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great measure to his patriotic zeal, to his enterprise, his untiring diligence, his good judgment and taste, that the Commissioners are able to deliver over the Cemetery free from all pecuniary obligation, and in a condition which we are confident will be satisfactory to those for whom we have acted, and to the public.

DESCRIPTION OF THE GETTYSBURG MONUMENT.

The design of the Gettysburg monument is intended to be purely historical, telling its own story, with such simplicity that any discerning mind will readily comprehend its meaning and purpose.

The superstructure is sixty feet high, and consists of a massive pedestal of light grey granite, from Westerly, Rhode Island, twenty-five feet square at the base, and is crowned with a colossal statue of white marble, representing the GENIUS OF LIBERTY. Standing upon a three-quarter globe, she holds with her right hand the victor's wreath of laurel, while with her left she clasps the victorious sword.

Projecting from the angles of the pedestal are four buttresses, supporting an equal number of allegorical statues of white marble, representing respectively, wWAR, HISTORY, PEACE and PLENTY.

WAR is personified by a statue of an American soldier, who, resting from the conflict, relates to History the story of the battle which this monument is intended to

commemorate.

HISTORY, in listening attitude, records with stylus and tablet, the achievements of the field, and the names of the honored dead.

PEACE is symbolized by a statue of the American mechanic, characterized by appropriate accessories.

PLENTY is represented by a female figure, with a sheaf of wheat and fruits of the earth, typifying peace and abundance as the soldiers' crowning triumph.

These beautiful pieces of statuary, together with the monument, were designed by J. G. Batterson, Esq., of Hartford, Connecticut, and executed in Italy, under the immediate supervision of Randolph Rogers, Esq., the distinguished American sculptor.

The main die of the pedestal is octagonal in form, panelled upon each face. The cornice and plinth above are also octagonal, and are heavily moulded. Upon this plinth rests an octagonal moulded base bearing upon its face, in high relief, the National arms.

The upper die and cap are circular in form, the die being encircled by stars equal in number with the States whose sons gave up their lives as the price of the victory won at Gettysburg.

This monument, as it stands, cost fifty thousand dollars. The purchase of the ground, the removal and re-interring of the dead, the granite headstones, the stone wall and iron fence, the gateway and the porter's lodge, and the laying out and the ornamentation of the grounds, cost about eighty thousand dollars. The "Reynolds Statue" cost ten thousand dollars; thus making the entire cost of the Cemetery, the monument and the Reynolds statue, about one hundred and forty thousand dollars.

EXERCISES

AT THE

Consecration of the National Cemetery at hettysburg.

NOVEMBER 19TH, 1863.

THE CONSECRATION.

The

HE consecration of the Cemetery was an occasion of deep interest. public generally were invited to be present and participate in the exercises, and special invitations were sent to the President and Vice-President of the United States and the members of the Cabinet,-to Major-General George G. Meade, commanding the Army of the Potomac, and, through him, to the officers and privates of that army which had fought so valiantly, and gained such a memorable victory on the Gettysburg battle-field,—and to Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott and Admiral Charles Stewart, the distinguished and time-honored representatives of the Army and Navy. Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States, was present, and participated in the solemnities, delivering a brief Dedicatory Address. The occasion was further made memorable by the presence of large representations from the Army and Navy, of the Secretary of State. of the United States, the Ministers of France and Italy, the French Admiral, and other distinguished foreigners, and several members of Congress; also of the Governors of a large number of the States interested, with their staffs, and, in some instances, large delegations, besides a vast concourse of citizens from all the States.

Letters were received, in reply to the invitations addressed to them, from MajorGeneral Meade, Lieutenant-General Scott, Admiral Stewart, and the Secretary of the Treasury, Hon. Salmon P. Chase, regretting their inability to be present, and expressive of their approval of the project.

One of the most sad and impressive features of the solemnities of the nineteenth of November, was the presence, in the procession and on the grounds, of a delegation of about fifty wounded soldiers of the Army of the Potomac, from the York Hospital.

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