Pennsylvania Memorial Searchable Database

The Pennsylvania Memorial is the largest monument at the Gettysburg National Military Park.

NPS Photo

The Pennsylvania Memorial: An Overview

 

Dedicated on September 27, 1910, the Pennsylvania Memorial (Auto Tour Stop 12) is located along Hancock Avenue near its intersection with Pleasonton Avenue. One of the most recognizable landmarks at the Gettysburg National Miltary Park, it is also the largest monument on the battlefield. It stands 110-feet in height, measured from ground level to the tip of the sword held by the statue of Winged Victory that stands upon the dome of the monument. A staircase inside the memorial allows visitors a panoramic view of the Second and Third Days' battlefields from an observation platform. The bulk of the memorial is composed of polished granite slabs set over an iron and concrete frame. The bronze statue of Winged Victory on top, which weighs 7,500 pounds, was sculpted by Samuel Murray, who also created the granite friezes over each of the four archways, representing infantry, cavalry, artillery, and the signal corps. 

Around the base of the memorial and inside it are dozens of bronze tablets bearing the names of more than 34,400 Pennsylvania soldiers believed to have been present at the Battle of Gettysburg. Those killed or mortally wounded in the battle are denoted with an asterisk next to their name. Statues of Pennsylvania generals and political leaders at the time of the war were added several years after the monument's dedication in 1910. 

 

How Names Were Selected for Inclusion on the Pennsylvania Memorial

In 1907, the state law that appropriated funds from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the construction of the Pennsylvania Memorial also created a nine-member Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Commission to oversee its development and design. All nine commissioners were citizens of Pennsylvania and veterans of the United States Army during the Civil War. An element of the intricate design of the memorial were tablets containing rosters of Pennsylvania soldiers present with their commands at the Battle of Gettysburg.

To compile these rosters, the Commission requested the names of those who were present at the Battle of Gettysburg from the War Department, which responded with the muster-rolls from the night before the battle (June 30, 1863). The Commission also relied on pay rolls from the Treasury Department to prepare the rosters for the tablets. The Commission then provided this information to the “officers or representatives of the various regiments, with the request that the rolls should be carefully examined and such corrections made as would put them in proper form for the brass founders.”

Immediately upon the dedication of the memorial in 1910, however, inaccuracies in the rosters on the tablets were identified by surviving soldiers, family members and others and the Commission solicited information and collected inquiries regarding those errors. The Commission ordered that corrections be made to the tablets, based on additional background research and inquiries into the records of the state Adjutant General. The form letter requesting additional research into the records included the following note describing the criteria for determining which names would be placed on the monument:

The original intent of the tablets was not meant to be a complete roster of each organization, but to embrace only the names of those who were actually on duty near the scene of engagement and subject to the orders of General Meade. Soldiers on furlough or in the hospital are not entitled to have their names on the tablets, nor are men who deserted at any time after the battle.
 

Physical corrections to the tablets were completed in May 1914, and included the removal of 496 specific names and the addition of 219 names initially omitted. The following year, the Commission was disbanded and the monument officially transferred to the perpetual care of the United States War Department, which administrated the national military park until 1933, when administration transferred to the National Park Service 

Thus, despite best efforts, mistakes were made with some of the names inscribed upon the bronze tablets. There are misspellings of names; there are some names of soldiers who were not, in fact, present at the battle; and, unfortunately, there are sometimes omissions of names of soldiers who were present at the battle but whose names were not included upon their regimental or battery tablets.  

When errors such as misspellings and omissions are discovered on monuments in national park areas, it is the policy of the National Park Service (NPS) not to change or correct the monuments or their inscriptions. NPS management policies (chapter 9, Section 9.6.4, page 141) state: “Many commemorative works have existed in the parks long enough to qualify as historic features. A key aspect of their historical interest is that they reflect the knowledge, attitudes, and tastes of the persons who designed and placed them. These works and their inscriptions will not be altered, relocated, obscured, or removed, even when they are deemed inaccurate or incompatible with prevailing present-day values.” 

Therefore, National Park Service policy prevents the Park from altering the history Pennsylvania State Memorial. We do, however, recognize the importance of accurate historical records and the intention of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Commission that no Pennsylvania soldier engaged in the Battle of Gettysburg go unrecognized. 
 

Search For A Name On The Pennsylvania Memorial:

The sortable table below can help you find a soldier's name on the Pennsylvania Memorial. Use the search bar to search for a name, infantry or cavalry regiment, or artillery battery from the State of Pennsylvania. You can also sort columns by clicking the triangles on the top row. This is especially helpful if searching for a last name that can also be a first name, such as "Thomas," since it will sort by either last name or first name. Please note that the names in the sortable table are as they appear on the monument. If you are unable to locate a name, consider variations of spellings.

Each infantry and cavalry regiment, and each artillery battery from Pennsylvania present at the Battle of Gettysburg, is represented with a bronze tablet. Some of the larger regiments (such as the 26th PA Emergency Militia and 153rd PA Infantry) have more than one tablet. The designated regiment or battery number indicates the tablet that contains the name(s) you search and where the name(s) can be located on the memorial. 

The bronze tablets are arranged sequentially by regiment with the first, the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry, located to the right of the main staircase when facing the front of the monument, directly next to the Gettysburg Address tablet. Additional unit tablets, including all cavalry regiments, are located up the steps, under the cupola. 

Please refer to the diagram below to locate where the tablet for each infantry and cavalry regiment and artillery battery can be found on the Pennsylvania Memorial. 
 

 

Search Names Inscribed Upon The Pennsylvania Memorial

Last Name	First Name	Rank	Tablet/Regiment	Company	Killed/Mortally Wounded	Notes/Comments

 

Pennsylvania Memorial
Guide To Regimental Tablets

 

NPS

 

 

Names of Soldiers Omitted on Pennsylvania Memorial

Names Omitted from the PA State Memorial

Last Name	First Name	Rank	Regiment	Company	Notes

 

Note: Recognizing the importance of accurate historical records and the intention of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Commission that no Pennsylvania soldier engaged in the Battle of Gettysburg go unrecognized, the table above includes the names of those Pennsylvania soldiers who were definitively proven to be present at the Battle but whose names were erroneously omitted from the Memorial. The table above will be updated if other cases should arise.