The Soldiers' National Monument is a

Gettysburg Battlefield The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot ...

memorial which is located at the central point of

Gettysburg National Cemetery Gettysburg National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery created for Union casualties from the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought between July 1 to 3, 1863, resulted in the large ...

. It honors the battle's soldiers and tells an allegory of "''peace and plenty under freedom … following a heroic struggle.''" In addition to an inscription with the last 4 lines of the

Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, now known as Gettysburg National Cemetery, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the ...

, the shaft with 4 buttresses has 5 statues:

A large statue representing the concept of Liberty surmounts the pedestal. Eighteen large bronze stars circling the pedestal below this statue represent the eighteen Union states with buried dead. A statue is located at each corner near the base. They represent War, History, Peace, and Plenty. War is represented by a statue of an American soldier who recounts the story of the battle to History. In turn, History records, with stylus and tablet, the achievements of the battle and the names of the honored dead. A statue of an American mechanic and his tools illustrates Peace. Plenty is a female figure with a sheaf of wheat and the fruits of the earth that typify peace and abundance as the soldier's crowning triumph.

History

Massachusetts approved appropriations to the Gettysburg Soldiers' National Monument Association on March 14, 1865; and in May, David Wills invited veterans organizations for the extensive July 4 cornerstone ceremony (lithographs of the "design proposed by J. G. Batterson" were available by July 19, 1865.) The monument structure was built a
Batterson's works
at

Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...

, and the Genius of Liberty grasping sword and laurel wreath was sculpted in Rome (arrived October 1868). The monument without the "Plenty" or "Peace" statues was dedicated in 1869 with the prayer by Rev.

Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His r ...

, followed by an address by Gen.

George G. Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. H ...

, oration by Senator

Oliver P. Morton Oliver Hazard Perry Throck Morton (August 4, 1823 – November 1, 1877), commonly known as Oliver P. Morton, was a U.S. Republican Party politician from Indiana. He served as the 14th governor (the first native-born) of Indiana during the Amer ...

, and poem by Bayard Taylor. The monument's "Plenty" statue was placed on August 26, 1869; and a record of the cornerstone and dedication ceremonies was published in 1874. Contrary to popular belief, the monument does not rest on the site of the oration of the Gettysburg Address (nor does the Gettysburg address monument, 300 yards to the south). Modern scholarship places the site of the speech about 40 yards east of the soldier's monument. When he gave the speech, at a spot that is now within the civilian cemetery, he was facing west, toward a flagpole that stood where the soldier's monument was later erected.

Photo gallery

File:snm_history.jpg, History File:snm_plenty.jpg, Plenty File:snm_peace.jpg, Peace File:Randolph Rogers Labor.jpg, Peace, statue of mechanic holding a mallet in right hand.

References

{{Reflist 1869 establishments in Pennsylvania 1869 sculptures Cemetery Hill Gettysburg Battlefield monuments and memorials Liberty symbols Marble sculptures in Pennsylvania Outdoor sculptures in Pennsylvania Sculptures of men in Pennsylvania Sculptures of women in Pennsylvania Union (American Civil War) monuments and memorials in Pennsylvania