Castle at Little Round Top
Gettysburg PA
1962
by Uncle Michael Privuznak

our parents John and JoAnne Lynch


The “castle” on Little Round Top is always a favorite of visitors to the battlefield. Dedicated on July 3, 1893 at a cost of almost $11,000.00 it is without question the largest & most expensive regimental monument on the field.

The memorial represents the 44th New York & (2) companies from the 12th New York Infantry Regiments & as is the case with most of the monuments the castle has a story to tell – the dimensions of the monument were purposely designed to reflect the numeric designations of the units it represents. The tower is 44 feet high & the interior chamber is 12 feet square.

There is an observation deck which can be reached by climbing a circular staircase inside.

Bronze plaques found inside the chamber contain a complete muster roll for each company of the regiment.

This memorial was designed by Union General Daniel Butterfield who also adapted the music for “Taps” for his Brigade (the Third), First Division, Fifth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac in July, 1862.

The 44th New York was raised as a memorial to Ephraim Elmer Ellsworth who was the first Union officer killed during the war.


There are nearly 1,400 statues, sculptures, markers, and tablets on Gettysburg National Military Park. After writing about my return to the infamous battlefield, it’s time to dig in and start writing about the stunning structures here that tell the story of the battle.


Little Round Top is one of the most popular areas to visit on the Gettysburg Battlefield. This position featured some of the most important fighting of the entire three-day battle.

Pictured above is the monument to the 12th and 44th New York Volunteers on Little Round Top. The ‘castle’ was dedicated in 1893 and is the largest regimental monument at Gettysburg. It was designed by Daniel Butterfield, who served as the original Colonel of the 12th New York.


The structure stands 44 feet high and 12 feet wide, dimensions that represent the two regiments. Inside the monument is a spiral staircase that leads to a second floor observation deck. The tower of the ‘castle’ is topped by the Maltese Cross symbol of the Fifth Army Corps.

After Colonel Strong Vincent was mortally wounded during the fighting on Little Round Top, Colonel James C. Rice assumed brigade command of the 44th New York. Rice recalled that the Confederates “tried for an hour in vain to break the lines of the Forty-fourth New York and Eighty-third Pennsylvania, charging again and again within a few yards of those unflinching troops.” According to one of the tablets on the front of the monument, the 44th New York had approximately 313 men engaged at Little Round Top and suffered around 106 casualties.


The 12th New York consisted of two companies, D and E, and fell under the command of Captain Henry W. Ryder. He brought 117 men into the field and escaped without suffering any casualties.


https://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm