pennock Huey was never engaged anywhere near the sites of the battle? I understand that they were involved at other locations during the campaign and wanted to share in the glory, but is this appropriate?
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They were part of the Gettysburg Campaign and they were all involved in the pursuit of Lee's retreating army . All of the monuments clearly state their whereabouts during the battle and all were allowed to place monuments at Gettysburg . I think it would have been more appropriate to have all of their monuments grouped together , but I don't really see a major problem with it . If they had remained in a noncombat role during the campaign my answer would be different .
 
Seems a little cheesy to me, it would seem more appropriate to put the monuments where they actually were and actually had fought...........
 
I’m kinda torn. For the average visitor it could be misleading because they were not directly involved in the battle combat. But they say to the victor go the spoils. If the monument spells out their involvement or lack of then it’s fine. But i would hope the park service has a rule on that for new monuments
 
Also, down by that tree in the left background, there is a concrete slab, does anyone know what that might have been from? I saw it there on one of my visits a few weeks ago, and I haven't been able to find an answer!
 
Also, down by that tree in the left background, there is a concrete slab, does anyone know what that might have been from? I saw it there on one of my visits a few weeks ago, and I haven't been able to find an answer!

I can't see it in my picture, but I remember walking by it and wondering the same thing. My theory is that it was a base for one of the monuments that perhaps was moved when the tree became too large.
 
Hello from the Volunteer State; I'm a "fresh fish" to CivilWarTalk since last week when I "jined up". I've been exploring the various forums and chanced upon this one. There is a monument at Shiloh National Military Park to a unit that didn't fight at Shiloh, the 51st Indiana Volunteer Infantry. The monument to the 51st Indiana Infantry, attached to Gen. Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio is impressive; but it's present at Shiloh is a mystery, as this regiment was not engaged at Shiloh. It was detailed by General James A. Garfield at Savannah, TN to guard and bring up the brigade and division supply trains. In all fairness, however, Company B of the 51st did arrive on the battlefield in the late afternoon and early evening hours of April 6 and did participate in the removal of dead and wounded to the front of the Federal lines (hazardous enough duty with jittery troops of both sides firing at any sound to their front!). No info on when the monument was placed here, but probably sometime in the late 1870s-mid 1880s. Monument placement by veterans of regiments in that time period were common on most battlefields without regulations (Shiloh would not become a National Park until December 27, 1894).

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