Sculpted by Gary Casteel
 
1863 Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Monument Replicas
 
Tennessee was a divided state during the war, with the Union sentiment strongest in the east.  In January 1861, voters were four to one against secession, but governor Isham Harris established connections with the Confederacy anyway.  Abraham Lincoln later appointed Andrew Johnson of Tennessee as military governor.  Three Tennessee regiments, the 1st, 7th and 14th fought at Gettysburg.
 
The units honored by the memorial were part of Archer's brigade of General Heth's division, the unit that opened the battle for the Confederates on July 1.  The first Confederate casualty of the battle, Private Henry C. Rison, was a member of Company B, 7th Tennessee Infantry.  He suffered a gunshot wound that fractured his thigh while on skirmish duty early on July 1, 1863.  On August 15, Private Rison died in a Union hospital.
 
At 3 p.m. on July 3, 1863, the survivors of three Tennessee regiments would participate in the last infantry action of the battle as they advanced from the area near this site to assault the Union lines during "Pickett's Charge."  It can therefore be said that Tennessee troops both opened and closed one of the great battles in history.
 
The monument is located on West Confederate Avenue and was dedicated on July 2, 1982.