Madison MS Artillery “Ward’s Battery”
Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
July 3. The Napoleons participated actively in all the operations of the artillery during the day including the cannonade preceding Longstreet’s assault withdrawing afterward to a position near here. The Howitzer was kept in the rear and took no part ....
The Story
This War Department tablet records the service of the Madison (Mississippi) Light Artillery, Ward's Battery, on July 3, 1863. Its Napoleon guns took part in the tremendous cannonade that preceded Longstreet's assault — the charge remembered as Pickett's Charge — before withdrawing to a position nearby. The marker notes that the battery's howitzer was held in the rear and saw no action that day.
Why it matters
The battery's role in the July 3 bombardment places it at the heart of the artillery duel that opened the climactic assault of the battle.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
By July 1863, the Civil War had reached a pitch of industrial violence, and nowhere was that clearer than in the use of artillery. At Gettysburg, the third day would turn on a duel of cannon unlike almost anything Americans had witnessed before.
The armies that met in these Pennsylvania fields drew men from across the country. A Mississippi battery, far from the Deep South, found itself unlimbering its guns amid Northern farmland — a measure of how far the war had spread and how deeply it had pulled ordinary communities into the fight.
The ground here, gentle and agricultural, was chosen not for its beauty but for its lines of fire. Where a farmer saw a field, an artillery officer saw range, cover, and a place to plant his guns.
People & events
This War Department tablet records the service of the Madison Mississippi Light Artillery, known as Ward's Battery, on July 3, 1863. Its Napoleon guns took an active part in the artillery operations of that day, including the great cannonade that preceded Longstreet's assault — the attack remembered ever after as Pickett's Charge.
The tablet is precise in a way that honors the truth of the day: the battery's Napoleons were in the thick of it, while its howitzer was kept to the rear and took no part in the action. That small detail is a reminder that not every gun and every crew shared the same experience of battle.
When the bombardment ended and the infantry went forward, the battery withdrew to a position near this spot. The marker traces that arc — into the cannonade, then back — with the plain, careful language of men recording exactly what happened.
Its place in the American story
The July 3 bombardment at Gettysburg was the overture to the climactic assault of the battle. For a stretch of that afternoon, scores of guns hammered the Union center in an attempt to break it open before the infantry advanced across the open fields.
That assault failed, and its failure is one of the reasons Gettysburg is remembered as the turning point of the war. The artillery that opened the day — batteries like this one — took part in a moment when the Confederacy reached its farthest and fell back.
The War Department tablets scattered across this battlefield are themselves part of the national story. In the decades after the war, the ground was carefully mapped and marked so that Americans could return, stand where the guns stood, and reckon with what happened here.
If you visit
Look for the tablet's careful wording, which distinguishes the guns that fought from the one held back. That kind of precision is characteristic of Gettysburg's markers, and it rewards a slow read — the story is in the details.
Standing near the battery's position, take in the openness of the fields toward the Union line. This is ground built for artillery, and it helps to imagine the noise and smoke of the cannonade rolling across it on a hot July afternoon.
For a road trip focused on the battle's final day, this marker anchors the artillery side of the story. Pair a walk here with a look toward the fields the infantry crossed, and the sequence of bombardment and assault becomes something you can follow with your own eyes.
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 Museum0.9 mi away · 426 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Gettysburg Heritage Center0.9 mi away · 297 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Gettysburg Diorama & History Center1.0 mi away · 241 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Casteel Sculptures1.2 mi away · 789 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Jennie Wade House Gifts1.2 mi away · 548 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Seminary Ridge Museum, Gettysburg1.3 mi away · 61 Seminary Ridge Avenue, Gettysburg
Attractions
- John Eisenhower Bridge1.5 mi away · Waterworks Road
- Sachs Covered Bridge1.8 mi away
- Sachs Covered Bridge1.8 mi away · Waterworks Road, Gettysburg, PA
Food & drink
- Hong Kong1.3 mi away
- Tania's Mexican Restaurant1.3 mi away
- Reid's Winery Cider House1.3 mi away · 400 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Garryowen Irish Pub1.4 mi away · 126 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Ragged Edge Coffee House1.4 mi away · 110 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Jasper's Juice Works1.4 mi away · 110 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA
Places to stay
- Best Western0.9 mi away · 301 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Quality Inn Gettysburg Battlefield0.9 mi away · 380 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Colton Motel1.0 mi away · 232 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Inn at Cemetery Hill1.2 mi away · 613 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- 1863 Inn of Gettysburg1.2 mi away · 516 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Comfort Suites1.2 mi away · 945 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
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Related events
- · Battle of Gettysburg
- · Pickett's Charge
Themes & tags
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