Gettysburg’s New Unity Park to be Dedicated July 5

Here is a neat little story passed along to us by ECW’s Steward Henderson.

Andrew Adam, a 14-year-old honor student in the Cumberland Valley School District in Mechanicsburg, PA, is wrapping up work on his Eagle Scout project. He’s a candidate with Boys Scouts of America Troop 88.

As a Civil War Reenactor with the 1st PRVC (Pennsylvania Reserves Volunteer Corps), he reenacts as a Union drummer boy. For his Eagle Scout Project, he decided to commission a monument to drummer boys and musicians in the Civil War. “Surrounding the monument,” he says, “I am creating a small, symbolic park called Unity Park.”

The park will feature a bronze statue by Gary Casteel, who sculpted the Longstreet Monument. The statue will be cast in materials from the North, Andrew says, and the pedestal for the monument will be made from granite coming from the South.

The statue and the park will be dedicated on Sunday, July 5 at 5:00 p.m. The new Unity Park will be at 1 Lefever Street.

“His idea is a great one,” Steward says. “For him to get the backing of the companies and organizations to create this park and statue is very inspiring. He wanted USCT living historians to attend the ceremony, so that it truly represents the unity of all of the soldiers from the Civil War.”

Other features of Andrew’s project:

  • One walkway in the park represents the North, another the South, and a center one Unity. The walkway will be donated by Pyramid Construction.
  • There will be an American Flag in the park.
  • 36 bushes represent the 36 states that were in the Union at the end of the war.
  • Park Benches will feature Unity. Custom bench ends will be made by KBM Industries in the North with wood coming from the South.

Keeping in line with Andrew’s background as a drummer boy, three wayside signs will give visitors the opportunity to learn about the role of musicians in the Civil War:

  • History – There is a long history of service that musicians and drummers performed in the army; almost 1/5 of the army was under the age of 18.
  • Communications – Drummers were vital to the communications of an army; stationed by the commanders, they told the army everything from Reveille and Meals to Advance and Retreat.
  • Music – Many of the songs that are the fabric of America have a connection to the Civil War; TAPS was written in 1862 by a Union officer named Dan Butterfield.

“I think that Andrew’s project is very valuable and timely in its scope for the future of our country,” Steward says, “especially with what has happened in recent days.”



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