Gettysburg Sculptures

North Carolina Monument

Dedicated: July 3rd, 1929

Cost: $50,000.00

Sculptor: Gutzon Borglum

Cast By: A. Kunst Foundry, New York, New York.

 15'- 9" in Height,  6'- 6" Wide x 9'- 9" in Length

When one stands in front of the North Carolina Monument and looks westward they see the monument is partially surrounded by a group of trees. These trees are Dogwoods, the North Carolina state tree. Borglum commented that the group of North Carolinian troops portrayed in the monument were to appear as if they had "just been ordered forward to charge across that bloody battlefield" only after they "had caught shelter in a group of trees."

The monument was intended to honor the valor, bravery and courage of the men from North Carolina and this was accomplished by the pure size of the monument. The large bronze figures fill the viewer's eye. The textured surface of the monument and the lack of great detail that is common to many of the bronze monuments at Gettysburg helps bring focus to the faces of the men. These faces are of men showing great devotion as well as strength, all needed to cross this field on July 3rd, 1863. It is said that Borglum used the actual likenesses of Civil War veterans for the monument. 

Click on the link below to find the location of this monument on the battlefield.

http://g.co/maps/d2qej

A wounded North Carolinian points toward the groups objective, Cemetery Ridge.

The expressions of the men on the monument display all types of emotion, from pure determination to unwavering devotion.

As one studies the monument, Borglum has presented strength in the figures. Many of the North Carolinian troops that would make the attack on July 3rd, had been involved in heavy fighting on July 1st, 1863.

Borglum portrayed the group in a forward moving pose.  

During the advance a veteran soldier  would be giving encouraging words to a younger soldier in the front rank. We see this captured on the North Carolina Monument.

 This photograph was taken the day of the dedication of the monument in 1929.The black iron fence that now surrounds the monument was put in place in 1993.