Soldiers' National Monument
The Soldiers' National Monument is a Gettysburg Battlefield memorial which is located at the central point of Gettysburg National Cemetery. It honors the battle's soldiers and tells an allegory of "peace and plenty under freedom … following a heroic struggle." In addition to an inscription with the last 4 lines of the Gettysburg Address, the shaft with 4 buttresses has 5 statues:A large statue representing the concept of Liberty surmounts the pedestal. Eighteen large bronze stars circling the pedestal below this statue represent the eighteen Union states with buried dead. A statue is located at each corner near the base. They represent War, History, Peace, and Plenty. War is represented by a statue of an American soldier who recounts the story of the battle to History. In turn, History records, with stylus and tablet, the achievements of the battle and the names of the honored dead. A statue of an American mechanic and his tools illustrates Peace. Plenty is a female figure with a sheaf of wheat and the fruits of the earth that typify peace and abundance as the soldier's crowning triumph.
Soldiers' National Monument
Southward view of monument at the center of the semicircle of Gettysburg graves of the Union's Army of the Potomac (midground) and beyond subsequent veteran graves (foreground) added to the cemetery.
History
Plenty
Gettysburg National Cemetery
Gettysburg National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania created for Union casualties from the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought between July 1 to 3, 1863, resulted in the largest number of casualties of any Civil War battle but also was considered the war's turning point, leading ultimately to the Union victory.
The Soldiers' National Monument at the center Gettysburg National Cemetery" with 18 Union states' areas, one U.S. Regulars area, and three areas for graves of the unknown
President Lincoln (seated, left of center) at the cemetery's consecration, November 19, 1863
Granite bands mark the graves of unknown soldiers.
National Cemetery rostrum (1879)