Ashland VA Artillery “Woolfolk Battery”
Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Army of Northern Virginia Longstreet’s Corps Artillery Reserve Alexander’s Battalion Woolfolk’s Battery The Ashland Virginia Artillery Two 20 Pounder Parrotts Two Napoleons
The Story
This monument honors the Ashland (Virginia) Artillery, Woolfolk's Battery, part of Colonel E. P. Alexander's battalion in Longstreet's Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. Armed with 20-pounder Parrott rifles and Napoleon smoothbores, the battery took its place in the great Confederate gun line at Gettysburg. Alexander's massed artillery anchored the bombardment that preceded the Confederate assault of July 3.
Why it matters
Confederate artillery at Gettysburg shows how massed cannon fire shaped Civil War battle, culminating in the cannonade before Pickett's Charge.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In the summer of 1863, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia carried the war onto Northern soil, and its artillery came with it. Cannon were the heavy muscle of a Civil War army — slow to move, murderous when massed, and decisive when handled well.
The fields around Gettysburg became, for three days, a vast artillery park. Gun crews wrestled their pieces into position along ridgelines and farm lanes, unlimbering where they could command the ground ahead. A battery like the Ashland Virginia Artillery was one small part of a much larger constellation of guns.
This was a moment when American industry, organization, and firepower were reshaping how battles were fought. The cannon here were not relics of an older war; they were the cutting edge of nineteenth-century warfare.
People & events
This monument marks the position of the Ashland Virginia Artillery, known as Woolfolk's Battery, part of the artillery battalion led by Colonel Edward Porter Alexander within Longstreet's Corps. The battery's guns — a mix of long-range Parrott rifles and close-range Napoleons — reflect how artillerists paired different weapons for different jobs.
Alexander was one of the war's most capable young artillery officers, and the great gun line he assembled at Gettysburg was his responsibility. Batteries like this one took their assigned place in that line, hauling heavy iron into position under the eyes of commanders who were planning a decisive blow.
The men who served these guns worked as a team under enormous strain — sponging, loading, aiming, and firing amid smoke and noise, then doing it again. The tablet records the weapons they brought to the field: two 20-pounder Parrotts and two Napoleons.
Its place in the American story
Alexander's massed artillery at Gettysburg is one of the most studied artillery deployments in American history. On the third day of the battle, the Confederate guns opened a tremendous bombardment meant to soften the Union center before the great infantry assault that followed.
That cannonade — one of the largest of the war on this continent — showed both the power and the limits of Civil War artillery. Massed guns could shake an enemy line, but smoke, distance, and the difficulty of judging fall of shot meant the bombardment did not achieve all its planners hoped.
A single battery's monument, then, is a window onto a national turning point. The Ashland Virginia Artillery was one voice in a chorus of cannon whose thunder people said could be heard for miles.
If you visit
Look for the muzzles of the guns and the shape of the ground they command. Battlefield artillery positions are often placed along a rise or ridge, and standing at the guns you can see why — the gunners needed a clear field of fire across the open farmland.
Gettysburg's monuments are famously detailed, and artillery markers like this one often name the exact types of cannon a battery carried. It's worth pausing to picture the difference: the long, rifled Parrotts reaching far downrange, the stubby Napoleons waiting for closer work.
If you're touring the Confederate lines, this spot helps you imagine the sweep of the gun line as a whole. Stand behind the pieces, follow their aim across the fields, and the scale of the third day's bombardment starts to come alive.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Lincoln Train Museum1.7 mi away · 426 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Gettysburg Museum1.8 mi away
- Gettysburg Heritage Center1.8 mi away · 297 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Ford Motor Company Fund Education Center1.8 mi away
- Gettysburg Diorama & History Center1.9 mi away · 241 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Casteel Sculptures2.0 mi away · 789 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
Attractions
- John Eisenhower Bridge0.7 mi away · Waterworks Road
- Sachs Covered Bridge1.1 mi away
- Sachs Covered Bridge1.1 mi away · Waterworks Road, Gettysburg, PA
Food & drink
- Reid's Winery Cider House2.2 mi away · 400 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Hong Kong2.3 mi away
- Tania's Mexican Restaurant2.3 mi away
- Garryowen Irish Pub2.4 mi away · 126 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Ragged Edge Coffee House2.4 mi away · 110 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Jasper's Juice Works2.4 mi away · 110 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA
Places to stay
- Best Western1.7 mi away · 301 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Quality Inn Gettysburg Battlefield1.8 mi away · 380 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Colton Motel1.9 mi away · 232 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Comfort Suites2.0 mi away · 945 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, PA
- Inn at Cemetery Hill2.1 mi away · 613 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- 1863 Inn of Gettysburg2.1 mi away · 516 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
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Related people
- · Edward Porter Alexander
- · James Longstreet
Related events
- · Battle of Gettysburg
Themes & tags
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