Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gettysburg Foundation continue preservation efforts on six equestrian monuments throughout the battlefield.
Preservation efforts continue on the Winfield Hancock Equestrian Monument on Cemetery Hill in Gettysburg.
Part of a comprehensive maintenance and preservation program funded in part by the Gettysburg Foundation, the National Park Service (NPS) maintains the 1,328 monuments, tablets and markers located on the battlefield.
The latest preservation project includes six equestrian monuments to Union Generals George G. Meade, John Fulton Reynolds, Oliver O. Howard, Winfield S. Hancock and Henry W. Slocum and the Virginia state monument featuring Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The six monuments, each more than 100 years old, will receive a thorough cleaning along with inspection and repair of mortar joints.
“The ongoing equestrian project is progressing with the Reynolds and Howard equestrians thus far completed,” said Lucas Flickinger, supervisor of Gettysburg National Military Park’s Monument Preservation Branch. “The project is addressing deferred maintenance issues, joint replacement, cleaning and stone repairs. Work on the remaining equestrians will likely finish up late fall or early spring 2021."
A team from the Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC), an NPS entity based in Frederick, Md., is completing the project. Providing services to NPS, federal and state historic properties while training preservation craftspeople, HPTC has a long history of preservation work at Gettysburg National Military Park.
Following the completion of the Reynolds and Howard monuments, Flickinger expects the project to continue throughout Sept. 2020, with work on the Hancock equestrian monument on Cemetery Hill.
“We are proud to provide the funding to preserve these beautiful monuments,” said David Malgee, Interim President and CEO of the Gettysburg Foundation. “They not only help bring the story of the battle to life, but they are powerful teaching tools that help interpret a complicated yet critical part of our nation’s history.”