From The Crossroads: Fault Lines

If you’re at Gettysburg National Military Park and decide to trace the battle’s first-day action, you’ll more than likely come across a memorial to the 147th New York Infantry on Reynolds Avenue, just north of the Railroad Cut Bridge. It is, admittedly, a fairly standard monument: a bronze sculpture of a knapsack, canteen, and cartridge box perched below the regiment’s organizational legend. The inscription on the east side of the monument reads, “Position 10 A.M. July 1, 1863,” then lists the regiment’s strength and casualties. The strength and casualty figures are accurate, the position is not. The 147th as a regimental organization never formed where its monument stands.

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