A bronze monument; the Gettysburg Civil War Women’s Memorial; modeled on Elizabeth Thorn, as a memorial to all the ladies who did as much and they could during and after the battle was dedicated November 16th 2002. Thorn was about thirty at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg, with three small children and was six months pregnant for a fourth. Her husband was the caretaker of the Evergreen Cemetery along Cemetery Ridge and family lived in the gatehouse. She and her family were forced to flee the gatehouse, their home during the battle. At the time of the battle Thorn’s husband was away serving with the 138th Pennsylvania Infantry. Following the three day battle she returned to find her home ransacked. Thorn began burying the dead on and around the cemetery, 91 in all. She would continue to mange the cemetery until her husband returned home in 1865. Thorn and her husband are buried in the cemetery that she took care of during those trying days.
The memorial is about seven feet tall, cast from bronze it weighs about a ton. It was designed by sculptor Ron Tunison. This is the fourth monument Tunison has on the Gettysburg Battlefield.
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