The Finished Product – the 74^th PA Infantry Monument at Gettysburg, PA

By renowned sculptor and artist Gary Casteel

“They came from city and hamlet, from the work-shop, the office and the school-room; they came from the north, the east and the west, and some even from the south; they honeycombed the whole Federal forces, for there was scarcely an organization that had not its German representative. Shoulder to shoulder Germans fought with their comrades of other nationalities as well as with those to the manor born…

As free men, not as hirelings, did they offer their life for the preservation of this land, and thus paid off a long-standing debt. Thus they paid old debts to the great patriots who sowed also for us the seed of freedom…

Were they as defenders of our glorious flag less valiant, were the blows dealt by them less vigorous because they were given by German arms? Let the deeds of the Seventy-fourth Pennsylvania, on the first day’s fight at Gettysburg, answer these questions. Of the fourteen officers and one hundred and twenty men who advanced on the first day’s battle, one officer and six men were killed, four officers and forty men wounded and fifty-two missing, leaving but four officers and eighteen men, a total loss of one hundred and twelve…

If loyalty and faithfulness to one’s country is to be proven by bloody sacrifices, then the loyalty of the German to his adopted country cannot be questioned. We love this land; it is our land and the home of our children and children’s children. We may differ politically, but in the love of our country and its institutions, we are one…

It is a Union that has been tried in the fire of steel, and has come forth brilliantly and unscathed. The best way for us to appreciate the devotion of those who died for their country in the war of rebellion is to make it our duty to preserve what they sacrificed their lives to save. The value of a thing generally depends upon what it costs. To show the worth of this it is only necessary to imagine the Union broken into disjointed and discordant fragments; the States antagonized and inimical to each other. The Union, as saved, is the reverse of all of this, and stands proudly before the world the synonym of national greatness, power and glory.”

Address of Captain Paul F. Rohrbacker on 2 July 1888 at the dedication ceremony for the 74^th’s monument at Gettysburg

From Pennsylvania at Gettysburg, Vol. 1, pg 402-404

This remarkable gift is available from Gary via his on-line gallery www.garycasteel.com - the monument is now available in two versions a Pecan Resin or a White Stone/Bronze. Both are remarkable pieces for your home or office.