Battery K, Fifth U.S. Artillery Marker

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Near Gettysburg in Adams County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Battery K, Fifth U.S. Artillery
Twelfth Corps
— Army of the Potomac —

Battery K, Fifth U.S. Artillery Tablet Photo, Click for full size

By Craig Swain, September 17, 2008

1. Battery K, Fifth U.S. Artillery Tablet

The tablet clearly has been refurbished or replaced with a new plaque in the recent past.

Inscription. Army of the Potomac
Twelfth Corps
Battery K Fifth U.S. Artillery
Four 12 pounders
Lieut. David H. Kinzie commanding
July 1 Marched to within a mile and half of Gettysburg.

July 2 At daylight took position to Command a gap between the First and Twelfth Corps. At 5 p.m. one section was placed on the summit of Culp's Hill and assisted in silencing Confederate Batteries on Benner's Hill. At 6 p.m. rejoined the Battery at the foot of Powers's Hill.

July 3 At 1 a.m. posted with Battery F 4th U.S. Artillery on the south side of Baltimore Pike opposite the centre of the line of the Twelfth Corps. At 4.30 a.m. opened fire on the Confederates in possession of the line vacated by the Twelfth Corps the preceding night. Firing continued at intervals until after 10 a.m. when the Confederates were driven out. Remained in the same position exposed to the severe shelling which came over Cemetery Hill in the afternoon.

Casualties wounded 5 men.

Erected 1907 by Gettysburg National Military Park Commission.

Location. 39° 48.776′ N, 77° 13.421′ W. Marker is near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in Adams County. Marker is on Hunt Avenue, on the right when traveling west. Click for map. Located north of the new Visitor Center for Gettysburg National Battlefield Park. Marker is in this post office area: Gettysburg PA 17325, United States of America.

By Craig Swain, September 17, 2008

2. Battery K, Fifth U.S. Artillery Tablet

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Battery F, Fourth U.S. Artillery (a few steps from this marker); Artillery Brigade (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); The Gettysburg Address (about 800 feet away); Prelude To Gettysburg / Gettysburg Showdown (approx. 0.2 miles away); 147th Pennsylvania Infantry (approx. 0.3 miles away); Pardee Field (approx. 0.3 miles away); 10th Maine Battalion (approx. 0.3 miles away); 5th Ohio Infantry (approx. 0.3 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Gettysburg.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Kinzie's Battery Tablets at Gettysburg.

Fields Southwest of Spangler's Spring Photo, Click for full size

By Craig Swain, September 17, 2008

3. Fields Southwest of Spangler's Spring

Looking from near the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry Monument on Colgrove Avenue, to the northwest. These open fields behind Spangler's Springs were in a "swale" or gap that exposed a flanking position in the Federal lines. Kinzie's Battery essentially capped that gap. Elements of Ruger's Division, XII Corps formed on the south side of this field. Today the view is blocked by residential buildings and post war tree lines. At the time of the battle, one could see from this point beyond the Baltimore Pike to Cemetery Ridge, where Kinzie was posted.