Soldiers National Monument

Location: National Cemetery

Dedicated 7/1/1869

The first memorial of any type to be placed at Gettysburg was the Soldiers National Monument in the National Cemetery. Part of the original plan for the cemetery, laid out by landscape architect William Saunders, called for the creation of a large memorial in the center of the semi-circle of Union graves. Designed by the Batterson-Canfield Company, the cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1865, just three months after the close of the war. The monument consists of a large pedestal of white Westerly granite which supports a shaft and marble statue entitled the "Genius of Liberty". Around the shaft, a band of eighteen bronze stars honors the loyal states represented in the army at Gettysburg. The coat of arms beneath them is the symbol of the Union that was preserved here. Liberty rests on a three-quarter globe as she clutches a sword in her left hand. Her right hand holds the victor's laurel wreath, classical symbol of victory.                                                                                                                                         

On each of the four buttresses are allegorical statues in white marble, carved in Italy under the direction of sculptor Randolph Rogers. On the left side of the front face is "War", protrayed as an American soldier resting after the conflict. The panels on either side of  his chair contain the tools of warfare, while his foot rests on an artillery tube. He is relating the story of what happened here to the second, statue, "History," as she records the achievements and the names of the dead in her book. Beneath her foot rests a stack of books, the record of past events. On the right side of her chair, the pyramid and palm tree symbolize man's heritage, while the crumbling columns on the left represent the result of man's vanity and ambition. The back face of the monument contains the statue of "Plenty" as she symbolizes the peace and abundance brought about as a result of the soldier's triumph here. The sheath of wheat over her arm and the cornucopias filled with the fruits of the earth are all symbolic of the abundance of this nation. The final statue symbolizes peace. It represents a mechanic and features the tools of the trade, machine cogs and heavy hammers. Perhaps the most unusual of the five statues, "Peace" is represented here as a man where classical statues universally portrayed peace as a women. The panel on the back face contains the last part of Lincoln's Gettyburg Address, delivered nearby. On July 1, 1869, the sixth anniversary of the start of the battle, the Soldiers National Monument was dedicated with great ceremony.

This information was taken from Gettysburg: Stories of Men and Monuments As Told By Battlefield Guides by Frederick W. Hawthorne this book is a must if your interested in locating and photographing monuments.