Above we have the North Carolina monument at Gettysburg National Military Park. A monument to the bravery and tenacity of the men from North Carolina that fought in the field for the state and for the Confederacy.

The history of Confederate monuments is fascinating as for many years they were discouraged completely and it was not until much later that they started to appear. Hard feelings and lack of money kept many Southern states from being able to build the monuments. As such there are far more monuments to the Union troops than the Confederates, which makes sense because the battle was  a Union victory and occurred in the North.

The North Carolina monument was dedicated on July 3, 1929. (Interestingly enough the Texas monument was not dedicated until 1982.) To the side of the monument is erected a stone tablet with the following inscription:

1863
North Carolina
To the eternal glory of the North Carolina
soldiers. Who on this battlefield displayed
heroism unsurpassed sacrificing all in sup-
port of their cause. Their valorous deeds
will be enshrined in the hearts of men long
after these transient memorials have crum-
bled into dust.

Thirty two North Carolina regiments were in
action at Gettysburg July 1,2,3, 1863. One Con-
federate soldier in every four who fell here
was a North Carolinian.

This tablet erected by the North Carolina Division United Daughters of the Confederacy.

 

Over 14,000 men of North Carolina were a part of the Army of Northern Virginia, only Virginia provided more men. During the battle NC lost almost 6,000 men or almost 40% of those that took part in the battle. As stated on the tablet over one-quarter of all Confederate casualties these three days came from North Carolina.

We will look at some more of the monuments in the days to come.