The state memorial for Georgia is located along Warfield Ridge near the Longstreet Observation Tower. The monument is near the location where the brigade under commander General Semmes’ started his march across the fields towards the Wheatfield on the afternoon of July 2nd. Georgia was the fifth state to secede from the Union on January 19th, 1861. Strangely enough, this is the same day as the birthday of their leader within the Civil War, Brigadier General Robert E. Lee.
Sadly, this monument was never seen by the Georgia’s veterans and probably their first two generations after them. The monument was dedicated in September 1961 on the 98th anniversary of the battle. Another interesting fact is that General James Longstreet, commander of the 2nd Corp of the Confederate Army, was originally from Georgia. There was over 40 regiments from this state at the battle of Gettysburg. Georgia brought around 13,185 soldiers into the Army of Northern Virginia. Of these soldiers, about 3700 became casualties here on the ground. Georgia brought the third largest contingent of men to the field of battle, with Virginia and North Carolina being first and second respectively.
The monument’s inscription states the following: “We Sleep Here in Obedience to Law. When Duty Called We Came. When Country Called, We Died.” Georgia was the fourth state to enter the American Union during the Revolutionary War, but was the fifth state to secede and fight against the Union, and the last to secede back into the Union in 1870, which was five years after the Civil War ended.