The “missing memorials,” as newly installed in The Memorial Church of the Prince of Peace in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The top three, a brass cross and two terra cotta tablets are originals, recently restored from damage in a 1970 church fire. Ten of the remaining tablets are replacements for memorials destroyed in the fire, while eight are memorials originally ordered between 1880 and 1900, but for reasons unknown to the parish were never completed. The church contains memorials to more than 150 individual soldiers or units of both sides in the Civil War.

[Memorial Church of the Prince of Peace — Press Release] The Memorial Church of the Prince of Peace, Gettysburg’s Episcopal parish, has just installed 21 memorials that a parishioner found to be recorded in parish records, but not among those displayed in the church. Prince of Peace is Gettysburg’s only church dedicated to the memory of soldiers of both sides of the Civil War, and contains more than 150 memorial tablets, stones and plaques. The parish began the memorial process in 1880 with a nationwide campaign encouraging veterans and family members to recognize their comrades and loved ones by placing memorials in its future church.

Parishioner Jim Thomas, of Biglerville, Pennsylvania, discovered the “missing memorials” while preparing for the 125^th anniversary of the laying of the church’s cornerstone, which took place on July 2, 1888, timed to coincide with the 25^th anniversary reunion of veterans of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Thomas compared original parish ledgers, receipts, and plans for the placement of memorials with those actually erected in the church, and found that 21 memorials were missing. Three of the memorials were still on hand, unrestored from a 1970 church fire, but the remainder included memorials that had been destroyed in the fire, or for reasons lost to time, been ordered but never created. The parish leadership promptly approved restoration of the three original memorials, and creation of new ones to replace those lost in the fire or never erected.

Thomas then designed the “missing memorials,” which were created by Gettysburg’s Codori Memorials, and with the help of his son Zachary, personally installed them in the nave of the church. In a separate project, Thomas is creating a display of parish historical artifacts and photographs, which will be on display throughout the remainder of the year.

Installation of the “missing memorials” is one of several projects marking the 125^th anniversary. A series of concerts is scheduled throughout the year, and a Special Service of Commemoration and Rededication will take place at 9 a.m. on June 30, the Sunday closest to the anniversary date. On the actual anniversary, July 2, Prince of Peace will open its doors from Noon until 7.p.m. for visitors to view its memorials, old and new.

The parish’s name is taken from the biblical reference to Jesus Christ as Prince of Peace, and was selected so that the church would be a symbol of the peace, reunion, and reconciliation of the nation at the end of the Civil War, a fitting memorial for the soldiers of both sides of the conflict.