There are eight Gettysburg equestrian monuments. Can you identify which is which? What about their riders, do you know their names? Let’s have a little fun. The monuments listed in the following table are ordered for convenience designing a bicycling loop through Gettysburg National Military Park. To get started with your planning, visit these pages:
8 Gettysburg Equestrian Monuments
Key:
- AOP = Army of the Potomac (Union army, the Federals, USA).
- ANV = Army of Northern Virginia (Confederate army, the Confederates, CSA).
| # | Commander (photo link) | Army (Order of Battle link) | Dedication | Sculptor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock | AOP – 2nd Corps | 1896 | Frank Edwin Elwell (1858–1922) |
| 2 | Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard | AOP – 11th Corps | 1932 | Robert Aitken (1878–1949) |
| 3 | Gen. Robert E. Lee | ANV – Headquarters | 1917 | Frederick Sievers (1872–1966) |
| 4 | Lt. Gen. James Longstreet | ANV – Longstreet’s Corps | 1998 | Gary Casteel |
| 5 | Maj. Gen. George G. Meade | AOP – Headquarters | 1896 | Henry Kirke Bush-Brown (1857–1935) |
| 6 | Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds | AOP – 1st Corps | 1899 | Henry Kirke Bush-Brown (1857–1935) |
| 7 | Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick | AOP – 6th Corps | 1913 | Henry Kirke Bush-Brown (1857–1935) |
| 8 | Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum | AOP – 12th Corps | 1902 | Edward Clark Potter (1857–1923) |
Every history lover has their own unique answers to why one might want to visit or study historic monuments. Some reasons are obvious or predictable; others, less so. For example, I wonder how many people can identify with my interest of combining hobbies (photography, history, art) into one bodily experience on a bicycle. See below for my thoughts on this…
Do you like to collect? categorize? explore?
Some people love to collect and organize or categorize things. Maybe not things, but ideas. You might think that such people are well-suited for office or library work. And that may be true. I am one of those people. We are geeks.
But some people are athletic geeks. When I discovered that I can collect (and later categorize) photos while bicycling historical sites, that was a happy day! What is more, if I plan ahead and know, for example, that there are eight equestrian monuments at Gettysburg National Military Park, I can use that knowledge to plan a circuit through the park for visiting each of the eight monuments. And while I’m there, I can read and study a little American History.
Please consider clicking into the photo menu near the top of this post. If you are a visual learner with a modicum of interest in the Battle of Gettysburg, I think you will enjoy experience.