On September 9, 1925, the New York State Auxiliary Monument was dedicated on Hancock Avenue at Gettysburg National Military Park. Designed by architect Edward Pearce Casey, with sculpture by Gerome Brush, the curved granite memorial honors New York officers who commanded corps, divisions, and brigades during the Battle of Gettysburg and who were not otherwise commemorated on the battlefield.
The monument’s broad, curved wall records the names of New York commanders as well as New York cavalry regiments, artillery batteries, engineer regiments, and infantry regiments that served at Gettysburg. At its center stands a pedestal bearing the Seal of the State of New York and topped by a bronze American eagle; the tips of the eagle’s outstretched wings rise 21 feet above the granite walkway.
More than a conventional state monument, the Auxiliary Monument functions as a detailed military roster in stone. Its inscription explains its purpose: to recognize the services of corps, division, and brigade commanders at Gettysburg “not elsewhere honored on this field.” Dedicated more than six decades after the battle, it preserves the connection between New York’s individual commanders, its military organizations, and the Gettysburg landscape.
Image via the Library of Congress; no known restrictions.
