At about 3:00am on July 2, 1863, the men of the 81st Pennsylvania arrived in Gettysburg after a forced march of 30 miles. Late in the afternoon of the same day they charged into the whirlwind of battle in The Wheatfield. The battle claimed nearly one third of the fighting strength of the 81st.

On Sept. 12, 1889 the surviving members of the 81st helped to dedicate a monument to commemorate the regiment’s accomplishments on the field and to honor their fallen comrades.

As you can see from the picture, the monument is looking pretty bad due to over 111 years of exposure to the elements. But it will not look this way for long!

Since the National Park Service does not have a budget for cleaning and preserving the monuments, Representative Harry Readshaw set up a program for groups and individuals to "adopt" a monument by raising and donating money for its care.

In 1999 the 81st P.V.I., Co K. raised money through fundraisers and presented a check for $1230 to the National Park Service to cover the cost of cleaning and preserving the monument! Due to our efforts and the generosity of Northeastern Pennsylvanians, the monument is scheduled for cleaning and preservation sometime this year!

On May 13, 2000 the 7th and 8th graders in the Montgomery Area School District presented a check for $100 to the members of the 81st P.V.I., Co. K to help pay for the work on the monument. Thanks kids!

UPDATE!!!

The set up for cleaning has begun! (June 2001)

Should be sparkling soon! (June 2001)

Thank You!