The 2nd Maryland Infantry Monument
The memorial commemorating the 2nd Maryland Infantry is located on Culp's Hill southeast of Gettysburg. A little distance to the west, in the saddle between higher and lower Culp's Hill, is a marker that depicts the size of the battalion's advance.
During the American Civil War, on July 1–3, 1863, Union and Confederate soldiers engaged in combat in the Battle of Gettysburg which featured the greatest forces of the whole conflict (104,000 Union men and 71,000 Confederate soldiers). The Confederate effort to invade the North was defeated in the conflict by the Union and resulted in the most thousands of deaths and injuries in the history of American wars. Nearly 6,600 soldiers were killed, 33,000 were wounded, and 12,000 were missing or captured. Therefore, this monument was built to honor the 2nd Maryland Infantry C.S.A., or 1st Maryland Infantry Battalion, who took part in the Battle of Gettysburg.
This was the first Confederate memorial erected on the battlefield, and the leaders of the battlefield commission met it with a considerable deal of opposition. In 1884, it was eventually given permission to be built and dedicated. Even though the unit's name at the time of the conflict was First Maryland Battalion, the commission mandated that it be named the "2nd Maryland Infantry". The rationale offered was that the First Maryland Potomac Home Brigade and First Maryland Eastern Shore were already two Union regiments with that designation, and the Confederate 1st Maryland Battalion had been renamed the Second Maryland Regiment in 1864. As the result, the memorial honoring the "2nd MD. Infantry C.S.A." was built.
In sum, the 2nd Maryland Infantry Monument:
- Location: South of Gettysburg on Culp’s Hill on the east side of Slocum Avenue about 300 yards north of the intersection with Geary Avenue.
- It was built and dedicated in 1884.
- To honor the 2nd Maryland Infantry C.S.A., or 1st Maryland Infantry Battalion, who took part in the Battle of Gettysburg.
