Alternate Designations: None.
Commander: Capt. James E. Smith (1832-1893).
Numbers: Six 10-lb Parrotts; 135 men. 2 killed, 10 wounded, 1 missing.
Raised: New York City.
Dedicated: July 2, 1888.
Location: Sickles Avenue at Houcks Ridge, Devil’s Den. Marks position taken by four guns of Smith’s 4th New York Battery on July 2, 1863 when outflanked on left and forced to abandon three guns on field.
Description: A standing figure of an artilleryman, sculpted by Caspar Burbel, with his proper right foot resting on a cannon tube and his proper right hand holding a cannon tamper vertically beside him. The sculpture stands atop a tall square base that is adorned on the front with a bronze inscription plaque and a bronze plaque depicting the corps insignia. The base is flanked by two cannons.
This monument has unfortunately suffered from at least two serious vandalism occurrences. In February 1995, vandals used a rope tied around the figure’s neck to pull the sculpture off its base. The figure’s cannon tamper was bent at the seam, but park personnel repaired the damage by inserting a bronze pin into the hollow center. The sculpture was remounted in June 1995 with additional bronze pins to more firmly anchor the sculpture to the granite base. After the sculpture was remounted, it was cleaned and waxed, and the grout on the base was repointed. This monument was severely vandalized again on February 16, 2006; this time the bronze figure was destroyed. The figure was reconstructed and remounted in late 2011.
National Park Service List of Classified Monuments Number: MN128.
Sculptor: Caspar Buberl
Army of the Potomac > Third Corps > Artillery Brigade
Other Monuments: Main Monument | Position Tablet