SERGT. GEO. H. DUNCAN

of Co. L, 1st Cav. Reg. Vermont on

Killed in Battle

Gettysburg, PA

July 3, 1863

AE 22

Son of G. H. & A.

DUNCAN

The eroded white marble gravestone of George Duncan in the Greenmount Cemetery in Burlington, Vermont, is a tribute to the sacrifice many young men made in service of preserving the Union.  The battle was bloody and horrific with an estimated 165,000 Union and Confederate soldiers facing each other.  After three days, General Lee’s forces had been defeated with an estimated 28,000 Confederate casualties.  Even though the Union forces prevailed, more than 23,000 soldiers were wounded or dead—one of whom was Sargent George H. Duncan, only 22 years old.

The sculpture in the inset, at the top of the marker, is eroded but two images tell a story.  The riderless horse indicates that the soldiers buried beneath this grave did not return from battle.  The horse trots ahead of a tree with a major limb bent indicating an early death.  Though faded the symbolism on this gravestone is a stark reminder of the cost of freedom.