Gettysburg Battlefield - 2nd Maryland Monument

A Brief History: The 2nd Maryland Monument is located at the base of Culp’s Hill on Slocum Avenue. In 1884, it became the first Confederate monument erected on the battlefield, to commemorate the 1st Maryland Infantry Battalion and its nearly 200 dead or wounded soldiers. The erection of this monument came amid much resistance. The compromise came in the form of naming the marker “2nd Maryland Infantry” as opposed to the 1st Maryland Infantry Battalion, as not to be confused with the First Maryland Potomac Home Brigade, and First Maryland Eastern Shore, which were Union Infantry. The infantry was re-branded in 1864 as the 2nd Maryland Infantry, so it was decided that they would be commemorated under that name.

            The monument stands at the base of Culp’s Hill, where the Confederate 1st Maryland Battalion fought against the 1st Maryland Eastern Shore Union troops. There were originally 400 men in the Battalion, but they suffered a severe defeat to the Union forces; losing nearly 200 soldiers who were either killed or wounded. This battle was one of the toughest as it was a battle between neighbors, friends, and family. This was most apparent in the case of Color Sergeant Robert Ross of the Union regiment whose cousin, Color Sergeant P.M. Moore of the Confederate battalion was wounded several times and captured by Union forces.

            Today, just a little ways from the monument is a Confederate burial site. If you follow the trail into the woods, you’ll notice the depression in the ground that is typically adorned with tiny confederate flags. These bodies were left behind during the mass transport of Confederate corpses back south in the 1870’s.

Haunted History: There are reports of Confederate soldiers wandering the area of the 2nd Maryland Monument. Footsteps are also frequently heard in these woods, as well as a woman who has been heard crying in the area.