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Monuments at Gettysburg – 105th Pennsylvania Infantry
Posted By Norman Gasbarro on February 25, 2015
The 105th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument at Gettysburg is located south of the town of Gettysburg on Emmitsburg Road. It was dedicated in 1889 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The drawing of the monument pictured above is from a Philadelphia Inquirer article of 11 September 1889.
A picture of the monument can be seen on Stephen Recker’s Virtual Gettysburg Web Site which has more information about the monument and the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry.
A full description of the monument, its GPS Coordinates, additional photographs, and some of the history of the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry, can be found on the Stone Sentinels Web Site.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer article of 11 September 1889 told of the action of the regiment at Gettysburg and gave some information on the monument dedication:
The 105th Fought Like Demons.
The 105th was at Emmittsburg on 30 June 1863 and was ordered on 1 July to move rapidly to Gettysburg. By forced marches it reached the left of the field shortly after dark on the 2nd. Five companies were deployed as skirmishers for the 63rd. In the afternoon at 3 o’clock the regiment was moved forward to the brow of the hill along Emmittsburg Pike, where, under a heavy fire of shot and shell from front and lank, it held its position unflinchingly. The command met the enemy’s infantry on the road, where there was a desperate fight. The line on the left was broken through, and the brigade retreated in good order to the line from Cemetery Ridge to Round Top where it remained until the close of the battle. Of 247 who went into the fight one officer, George W. Crossley, was killed, 13 officers and 111 men wounded, and 9 were missing. Among the wounded officers were Colonel Craig and Lieutenant Colonel Greenawalt. The regiment rallied some eight or ten times to the cry of “Pennsylvania!” after the remainder of the brigade had left them, and Lieutenant Craig, who had two horses shot under him, declared his men “fought like demons ad were as easily handled as on dress parade.”
The dedication ceremonies at 2 will consist of music, prayer by Chaplain D. S. Steadman, poem by Captain S. A. Craig, oration by Chaplain J. C. Truesdale, presentation of monument by the committee, and short addresses by Colonel L. B. Duff, Colonel O. C. Redic, Captain John Hastings, Captain A. C. Thompson, and Captain J. C. Kelso and others.
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Calvin A. Craig
The commander of the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg was Colonel Calvin A. Craig. Craig joined the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry at Pittsburgh on 28 August 1861 at the rank of Captain of Company C, but on 29 July 1862, he was transferred to headquarters at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment. On 4 May 1863, he was promoted to Colonel.
During the Civil War, Calvin A. Craig received five recorded wounds, the final one of which resulted in his death on 17 August 1864: (1) Bull Run, Virginia, 29 August 1862; (2) Gettysburg, 2 July 1863; (3) Wilderness, Virginia, 4 May 1864; (4) Petersburg, 6 June 1864; and (5) Deep Bottom, Virginia, 16 August 1864.
Calvin A. Craig is buried in Limestone Cemetery, Limestone, Clarion County, Pennsylvania. He left a widow, but no children.
More extensive information about Calvin A. Craig including about his family and military service can be found at his Findagrave Memorial. Also, the complete pension application file of the widow Elmira J. [Craig] Craig is available on Fold3 (22 pages) and includes a request for reimbursement of final expenses from the niece of Mrs. Craig, Ruby Craig Potts, with whom the widow made her home in Chicago until her death in 1918.
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Around the base of the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg are a series of plaques which, by regiment and company, note the names of every soldier who was present at the Battle of Gettysburg. The plaque for the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry is pictured below. By clicking on the plaque it should enlarge so the names can be more clearly read. If a name does not appear, it could be that the soldier did serve in the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry, but was not part of the regiment during its days at Gettysburg. There could also be errors on the plaque.
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