FOCUS Photos - Celtic Cross in the Forest: Irish Brigade Monument, Gettysburg

This is one of my favorite monuments at Gettysburg National Military Park. The granite monument topped with a traditional Celtic cross commemorates the Irish Brigade that fought in several key Civil War battles. At the base of the cross you can see an Irish wolfhound (symbol of loyalty) waiting for his master's return.

At the start of the Gettysburg campaign, the Irish Brigade (including the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry) numbered 530 men; 198 became casualties during the battle within these woods.

"Of those who in their manhood died to blot out Slavery's stain,
And rear aloft in all its pride, fair Freedom's flag again!
'Tis ours to raise this cross on high above the Irish dead,
Who showed mankind the way to die, when Truth and Freedom led."

-from Our Fallen Comrades, by William Collins, 1888.

You can buy this photo here, with many options including standard prints, canvas gallery wraps, gift cards, mugs, T-shirts and much more.