File:65. Michael Hill, Researcher NC Department of Cultural Resources to Mr. Robert Prosperi GNMP, October 5, 1992 Add Details of (0257a5a0-df34-458b-a4fd-ab9e7a0522be).jpg

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Memorandum TO: Jerry C. Cashion, Supervisor Research Branch FROM: Jerry L. Cross, Researcher SUBJECT: North Carolina Memorial, Gettysburg National Park The North Carolina monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield originated, like many others of its kind, in the minds and hearts of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. A half century had passed since those fateful days in July, 1863, and the South had only two markers on the battlefield (statue of General Robert E. Lee and stone markers where General Armistead fell) commemorating the Confederates who died in that epic struggle. Spurred by the approaching fiftieth anniversary, the North Carolina UDC, led by Mrs. Marshall Williams, intensified efforts to have the state take formal action in regard to a monument. The 1913 General Assembly responded with Resolution No. 51 that created the Gettysburg Battleground Commission, composed of the North Carolina Historical Commission and five Confederate veterans appointed by the governor. The five appointed were W. A. Montgomery of Wake, W. F. Utley of Wake, D. C. Waddell of Guilford, J. A. Long of Person, and Cyrus B. Watson of Forsyth. The Gettysburg Commission was instructed to visit the battlefield, mark the lines of conflict, and suggest an appropriate site for a marker. Following the mandated visit to Gettysburg, the General Assembly passed Resolution No. 9 in the extra session in October, 1913. This stated the following: That the North Carolina Historical Commission be and is hereby authorized and directed to procure a design for a suitable monument to be erected, by and with the consent of the State of Pennsylvania and the Congress of the United States, on the battlefield of Gettysburg… Initial steps were taken to comply with the resolution but never completed. The outbreak of World War 1 eroded political enthusiasm for a monument to an earlier war and the ensuing financial drain on the economy put severe pressure on the state’s monetary resources. Efforts by the state for a monument at Gettysburg were suspended, but the UDC refused to abandon the project. By the mid 1920s, economic conditions had recovered and feelings about war were turning back to a sense of patriotism and nostalgia instead of the horrors of active participation. With the inauguration of Angus W. McLean in January, 1925, the UDC found a sympathetic ally in the governor’s office. A son of a Confederate veteran, Governor McLean championed the cause of a Gettysburg monument. In a special budget message on January 6, 1927, he urged the General Assembly to accept the challenge. Noting that the Daughters of the

• Keywords: Gettysburg; Gettysburg National Military Park; Photography; monuments; memorials; virtual experience; battlefield