Soldiers' National Monument
| Soldiers' National Monument | |
| historic district contributing structure | |
 Eastward view
|
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Adams |
| NPS unit | Gettysburg NMP |
| Park District | Gettysburg National Cemetery |
| Location |
Gettysburg Address site
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| - elevation | 624.8 ft (190.4 m) |
| - coordinates | 39°49.186′N 77°13.873′W / 39.819767°N 77.231217°WCoordinates: 39°49.186′N 77°13.873′W / 39.819767°N 77.231217°W |
| Width | 25 ft (8 m) -square base |
| Height | 60 ft (18 m) |
|
Cornerstone Contracted Dedicated "Plenty" statue |
July 4, 1865 May 1866 July 1, 1869 August 26, 1869 |
| Owner Sculptor Architect |
National Park Service Randolph Rogers George Keller |
| Access (walkways) |
Cemetery gates @ Baltimore Pike & Taneytown Road |
|
Historic District Ent'd-Doc'd LCS/GNMP IDs |
75000155 01/23/2004 009949/MN288 |
| Cost | $51,000, not including the foundation or enclosure |
| Images | |
|---|---|
 illustration with fence & uphill steps
|
|
| Video | |
 1955 MGM film (minute 9:09)
|
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The Soldiers' National Monument is a Gettysburg Battlefield memorial which is located at the central point of Gettysburg National Cemetery. 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 shaft with 4 buttresses has 5 statues:
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 at Batterson's works at Westerly, Rhode Island, 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, followed by an address by Gen. George G. Meade, oration by Senator Oliver P. Morton, 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
History
Peace
Plenty
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Wikipedia