April 24, 2013

The Virginia State Memorial along Confederate Avenue in McMillan Woods is without a doubt one of the most beautiful state monuments at Gettysburg. It is also one of the largest. This impressive tribute to “Old Virginia” was unveiled in 1917 and has been a visitor favorite ever since. The top of the statue is most compelling, replicating a sight beloved to every Confederate soldier: General Robert Edward Lee on his faithful horse Traveller. But the bottom of the monument is just as interesting. The bronze figures represent men from every walk of life, all banding together to fight for their home state. The base reads “Virginia to Her Sons at Gettysburg.” There were far, far too many of them.

There are other points of interest very near the Virginia State Memorial also. To the left of the monument (if coming down Confederate Avenue) you’ll see the artillery of Ward’s Battery, the Madison Light Artillery. The cannons of Poague’s Battalion keep eternal vigil just across the road. The view from the monument is stunning, as the Virginian view of the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble Charge can be seen in its entirety. There is a path that runs parallel to the field and stops abruptly past the wooded area known as the “Point of Woods”, but even that relatively short walk should yield some iconic photos of these bloody fields.

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. JOHN E. PRICE

Co. D, 6^th Alabama Infantry

Born March 25, 1843 --- Died July 02, 1863 at age 20

Pvt. Price was born in Long Island, Alabama, sharing this date with twin brother James. Though Find A Grave states his death date as July 2^nd, Price family records indicate it was actually July 3^rd. He seems to have died at Culp’s Hill and no one is certain where he was buried. Some believe he was reinterred at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia and others believe his final resting place is in Montgomery, Alabama. There is a memorial stone for Pvt. Price at the McDaniel-Moore Cemetery in New Hope, Tennessee.


(c) 2013 Skies of Blue and Gray