Contributed by Friends of Cedar Mountain board member Brad Forbush
Many visitors are surprised to learn there are five monuments on the Cedar Mountain battlefield. All but one of the battlefield monuments are on private property, which must be respected. The monuments honor the 3rd Wisconsin, the 27th Indiana, the 46th Pennsylvania, the 28th New York and the 10th Maine Infantry regiments.
These monuments are not to be confused with the Grimsley markers that dot the preserved portion of the battlefield. The Grimsley markers are small blocks of stone stamped with a brigade name, or the name of an artillery battery, that marked certain positions of units that participated in the fight. These became a nuisance to the local farmers whose land they occupied, causing them to be moved to less inconvenient sites. Many of the surviving stones have been collected for viewing and placed on the preserved part of the battlefield called “the point.” Others are still positioned near their original placement on the part of the battlefield that is protected.
In the far corner of the battlefield stands an impressive monument to the 3rd Wisconsin. It is accessible to all visitors willing to make the trek. The monument was completed in July, 1906, and placed on the battlefield as near the point where Colonel Crane was killed as could be determined by the 3rd WI veterans. They were assisted in this effort by Judge Daniel A. Grimsley of Culpeper. The monument was built by Mr. J. Gordon Thomas of Culpeper who also assisted with the placement. The monument is engraved with the following names:
LIEUT. COL. L. H. D. CRANE.
CAPT. MOSES O’BRIEN.
CO. A. DAVID BUCHTERKERCHEN.
” B. FREDERICK EDDY.
J.C. LARIMORE.
GEO. MAXWELL.
” C. DAVID FOUKE.
ANSON W. LOVELACE.
FRED C. REAGER.
ISAAC W. WINANS.
” D. CURTIS JACOBS.
WESLEY J. BUTTS.
” F. ETHAN W. BUTLER.
ANDREW CRAIGO.
FRANK DARLIN.
” H. WM. H. MASON
” I. NICHOLAS WALLACE.
” K. WM. H. HUBBELL.
PETER JENSON.
EDWIN ROLLEY.
JOHN Q. LYMAN.
CHAS. S. CURTIS.
On the base:
THIRD WIS. INFTY.
ERECTED BY THE SURVIVORS
1905.
Up in the woods on private land stand 3 other monuments fairly close together: the 27th Indiana, The 46th Pennsylvania, and the 28th New York.
The 27th Indiana reported 50 casualties: 15 killed, 29 wounded, 6 prisoners or missing. Evidence from the minutes of the 27th Indiana Regiment Association suggest that a veteran of that unit, a Mr. John Bresnahan purchased and placed a monument to this regiment, on his own, at Chancellorsville in 1899, and then solicited funds from the association in 1900 to pay for it. John Bresnahan toured the Cedar Mountain Battlefield with his friend Edmund Brown in August 1889. A statement published in the 3rd Wisconsin Veterans Association minutes for 1902 says “The 27th Indiana dedicated their monument last year.” This dates the placement of the 27th Indiana monument to 1901. It is probable that Mr. Bresnahan was responsible for the monument.
The monument to the 27th Indiana reads:
27TH INDIANA
INFANTRY.
Of their 244 casualties, the 46th Pennsylvania reported 31 killed, 102 wounded, and 111 taken prisoner or missing. The inscription on the 46th Pennsylvania monument reads:
46 PENN. INF.
AUG. 19, 1862
CHARGED ACROSS
WHEAT FIELD AGAINST
STONEWALL JACKSON’S
COMMAND.
ENGAGED, 524
LOSS, 244
The monument for the 28th New York was placed August 9, 1902, the same year their monument at the Culpeper National Cemetery was dedicated. Reported casualties for the 28th New York included 21 killed, 79 wounded and 113 taken prisoner or missing, for a total of 213 casualties. The monument inscription reads:
28TH REG’T
NEW YORK STATE
VOLUNTEER
INFANTRY
AUG. 9, 1862
ERECTED 1902
Some sightseers have spotted the monument to the 10th Maine while driving along route 15. It skirts the edge of a woods north of Dove Hill Road and the battlefield proper. Its often visible in the Winter if you know where to look. It is sometimes mistaken for a headstone, and some visitors have asked, who is buried there in the woods? But it is not a grave marker. It is the monument to the 10th Maine situated on the ground that represents the center of their line during the regiment’s ordeal in the famous wheatfield. The front of the marker reads:
TENTH MAINE
AUGUST 9, 1862.
26 OFFICERS
435 ENLISTED MEN
On the reverse side it reads:
LOSS 179
OFFICERS MEN
KILLED 3 36
WOUNDED 4 130
PRISONERS 1 5
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