Seventy-Eighth New York
Alternate Designations: Cameron Highlanders
Commander: Lt. Col. Herbert von Hammerstein (1835-?).
Numbers: 198; 6 killed, 21 wounded, 3 missing.
Raised: New York City; counties of Erie, Steuben, Oneida, Wyoming, Monroe, and Niagara. The 78th New York Infantry was organized at New York City, New York January through April 1862 and mustered in April 12, 1862 for a three-year enlistment. The 78th New York Infantry ceased to exist on July 12, 1864 when it was consolidated with the 102nd New York Volunteer Infantry.
One-Hundred and Second New York
Alternate Designations: Van Buren Light Infantry.
Commander: Col. James C. Lane (1823-1888), wounded; Capt. Lewis R. Stegman (1840-1923).
Numbers: 248; 4 killed, 17 wounded, 8 missing.
Raised: New York City; counties of Ulster and Schoharie. The 102nd New York Infantry was organized at New York City beginning November 1, 1861 and mustered in for a three-year enlistment March 5, 1862. The 102nd New York Infantry mustered out of service on July 21, 1865.
Dedicated: July 2, 1888.
Location: Slocum Avenue, east side, north of Williams Avenue and Culp’s Hill. It indicates the position held by the 78th & 102nd New York Infantry on July 2, 1863 against a Confederate attack.
Description: Uniformed Union soldier kneels behind a makeshift stone and wood barricade in firing position. The work is installed on a horizontal pedestal and a rough-hewn, sectioned base. Bronze elements include a round State Seal on the left face, a star on the front, and a star and arched palm fronds on the rear. An interesting, but not quickly noticeable feature, of the monument is the lion’s head. In the middle of the wall, near the soldier’s left hand, if you stare long enough is the faint shaping of a lion’s head. A lower log symbolizes a lion’s paw. The lion was meant to represent the valor of the two regiments. Monument is a two-part tapered granite shaft topped with a kneeling rifleman and set on a 8.5×5.8 foot base. The lower part of the shaft is rough cut and the upper part is smooth finished with polished excised inscriptions on three sides with a bronze medallion on the fourth side, bronze leaves on one side, and a bronze star on the front and rear. Overall height is ten feet. Flanking markers are one foot square. The statue is a replacement; the original was smashed by vandals in 1987.
National Park Service List of Classified Monuments Number: MN320
Sculptor: Barr, R. D., sculptor; Smith Granite Company, fabricator.
Army of the Potomac > Twelfth Corps > Second Division > Third Brigade