During battle Sallie took her position at the end of the line where she stood barking at the enemy

There are over thirteen hundred silent sentinels dotting the grounds of the Gettysburg battlefield. The monuments of granite and bronze mark the positions where Americans fought one of the greatest battles ever waged on this continent. Most were erected by the regimental survivors and were produced by some of the outstanding sculptors and companies of the nineteenth century. The memorials were placed to honor the men who fought and died in the twenty-five square miles of Pennsylvania landscape. They serve too to remind those of us who live long after the last survivors have passed on.

As early as 1867 Union veterans were beginning to place tablets, urns and other memorials. By the twenty fifth anniversary northern states began appropriating monies for the purpose. Southern states faced strong resistance from their old enemies regarding the placement of Southern regimental cenotaphs; the individual Confederate states opted for placing a single memorial designed to honor their fallen dead. The first Confederate monument was that of Virginia in 1917. With the completion of the Tennessee State Memorial in 1982 each Southern State was at last represented.

Today visitors to Gettysburg battlefield are met with myriad monuments with small winding roads intertwining them. The memory of the men who fought and died and for whom the memorials were placed have long faded. Even the locations which were so important to those who fought are largely unknown by those viewing them today.

The park itself is laid out in 5 general sections which do not follow the three days' battles. Section one to the west is where the Union First Army Corps memorials stand. Confederate monuments are all placed along West and South Confederate Avenues in Section two. The region where Lt. General James Longstreet's corps (C) of the Army of Northern Virginia smashed the Union left during the afternoon of July 2, 1863 is section three. Section four holds monuments in tribute to regimental participation in the evening battle for Cemetery and Culp's hills. The spot where General Lee (C) focused his last assault is section five.

Monuments of every imaginable design dot the old battlefield. One striking Union memorial is that in Section one which sports the statue of General Abner Doubleday (U). He commanded Union troops in 1861 during the battle for Ft. Sumter. Of special interest to me is the rather plain memorial of the 151st Pennsylvania-- they were known as "the School Teacher's Regiment." The only Confederate memorial placed away from Confederate row is that of the 26th North Carolina: the small granite block with plaque is placed at the "high water mark."

The only regimental monument on the battlefield placed by a Confederate veteran's group is that of the 1st Maryland. The group received permission from the Board of Directors after a fierce battle with Union veterans. The old enemies did not support their former enemy's desire to honor their dead. One concession the Confederates were forced to make: they had to designate the monument as 2d Maryland and not 1st so as to prevent any confusion for visitors regarding the two Union Maryland units who fought in the same area.

The most expensive monument on the site is that of the state of Pennsylvania. When placed in 1910, the imposing granite structure cost nearly $200,000. One of the least expensive is that of the 27th Indiana Infantry at a cost of $500 in 1885.

A great many memorials depict either a specific fallen comrade, or a stylized one. Notable are those of the 24th Michigan, the 149th Pennsylvania and the state of Mississippi. Horses are often found, either free standing atop a base with a rider, such as the John Reynolds Equestrian Statue and that of General Meade, or carved into a granite relief, such as the 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry. The 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry monument is a base topped with a polished granite ball inset with a beautiful sculpture of the head of a horse. Two monuments bear statues of dogs. The Irish Brigade honoring Irish regiments from New York has a life size Irish wolfhound in bronze at the base. The 11th Pennsylvania Infantry is topped with a soldier holding his rifle with the muzzle pointed to the sky. At the base of the memorial is found "Sallie."

Sallie was the mascot of the 11th. She was just a puppy when she was given to the regiment during the first days of the war. She grew up with the men of the unit and shared in hardships, marches, and the dangers of climate and battle. During battle Sallie took her position at the end of the line where she stood barking at the enemy. They said Sallie hated only three things: Rebels, Democrats and women.

She was with the men of the 11th throughout the fighting during the battle on July 1. Somehow she became separated from "her boys" as they retreated through the town so Sallie returned to the spot on the battlefield where the 11th had made their stand. That is where she maintained her vigil with the dead and dying.

Members of the 12 Massachusetts found her and returned her to her unit. Sallie continued her service until February 6, 1865, when, during the battle at Hatcher's Run, Virginia, the little dog was shot through the head and died. Several of Sallie's boys buried their little friend where she had fallen. As a tribute, the Confederate combatants fired their muskets toward the sky until the Union soldiers were finished. Both sides returned to trying to blast each other to pieces when the stalwart terrier was buried.

Years later when the monument dedicated to "our heroic dead" was decided upon, all agreed that Sallie had earned her place in time and history. This is a monument you can not fully appreciate unless you walk down to see it on all sides. From the roadway you cannot see Sallie.

Gettysburg National Military Park, National Park Service

This article was written following years of research into the period of the 1860s, AND visits to the battlefield. The monuments I mention are ones I have seen and have photographed. I've read books and documents from the National Archives, and I've talked to others including daughters and grand-daughters of the men who fought during that period.