Section 1. Battery B Memorial Highway.
(a) Findings.--The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) On the morning of June 8, 1861, the Mount Jackson Guards of Mount Jackson, Lawrence County, gathered at the Mount Jackson Methodist Episcopal Church on present-day State Route 108 to bid goodbye to loved ones before going off to fight in the Civil War, which many believed would be a grand adventure.
(2) These men were farmers, school teachers, clerks and laborers from North Beaver Township, Little Beaver Township, Mahoning Township, New Castle and other areas of Lawrence County.
(3) The gathering point is now the site of the Battery B Monument placed by veterans in 1923, which sits on the west side of Battery B Cemetery, also known as Mt. Jackson M.E. Cemetery, to commemorate this event.
(4) The group of more than 80 young men started off on foot for the nine-mile journey to the railroad station in Enon, traveling on present-day State Routes 108 and 551, being hailed by local supporters as they began their epic journey, and sometimes being offered wagon rides from local farmers to ease their trip to Enon.
(5) The Mount Jackson Guards, later designated Battery B, First Pennsylvania Light Artillery, along with many other Lawrence County regiments, boarded the train to Camp Wright, Camp Wilkins and other training camps in the Pittsburgh area to prepare themselves for Camp Curtin in Harrisburg and to fight the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.
(6) Battery B distinguished itself in major battles, such as Fredericksburg, Antietam, Gettysburg and Petersburg, and because they served until Lee's surrender at Appomattox in April 1865, they hold the record for the highest amount of casualties of any artillery unit in the Civil War.
(7) Many members of Battery B were present in the Grand Review of Troops in Washington, DC, and, from 1869 to 1930, Battery B held elaborate reunions in Mount Jackson, including locals, Lawrence County residents, State dignitaries, military officers, Battery B members from almost every county in Pennsylvania and most of the 48 states, as well as veterans from other Pennsylvania regiments.
(8) As many as 2,000 people gathered in the little village of Mount Jackson to honor this illustrious group of men, to hear speeches by the members that reminisced about their experiences and to join in a picnic prepared by the proud citizens of the town.
(9) Recently, an article from the New Castle News was discovered, reporting that on September 26, 1925, a parade was given to celebrate the completion of the concrete road from Derringer's Corners, North Beaver Township, continuing to the village of Enon Valley, Little Beaver Township.
(10) The article suggested on that historic occasion that State Routes 108 and 551 from Mount Jackson to Enon Valley be named the "Battery B Highway."
(11) The members of the Enon Valley Community Historical Society have proposed that this old suggestion made 90 years ago become a reality.
(b) Designation.--The section of State Routes 108 and 551 in Lawrence County from the intersection of State Route 108 and Old Hickory Road at the Battery B Monument to State Route 551 ending at the railroad tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Enon Valley, is hereby designated the Battery B Memorial Highway.
(c) Signs.--The Department of Transportation shall erect and maintain appropriate signs displaying the name of the highway to traffic in both directions on the highway.