State of Virginia Monument
Photo ©Michael Kendra, about 2002.
MONUMENT PROFILE
- Also Known As: Robert E. Lee Monument
- Battlefield: Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania
- Location: Seminary Ridge east of West Confederate Avenue
- Map Coordinates: +39° 48' 50.76", -77° 15' 1.08"
- Men Engaged at Gettysburg from Virginia: 19,030
- Gettysburg Casualties from Virginia: 4,470 or 25%
MONUMENT DETAILS
- Artist:
- Sculptor: Frederick William Sievers
- Founder: Tiffany and Company
- Fabricator: Van Amringe Granite Company
- Commissioned: March 9, 1908
- Dedicated: June 8, 1917
- Dimensions: Total Height: 42 ft.
- Sculpture: H. 14 ft.
- Pedestal: H. 28 ft.
- Cost: $50,000.00 (June 1917)
- Description:
A three-stepped Mt. Airy granite base supports a pedestal on which a bronze statue of General Robert E. Lee astride his favorite horse, Traveller stands. General Lee holds the horse's reins in his proper left hand and holds his hat in his proper right hand. Below Lee as he studies the distant Union lines are a bronze group of seven Confederate soldiers. In this group, the central figure is an equestrian soldier holding the flag of the Commonwealth of Virginia. To the left of him are two soldiers with rifles standing guard, and one soldier aiming a pistol. To the right of him is a soldier swinging a bayonet, a soldier about to aim his rifle, and a soldier blowing a bugle. According to the marker at the base of the monument, "The group represents various types who left civil occupations to join the Confederate Army. Left to right; a professional man, a mechanic, an artist, a boy, a business man, a farmer, a youth."
- Remarks:
The Virginia monument was the first of the Confederate State monuments at Gettysburg. It was unveiled by Miss Virginia Carter, a niece of Robert E. Lee.
It is also the largest of the Confederate monuments, a fitting tribute for the state that provided the largest contingent to the Army of Northern Virginia, its commander, and its name. Lee's figure, topping the monument astride his favorite horse, Traveller, was created by sculptor Frederick Sievers from photographs and life masks of the general. He even went to Lexington, Virginia to study Traveller's skeleton, preserved at Washington and Lee University.
MONUMENT TEXT
VIRGINIA TO HER SONS AT GETTYSBURG
FEATURED VIDEO TOUR
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
Construction of Virginia Monument, Tipton 1910.
Monument Dedication Day, June 8, 1917.
Statue of Robert E. Lee, ©Michael Kendra
Lower Grouping of Statues, ©Michael Kendra
Winter Snowfall Jan. 2002, ©Michael Kendra
Morning Sun on Snowy Monument, Jan. 2002, ©Michael Kendra
NPS Photo.
NPS Photo.
Lower Group Detail, Dec 2019 ©Michael Kendra
Sunday Morning at the Virginia Monument | Gettysburg Daily
The Virginia State Monument on West Confederate Avenue. It was dedicated on June 8, 1917,[...]
www.gettysburgdaily.com
The Virginia State Monument: Latest Red Cloth Recipient | Gettysburg Daily
On late Friday night/early Saturday morning, the red cloth vandals returned to Gettysburg National Military[...]
www.gettysburgdaily.com
citation information
The following information is provided for citations.
Article Title: | State of Virginia Monument (Gettysburg) |
Article Subject: | Civil War Monuments, Structures, & Other Points of Interest |
Author: | ★Mike Kendra, @CivilWarTalk |
Website Name: | CivilWarTalk.com |
URL: | https://civilwartalk.com/threads/state-of-virginia-monument-gettysburg.165439/ |
Publisher: | CivilWarTalk, LLC |
Original Published Date: | March 20, 2020 |
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 |
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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 |
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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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