Kearny and Stevens Monuments
You are standing on hallowed ground, where more than 23,000 Americans fought one another. Approximately 1,500 soldiers from both armies were killed and wounded here.
In July 1915, John and Mary Ballard deeded this 50 by 100-foot lot on their farm to six trustees, three from Virginia and three from New Jersey, the home state of Union General Philip Kearny. The Ballards reserved this small lot for monuments to any Confederate or Federal solder who fell during the battle.
Kearny and Stevens Monuments, ca. 1915, with Ballard farm fields in background.
The Kearny and Stevens Monuments on the battlefield today
A detail of the Kearny Monument's inscription
A detail of the Stevens Monument's inscription
Subsequently, these two monuments to Union Generals Isaac Stevens and Philip Kearny were dedicated in a public ceremony on October 2, 1915. Captain Hazard Stevens (General Stevens’ son who was wounded during the battle), John Watts Kearny (General Kearny’s son), Lieutenant John N. Ballard, and Colonel Edmund Berkeley unveiled the monuments before a gathering of family, friends, and local dignitaries. Union and Confederate veterans in attendance paid respect to the virtues and valor of the brave generals and expressed ardent feelings of patriotism, good will and reconciliation.