Two avenues of no great length have been projected in and near the "Wheatfield," one running from the Wheatfield road, near Plum Run Valley, southward along the line of the Pennsylvania Reserves to Sickles avenue; the other starting from Sickles avenue and running along the Union line in the southwest border of the Wheatfield; then crossing the Western Branch of Plum Run and following the line of General Brooke's brigade on the summit of Rose Hill. Avenues are also needed to connect the cavalry battlefields both east and south of Gettysburg with the battlefield of the infantry. In some of the cases mentioned the Government owns the land; in others it will be necessary to acquire the lands on which to construct the proposed avenues. The legislature of Pennsylvania having granted to the United States the right to convert public roads into Telford avenues within the limits of the battlefield, the Secretary of War has authorized this to be done on the Taneytown road, as it will soon be, from the borough line of Gettysburg to a point south of General Meade's headquarters. The same should be done on the Mummasburg road from Howard avenue to Buford avenue; also the Fairfield or Hagerstown road from the south end of Reynolds avenue to West Confederate avenue; also the road leading from the north end of Crawford avenue to United States avenue, and the so-called Wheatfield road running from east to west across the entire battlefield.

TABLETS AND GUNS.

Since our last report monumental tablets have been prepared and erected along the Confederate avenue on Seminary Ridge to mark the positions of each and all the Confederate brigades which occupied that ridge from the Wheatfield road on the right to the Hagerstown road on the left, viz: Barksdale's Mississippi and Wofford's Georgia brigades of McLaw's Division; Kemper's, Garnett's, and Armisted's Virginia brigades of Pickett's Division; Wilcox's Alabama, Perry's Florida, Wright's Georgia, Posey's Mississippi, and Mahone's Virginia brigades of Anderson's Division; Archer's Tennessee, Pettigrew's North Carolina, Davis's Mississippi and North Carolina, and Brockenbrough's Virginia brigades of Heth's Division, commanded there by General Pettigrew; Scales's and Lane's North Carolina, McGowan's South Carolina, and Thomas's Georgia brigades of Pender's Division. These tablets, like all the other monumental tablets on the field, are 32 by 2 feet in dimensions, with carefully prepared inscriptions cast in raised letters describing the part taken in the battle by each brigade and stating its numbers and losses so far as practicable to obtain. They are mounted on iron pillars about 3 feet high, grouted in the ground, and the tablets are inclined at a suitable angle so that the inscriptions can easily be read by persons riding or driving

on the avenue.

Guns of like class and caliber with those which composed the several batteries along the avenue have been mounted there in the respective positions occupied by the batteries, viz, two batteries of

ALEXANDER'S BATTALION.

Moody's Battery, "The Madison (La.) Artillery."
Rhett's Battery, "The Brooks (S. C.) Artillery."

ESHLEMAN'S BATTALION.

Miller's, Squires's, Richardson's, and Norcom's batteries, "The Washington (La.) Artillery."

Patterson's, Wingfield's, and Ross's batteries, "The Sumter (Ga.) Artillery."

Grandy's Battery, "The Norfolk Light Artillery Blues."
Moore's Battery, "The Huger Artillery."

Lewis's Battery, The Lewis Artillery."

Maurin's Battery, "The Donaldsonville Artillery."

DANCE'S BATTALION.

Griffin's Battery, "The Salem Artillery."

The guns mounted to mark the positions of the above-named batteries are 24 Napoleons, 15 3-inch rifles, 11 10-pounder Parrotts, 4 20-pounder Parrotts, 4 12-pounder howitzers, and 2 24-pounder howitzers; in all, 60 guns. Iron tablets of the same dimensions as those of the infantry brigades are erected for each artillery battallion and each battery with inscriptions briefly recording the services rendered by each in the battle, the number of rounds fired, the losses suffered, and other important facts.

Nine itinerary tablets have been erected on East Cemetery Hill, along the Baltimore pike, describing the movements and positions of the Union Army and each of the commands comprising it on each day from June 29 to July 7, 1863.

Ten Confederate itinerary tablets, for which the inscriptions have been prepared, are now being cast and will be erected at a suitable point alongside of the Confederate avenue on Seminary Ridge. They will record the movements of the Confederate Army and its several corps, divisions, and brigades on each day from June 26, 1863, when the last of its forces crossed the Potomac into Maryland, until after the close of the battle and the retreat of the Confederates from Gettysburg, July 5, 1863.

The monumental tablets erected this year to mark the positions and record the services of infantry brigades and of artillery battalions and batteries, together with the itinerary tablets of the Union and Confederate commands, are 84 in number.

The number of guns, Union and Confederate, which have been mounted by the commission on this field to date is 290.

WORK OF ENGINEER'S DEPARTMENT.

There have been constructed on the field 8 miles of pipe fencing and over 5 miles of post and rail fencing, a large part of both having been done this year. Nearly 4 miles of stone walls and stone fences have also been rebuilt, much of them during the past year. Nearly all of these served as breastworks and defenses in the battle either for Union or Confederate troops. There have also been nearly 5 miles of gutters or drains alongside the Telford avenues paved with stones in a durable manner.

Besides attending to the many other duties_devolving upon him, both in the office and on the field, the engineer, Lieut. Col. E. B. Cope, and his assistants, have been engaged in mapping the battlefield. A map of the first day's field has been completed showing with accuracy and distinctness the positions and movements of each command, whether of infantry, cavalry, or artillery, of both the Union and Confederate armies at each and every hour of that day. The same will be done with reference to the other two days of the battle.

MONUMENTS.

The Hancock equestrian statue, which was struck by lightning and the pedestal damaged, has been taken down by the Van Amringe Granite Company and is being repaired. This is being done at the expense of the State of Pennsylvania.

On Stevens Knoll a foundation has been laid and a pedestal erected, upon which will shortly be placed an equestrian statue of Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum, at the expense of the State of New York.

Two monuments of stone have been erected a short distance east of Sedgwick avenue, one marking the position of Candy's Brigade of Geary's Division in the evening of July 1, 1863, and the other the headquarters of General Sykes, commander of the Fifth Corps.

A stone monument has been placed alongside of Hancock avenue to mark the position of the One hundred and forty-eighth Regiment of Pennsylvania Infantry of July 3, 1863.

A bronze statue has also been erected on Stone avenue, just north of Reynolds Woods, at the expense of the State of Pennsylvania, in honor of John Burns, a citizen of Gettysburg, who, though 70 years old, took his musket and went out into the first day's battle and was severely wounded.

AQUISITIONS OF LANDS.

The proceeding, which was pending at the date of our report of 1901, for the condemnation of a parcel of land containing about 12 acres, situate between the Round Tops and not far from the Devil's Den, has since been concluded by the owner of the land withdrawing his appeal

from the verdict of the jury of view which awarded him $6,150. This money has been paid, the title made to the Government, and Warren avenue, which has since been constructed, runs across said land.

Eight acres of land situate on the slope of Seminary Ridge, adjacent to the Union line in the first day's battle, has been purchased from Martin Winters, the owner, for $2,500, and the title made to the Government.

Condemnation proceedings have been begun, with the approval of the Department, for the condemnation of four small parcels of land, containing in all about 10 acres, situate on both sides of Hancock avenue, near Ziegler's grove, and occupied at times during the battle by Union commands. The case has already been before a jury of view, composed of excellent citizens, who awarded $5,975 for the land. From this award the owner appealed to the United States circuit court for the middle district of Pennsylvania, and there the matter is now pending and will doubtless be disposed of at the next term of said

court.

The commission is gratified to say that tens of thousands of visitors from all sections of the country continue to throng the Gettysburg National Park, and are unstinted in their approbation of the Government's purpose to make of this field a great national monument and of the manner in which that purpose is being carried out.