Eternal Light Peace Memorial
©Michael Kendra, April 2002.
MONUMENT PROFILE
- Battlefield: Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania
- Location: North Confederate Ave, On Oak Hill
- Map Coordinates: +39° 50' 54.60", -77° 14' 36.60"
MONUMENT DETAILS
- Artists:
- Architect: Paul Philippe Cret
- Sculptor: Lee Oskar Lawrie
- Contractor: George A. Fuller Company
- Dedicated: July 3rd, 1938
- Rededicated July 3rd, 1988
- Dimensions: Overall: 40 x 42 x 85 ft.
- Shaft: H. 40 ft.
- Relief: H. 8 ft.
- Platform: L. 85 ft. x W. 42 ft.
- Cost: $60,000.00 (July 1938)
- Description:
A tall square shaft rising from the center of a stone platform is topped by a bronze urn for an eternal flame. On the south face of the shaft is a relief symbolizing peace and good will as it now exists between the north and south of the nation. It features two embracing female figures holding a wreath while an eagle stands at their feet.
- Remarks:
The memorial was dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt on July 3rd, 1938, the 75th anniversary of the battle. One Union and one Confederate veteran unveiled the 47 1/2 foot tall shaft. Roosevelt compared the task of the men of the 1860's with the men of his day: "All of them we honor, not asking under which Flag they fought then - thankful that they stand together under one Flag now." In less than five years the sons and grandsons of these veterans would be standing together in unimaginably terrible battles against enemies around the world.
Over 250,000 people attended the dedication, with an estimated 100,000 more unable to make it due to overcrowded highways. Over 1,800 Civil War veterans attended what was to be the last reunion, all of them at least in their nineties. They lived in a luxurious tent camp complete with electricity and boardwalks set up in the fields north of Gettysburg College, attended by a host of Boy Scouts.
The memorial's $60,000 cost was provided by donations from states both north and south. The shaft is of a light colored Alabama limestone. The lower section was originally Alabama limestone that deteriorated and had to be replaced by grey Maine granite.
During WWII the light was reduced to just a pilot light. There was a nuclear arms protest at the site in 1962. The monument was the inspiration for the eternal flame on President Kennedy's grave at Arlington National Cemetery. In 1974 the flame was extinguished by order of Congress, which prohibited open flames (during the energy crisis) except the Eternal Flame on the grave of JFK. The extinguished gas flame was replaced by an electric light in 1976. Finally the gas flame was reinstalled during the 50th anniversary ceremonies and rededicated July 3, 1988.
MONUMENT TEXTETERNAL PEACE
LIGHT MEMORIAL
Dedicated by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
during the observance of the
75th anniversary of the
Battle of Gettysburg,
July 3, 1938
LIGHT MEMORIAL
Dedicated by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
during the observance of the
75th anniversary of the
Battle of Gettysburg,
July 3, 1938
AN ENDURING LIGHT
TO GUIDE US
IN UNITY
AND FELLOWSHIP
TO GUIDE US
IN UNITY
AND FELLOWSHIP
WITH FIRMNESS
IN THE RIGHT
AS GOD GIVES US
TO SEE THE RIGHT
------------------------------ LINCOLN
IN THE RIGHT
AS GOD GIVES US
TO SEE THE RIGHT
------------------------------ LINCOLN
ETERNAL IN A NATION UNITED
MONUMENT DEDICATION
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
Re-routing of North Confederate Avenue and Construction of Memorial, 1937
Work being done on the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, 1941.
Aerial image of the Peace Light dedication ceremonies on July 3, 1938.
View of Dedication, July 3, 1938.
Peace Light after conversion to Electric Lighting, Photo Gary Todd, taken on July 19, 1978
Vandalism on the north and east sides of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, Thursday, January 8, 2009.
Photo
RELATED LINKS
Eternal Light Peace Memorial Dedication Ceremony | Gettysburg Daily
The Eternal Light Peace Memorial, or Peace Light, was dedicated on July 3, 1938 as one part of the ceremonies for the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Approximately 1800 Union and Confederate veterans attended the 75th Reunion, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the...
www.gettysburgdaily.com
Peace Light Monument Vandalism | Gettysburg Daily
The Eternal Light Peace Memorial and the handicapped parking signs in front of it have been vandalized with spray paint. The words are profane, and the drawings are vulgar.
www.gettysburgdaily.com
Peace Light: Some Photographs Taken when the Vandalism was First Discovered | Gettysburg Daily
The north and east sides of the monument. If you want to see the images[...]
www.gettysburgdaily.com
Peace Light Cleaning Begins | Gettysburg Daily
Although plywood still covers the graffiti on the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, one section has[...]
www.gettysburgdaily.com
Peace Light Monument Mostly Cleaned of Vandalism | Gettysburg Daily
The Eternal Light Peace Memorial was cleaned on Friday, June 12, 2009, approximately 155 days[...]
www.gettysburgdaily.com
Eternal Light Peace Memorial Restoration Continues | Gettysburg Daily
The National Park Service's Historic Preservation Training Center has resumed work on the Eternal Light Peace Memorial on Oak Hill in Gettysburg.
www.gettysburgdaily.com
Eternal Light Peace Memorial at Gettysburg
Eternal Light Peace Memorial at Gettysburg, with photo, text from the monument and map location
gettysburg.stonesentinels.com
citation information
The following information is provided for citations.
Article Title: | Eternal Light Peace Memorial |
Article Subject: | Civil War Monuments, Structures, & Other Points of Interest |
Author: | ★Mike Kendra, @CivilWarTalk |
Website Name: | CivilWarTalk.com |
URL: | https://civilwartalk.com/threads/eternal-light-peace-memorial-gettysburg.165463/ |
Publisher: | CivilWarTalk, LLC |
Original Published Date: | December 3, 2019 |
links to state and national monuments, and nearby landmarks
Located at Gettysburg National Military Park, in Adams County, Pennsylvania (rev.6/1/21)
National Monuments | Eternal Light Peace Memorial ★ Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial ★ High Water Mark Lincoln Speech Memorial ★ Soldiers' National Monument |
---|---|
U.S. State Monuments | |
C.S. State Monuments | |
Union Regimentals | CT ★ DE ★ IL ★ IN ★ ME ★ MD ★ MA ★ MI ★ MN NH ★ NJ ★ NY ★ OH ★ PA ★ RI ★ VT ★ WV ★ WI ★ U.S. Regulars |
Individual & Commemorative Monuments | Equestrian Monuments: ★ Hancock ★ Howard ★ Lee ★ Longstreet ★ Meade ★ Reynolds ★ Sedgwick ★ Slocum Standing Bronze Statues: ★ Barlow ★ Buford ★ Burns ★ Father Corby ★ Crawford ★ Doubleday ★ Geary ★ Gibbon ★ Greene ★ Hays ★ Humphreys ★ Robinson ★ Wadsworth ★ Warren ★ Webb ★ Wells Other Individual Monuments: ★ Armistead ★ Chapman ★ Collis ★ Cushing ★ Fuller ★ Rev. Howell ★ Humiston ★ Merwin ★ Nicholson ★ Sickles ★ Taylor ★ Vincent ★ Ward ★ Weed & Hazlett ★ Willard ★ Woolson ★ Zook |
---|---|
Landmarks | Black Horse Tavern ★ Cashtown Inn ★ Dobbin House ★ Evergreen Cemetery ★ Jennie Wade House ★ Lutheran Theological Seminary ★ McAllister's Mill ★ Railroad Station ★ Sachs Covered Bridge ★ Thompson House ★ David Wills House Farms: ★ Codori ★ Bliss ★ Brian ★ Daniel Schaefer ★ Hummelbaugh ★ Klingle ★ Lady ★ Leister ★ McLean ★ McPherson ★ Rogers ★ Rose ★ Rummel ★ Sherfy ★ Slyder ★ Snyder ★ Taney ★ Trostle ★ George Weikert ★ Wentz |
Points of Interest | New Museum & Visitor Center ★ Benner's Hill ★ Cemetery Hill ★ Copse of Trees ★ Culp's Hill ★ Devil's Den ★ Peach Orchard ★ Little Round Top ★ Big Round Top ★ Sachs Covered Bridge ★ Spangler's Spring ★ East Cavalry Field ★ Soldiers' National Cemetery ★ National Cemetery Annex Gone But Not Forgotten: Old Museum, Visitor Center, & Electric Map ★ Old Cyclorama ★ National Tower |
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