Sculpted by Gary Casteel
 
1863 Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Monument Replicas
 
At the start of the Gettysburg Campaign, the 19th Massachusetts was commanded by Col. Arthur Forrester Devereux. The 25-year-old colonel was born in Salem, Massachusetts, was Harvard educated, and attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point but quit to pursue a business career out west.
 
On the morning of July 3, 1863, the men of the 19th Massachusetts sat just to the left and rear of the Copse of Trees, directly behind the 20th Massachusetts.   Around 1:07 p.m., Gen. Robert E. Lee’s field artillery bombardment began with a single signal gun on Seminary Ridge.  As the 19th Massachusetts waited, a second gun went off and Lt. Sherman Robinson of the 19th Massachusetts, in the middle of eating his lunch, was torn to pieces by a solid shot.  Then every Confederate gun on Seminary Ridge seemed to fire at once.  The regimental historian later wrote:
 
From this time on, for an hour and thirty minutes, the roaring of cannon and the bursting of shells from both sides was…one grand raging clash of ceaseless sound,—the most terrific cannonading of the war. The woods in front seemed lined with flame and smoke. Pandemonium broken loose was zephyr to a cyclone in comparison. Each man fell prostrate upon the level summit of the flat, low ridge.
 
As the bombardment ended, the charge of Gen. George E. Pickett’s men was advancing on their position.  As the massive Confederate formation came on, the Union artillery opened up and, according to the 19th Massachusetts regimental historian, the assault seemed to “melt like ice.”  However, a large number of Confederates continued to run for the stone wall in front of the 19th and 20th Massachusetts.  As the Confederate charge struck the Union position, a gap in the Union line opened in front of the 19th Massachusetts.  Seeing the break, Devereux turned to the Col. James E. Mallon of the 42nd New York and, gesturing to the gap said, “Mallon, we must move!”
 
During this climax in the Confederate attack, Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock rode up to Col. Devereux, nearly trampling on men of the 19th Massachusetts in the mayhem, pointed to the Confederates approaching their position near the Copse of Trees, and told him “to get in God Damn quick.”  The 19th Massachusetts and 42nd New York both charged into the thick of the hand-to-hand combat and participated in the final repulse of the rebels.
 
In the fight, the 19th Massachusetts captured four Confederate regimental flags which Devereux personally delivered to his brigade commander after the battle. Five men from the 19th Massachusetts were awarded the Medal of Honor for their role in repulsing Pickett’s Charge: Maj. Edward Rice for “conspicuous bravery on the countercharge against Pickett’s division where he fell severely wounded within the enemy’s lines;” Color Sgt. Benjamin F. Falls for the capture of an enemy flag; Sgt. Benjamin H. Jellison and Pvt. John H. Robinson for the capture of the flag of the 57th Virginia Infantry; and Corp. Joseph H. De Castro for the capture of the flag of the 19th Virginia Infantry.
 
The 19th Massachusetts brought 231 men to the field, lost 9 killed, 60 wounded, 8 missing, for a total of 77 or 35% casualties.
 
The monument was dedicated on October 1, 1891 and is located on the east side of Hancock Avenue south of the Copse of Trees.