The east and south sides of the Pennsylvania State Monument. We previously showed some details on the right or east side of the monument. Today we will walk to the left or south side of the monument. Some of our photographs were taken the day after the December 19, 2009 “blizzard”… This view was taken facing west at approximately 11:00 AM on Sunday, December 20, 2009.

…and some of them were taken on a much clearer Christmas Day, 2008. This view was taken facing west at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

When the Gettysburg National Park Commission approved this location in 1907, they laid out and made a road behind the triangle on which the monument stands, where the jeep is parked in the right background. Therefore, the Pennsylvania Monument occupies approximately four acres. This view was taken facing north at approximately 11:00 AM on Sunday, December 20, 2009.

But back to the east side. The plastic fencing marks the area where some construction work had occurred. With snow… This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 11:00 AM on Sunday, December 20, 2009.

… and without snow. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

Once again, we’ll start at the top and work our way down. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

“Victory” is holding a sword in her right hand to signify war, and a palm leaf, signifying peace, in her left hand. The purpose of the objects in her hands is supposed to show that “from this one-time bloody field of battle, Pennsylvania’s message to the world that war should cease and that peace should reign among the nations of the earth.” This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

There are four monoliths on the monument, one on each side depicting a different branch of the military service. This one on the south side represents the Cavalry. This view was taken at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

The sculptor, Samuel Murray, copied the horses in the cavalry scene from photographs of horses actually in motion. This view of a model of the monolith was taken circa 1910.

The names on the outside of the monument represent Army, Corps, and Division Commanders from Pennsylvania. The southwest corner of the monument has the names of Major General David B. Birney and Brigadier General John White Geary. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

The names on the southeast corner of the monument represent Brigadier General Andrew A. Humphreys and Brigadier General Alexander Hays. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

There are eight shields with wreaths on the monument. The shield is the coat of arms of the United States. The Laurel Wreath represents “triumph” or “victory.” This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

Major General Winfield Scott Hancock was a pretty busy person at Gettysburg. He commanded his own Second Corps. At the end of the first day he commanded the “Left Wing” of the Army of the Potomac, consisting of the First, Third and the Eleventh Corps. At the end of the second day and on the third day of the battle he commanded his Second Corps and the Third Corps. So at one time or another he commanded four different army corps at Gettysburg. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

Cyrus Edwin Dallin (1861-1944) sculpted the Hancock statue. He was a native of Utah, who was trained in Massachusetts. The Hancock statue is just one of 268 sculptures that he created. This view of the Hancock model was taken circa 1910.

Winfield Scott Hanock (1824-1886) was a twin. His brother, Hilary Baker Hancock (1824-1908) became an attorney. Hilary Hancock moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he suffered from the effects of alcohol. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

Major General David Bell Birney commanded the First Division of the Third Corps at Gettysburg. He also commaned the Third Corps when Major General Daniel Sickles was wounded. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

The Birney statue was created by Lee Oscar Lawrie (1877-1963), who also did the Meade and Reynolds statues on the Pennsylvania Monument. Lawrie also produced the figures on the Eternal Light Peace Memorial (Peace Light) that represent peace and goodwill between the North and the South. This view was taken circa 1910.

Although this is the Pennsylvania State Monument, half of the “Sons of Pennsylvania” represented by the eight statues on the monument were not born in Pennsylvania. David Bell Birney, shown here, was born in Alabama. Alfred Pleasonton was born in the District of Columbia. George Gordon Meade was born in Spain. Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

Of course, around the base of the monument, the Pennsylvania Commission stated that “There are the names of 2,133 officers and 32,114 enlisted men who were Pennsylvanians and participated in the battle of Gettysburg on the monument, and for the record of their presence in the battle, there are eighty-five bronze tablets 34 x 72 inches, most of them shown around the base of the monument.” Many corrections have had to be made to these tablets over the years, including fixing misspellings, adding names who were present at the battle, but were initially omitted from the tablets, and deleting names that were not present at the battle. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 9:45 AM on Thursday, December 25, 2008.

Our next visit to the monument will show the left, or “west” or front side. This view was taken facing north at approximately 11:00 AM on Sunday, December 20, 2009.