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Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg
To properly bury the Union soldiers who died at Gettysburg, a "Soldiers Cemetery" was established on the battleground near the center of the Union line. Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin supported the proposal with state funds to purchase the cemetery grounds and pay for the re-interment of Union dead from inadequate grave sites that covered the battlefield. It was here during the dedication ceremony on November 19, 1863, that President Abraham Lincoln spoke of "these honored dead..." and renewed the Union cause to reunite the war-torn nation with his most famous speech, the "Gettysburg Address". The cemetery was landscaped by William Saunders, founder of the National Grange. The Cemetery was completed by 1872, and turned over to the care of the Federal government. In 1933 responsibility of the cemetery was transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service.
14 pdr. James Rifle
The James Rifle was not a widely used cannon in either army, though the 2nd Connecticut Battery was armed them at Gettysburg. All James Rifles fired 14-pound elongated shells and were accurate up to 1,500 yards.
The James Rifle, Type I. is actually a remanufactured M1841 6 Pounder that has been rifled using the James Rifling System, typically using 15 rifle grooves. These guns are not pure James Rifles, and are externally the same as the typical M1841 6 Pounder.
State of Virginia Monument (Gettysburg)
The Virginia monument was the first of the Confederate State monuments at Gettysburg. It was unveiled by Miss Virginia Carter, a niece of Robert E. Lee.
It is also the largest of the Confederate monuments, a fitting tribute for the state that provided the largest contingent to the Army of Northern Virginia, its commander, and its name. Lee's figure, topping the monument astride his favorite horse, Traveller, was created by sculptor Frederick Sievers from photographs and life masks of the general. He even went to Lexington, Virginia to study Traveller's skeleton, preserved at Washington and Lee University.
