Gettysburg Battlefield

Coordinates: 39°48′41″N 77°13′33″W / 39.81139°N 77.22583°W / 39.81139; -77.22583
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Battle of Gettysburg took place in the lands surrounding Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
TypeBattlefield
LocationAdams County, Pennsylvania, United States
Coordinates39°48′41″N 77°13′33″W / 39.81139°N 77.22583°W / 39.81139; -77.22583
Ownerprivate, federal
WebsitePark Home (NPS.gov)
Gettysburg Battlefield is located in Pennsylvania
Gettysburg Battlefield
Location of Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania

The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863,

East Cavalry Field on the east. A military engagement prior to the battle was conducted at the Gettysburg Railroad trestle over Rock Creek, which was burned on June 27.[2]

The Pennsylvania Memorial
is the battlefield's largest and 1 of over 12 state monuments.

Geography

Within 10 miles (16 km) of the

Baltimore
.)

Gettysburg Battlefield lithograph map showing Union and Confederate positions.
(John B. Bachelder)
3 on towers (Warfield Ridge), Oak Ridge, Culp's Hill), 1 on Little Round Top, & 1 on the closed Cyclorama Building
.
3rd NY Artillery
monument (foreground) indicate the breadth of the unit's position.

Topography

The battle began on the west at Lohr's, Whistler's, School-House,

McPherson's Ridge and Herr's Ridge, and eventually infantry support arrived to defend Seminary Ridge at the borough's west side. Oak Ridge, a northward extension of both McPherson Ridge and Seminary Ridge, is capped by Oak Hill, a site for artillery that commanded a good area north of the town. Prior to Pickett's Charge, "159 guns stretching in a long line from the Peach Orchard to Oak Hill were to open simultaneously".[4]

Directly south of the town is the gently-sloped Cemetery Hill named for the 1854 Evergreen Cemetery on its crest and where the 1863 Gettysburg Address dedicated the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Eastward are Culp's Hill and Steven's Knoll. Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill were subjected to assaults throughout the battle by Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps. Cemetery Ridge extends about 1-mile (1.6 km) south from Cemetery Hill.[5]

Southward from Cemetery Hill is

Weikert Hill, north of Little Round Top.[6]

The two highest battlefield points are at Round Top to the south with the higher round summit of

Plum Run Valley between Houck's Ridge
and the Round Tops earned the name Valley of Death on that day.

Borough areas of military engagements

The area of the military engagements during the battle included the majority of the 1863 town area

Early's division defeated Coster's brigade. The town was generally held by the Confederate provost and used by snipers after the dawn of July 2 (e.g., a brickyard behind the McCreary House,[7]: 282  the John Rupp Tannery on Baltimore St,[9][10] and a church belfry).[11] A Confederate skirmish line at Breckenridge Street faced Federals on Cemetery Hill,[G 2] and ~7 pm July 1, "the Confederate line of battle had been formed on East and West Middle Streets".[12]

History

At the close of the battle, some of the ~22,000 wounded remained on the battlefield and were subsequently treated at the outlying Camp Letterman hospital or nearby field hospitals, houses, churches, and other buildings.[N 1] Dead soldiers on the battlefield totaled 8,900; and contractors such as David Warren[G 3]: 8  were hired to bury men and animals (the majority near where they fell). Samuel Weaver oversaw all of these reburials. The first excursion train arrived with battlefield visitors on July 5.[13]

On July 10, Pennsylvania Governor

Andrew Curtin visited Gettysburg and expressed the state's interest in finding the fallen veterans a resting place. Attorney David Wills arranged for the purchase of 17 acres (6.9 ha) of Cemetery Hill battlefield land for a cemetery. On August 14, 1863, attorney David McConaughy recommended a preservation association to sell membership stock for battlefield fundraising.[14] By September 16, 1863, battlefield protection had begun with McConaughy's purchase of "the heights of Cemetery Hill and" Little Round Top,[15] and his total purchased area of 600 acres (240 ha) included Culp's Hill
land.

On November 19, 1863,

Ladies Memorial Associations of Richmond, Raleigh, Savannah, and Charleston, 3,320 bodies were disinterred and sent to cemeteries in those cities for reburial, 2,935 being interred in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond. Seventy-three bodies were reburied in home cemeteries. The cemetery was transferred to the United States government May 1872,[16] and the last Battle of Gettysburg body was reburied in the national cemetery after being discovered in 1997.[17]

Union Gettysburg veteran Emmor Cope was detailed to annotate the battlefield's troop positions[18] and his "Map of the Battlefield of Gettysburg from the original survey made August to October, 1863" was displayed at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition.[19] Also in 1863, John B. Bachelder escorted convalescing officers at Gettysburg to identify battlefield locations[20] (during the next winter he interviewed Union officers about Gettysburg).

The Virginia Monument is the battlefield's largest equestrian monument.

Memorial association era

See also List of monuments of the Gettysburg Battlefield

The 1864

Gen Armistead's
farthest advance on July 3 and the 1884 2nd Maryland Infantry monument on Culp's Hill.

The battlefield was used by the

Slaughter Pen[24]—which was at a trolley station of the Gettysburg Electric Railway
that operated from 1894 to 1916.

The federal Gettysburg National Park Commission was established on March 3, 1893;[25] after which Congressman Daniel Sickles initiated a May 31, 1894, resolution “to acquire by purchase (or by condemnation) … such lands, or interests in lands, upon or in the vicinity of said battle field.[26] The memorial association era[N 2] ended in 1895 when the[N 3] "Sickles Gettysburg Park Bill" (28 Stat. 651) designated the Gettysburg National Military Park (GNMP) under the War Department.[G 5] Subsequent battlefield improvements included the October 1895 construction of the War Department's observation towers to replace the 1878 Cemetery Hill tower and an 1881 Big Round Top tower.[27]

Commemorative era

See also List of monuments of the Gettysburg Battlefield
Statue of General Wells by J. Otto Schweizer.

For payment of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association's debts of $1960.46, on February 4, 1896, the

Peach Orchard,[32] and 20,000 battlefield trees were planted in 1906[33]
: '06  (trees are periodically removed from battlefield areas that had been logged prior to the battle.)

Battlefield visitors through the early 20th century typically arrived by train at the borough's 1884

Gettysburg Railroad Station and used horse-drawn jitneys to tour the battlefield. The borough licensed automobile taxis first in 1913,[34] and the War Department expanded the battlefield roads throughout the commemorative era. Early 20th century battlefield excursions included those by "The Hod Carriers Consolidated Union of Baltimore"[35] and the annual "Topton Day" autumn foliage tours from near Berks County, Pennsylvania.[36]

Veterans reunions included the

Warren Harding and a next-day simulation of the same attack with modern weapons and tactics.[G 9]

The battlefield's commemorative era

use of the national park for military camps continued under an 1896 federal law (29 Stat. 120), e.g., a 1928 artillery and cavalry camp was held at Culp's Hill in conjunction with President Calvin Coolidge's Memorial Day address in the cemetery's rostrum
.

Development era

The battlefield from Ziegler's Grove Tower looking south. April 1933.

In 1933, administration of the GNMP transferred to the 1916

Parkitecture structures were built (the west ranger station was completed May 21, 1937),[G 10] and in April 1938, the Works Progress Administration added battlefield parking areas.[41] Numerous commercial facilities were also developed on private battlefield land, particularly during the 1950s "Golden Age of Capitalism" in the United States
(e.g., motels, eateries, & visitor attractions).

The battlefield's 2nd largest monument, the

Charles De Gaulle (1960), and President Jimmy Carter hosting President Anwar Sadat and Prime Minister Menachem Begin (1978).[44]

The 1956

railway cut bridge,[45] and restoring the 1884 Gettysburg Cyclorama
.

1962–present

As the Mission 66 Cyclorama Building at Gettysburg with a new battlefield observation deck was being completed in 1962, the nearby 1896 Zeigler's Grove observation tower was removed (the 1895 Big Round Top observation tower was removed in 1968). In 1967, the NPS purchased the 1921 Gettysburg National Museum,[G 11] which the NPS operated from 1971[46]-2008.[42] Also in 1971, the NPS acquired Round Top Station and the Round Top Museum, using the latter as an environmental resource center[G 12] until demolished c. July 1982.[G 13] The private Gettysburg National Tower of 393 ft (120 m) was completed in 1974 to provide several observation levels for viewing the battlefield, but was purchased under eminent domain and demolished in 2000. In the Devil's Den area, trees were removed in 2007,[47] and the comfort station was razed April 8, 2010.[48] Similarly, the Gettysburg National Museum was demolished in 2008.

In 2008, the Gettysburg National Military Park had 1,320 monuments, 410 cannon, 148 historic buildings, 2½ observation towers, and 41 miles (66 km) of avenues, roads, and lanes;[G 14] (8 unpaved).[49] "one of the largest collections of outdoor sculpture in the world."[50]

In February 2013 the landmark modernist Cyclorama Building and Visitor Center, designed by renowned architect Richard Neutra, was destroyed. The 19th century Gettysburg Cyclorama depicting the battlefield had previously been removed for restoration, and was reinstalled in the new rustic style Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center.

The Gettysburg National Military Park receives an annual 3 million visitors per year.[51]

The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have acquired and preserved 1,231 acres (4.98 km2) of the overall battlefield in more than 35 separate transactions since 1997.[52] Some of the land has been sold or conveyed to the National Park Service to be incorporated into the national park, but other land acquisitions are outside the official, federally established, current park boundary and thus cannot become part of the park. This includes the headquarters of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, one of the Trust's most significant and expensive acquisitions.[53] In 2015, the Trust paid $6 million for a four-acre parcel that included the stone house that Lee used as his headquarters during the battle. The Trust razed a motel, restaurant and other buildings within the parcel to restore the site to its wartime appearance, added interpretive signs and opened the site to the public in October, 2016.[54]

See also

References

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  4. . Retrieved 2011-02-08. 159 guns stretching in a long line from the Peach Orchard to Oak Hill were to open simultaneously
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  13. . Retrieved 2011-03-14. The first battlefield excursion train from Harrisburg arrived promptly on Sunday, July 5.
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  23. OCLC 24228617, archived from the original (2005 NPS Butowski pdf) on 2012-10-20 also at Google books
  24. ^ "Tipton Boundary Marker; (documented 2004)". National Park Service. 1892. (structure ID MN807, LCS ID 080808) List of Classified Structures: GETT p. 41. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2011-03-02. approximately, 7"x7"x1'. Inscribed "T" on top of marker. … rough granite with a "T" inscribed on the top. … at a corner of Tipton land purchased in March 1892 as part of the Tipton Park and photographic studio. NOTE: The federal survey to determine the extent of the railway was initiated in 1893. Archived 2012-09-15 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ "Gettysburg National Military Park Marker" (HMdb.org webpage for marker 14520). War Department. 1908. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-02-08. (NPS webpage, MN508) Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
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  30. encampment week
    , and the work of putting in new machinery is progressing rapidly. (p. 3. col. 1)
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  32. ^ "Gettysburg Compiler - Google News Archive Search". google.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  33. ^ a b "The Gettysburg Commission Reports" (transcribed versions: 1893–1921, 1927–1933). Gettysburg Discussion Group. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2010-02-04. (original formats: 1895, 1896, 1897, 1989, 1901, 1902 Archived 2023-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, 1909, 1913, 1918)
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  37. ^ Frazier, John W (1906). Reunion of the Blue and Gray: Philadelphia Brigade and Pickett's Division (Google Books). Philadelphia: Ware Bros, Company, Printers. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  38. ^ Beitler, Lewis Eugene, ed. (December 31, 1913). Report of the Pennsylvania Commission (Google Books) (Report). Harrisburg, PA: Wm. Stanley Bay (state printer). Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  39. ^ [inspecting officer's findings] (Report). 1918. This Round Top Park area is frequented by prostitutes … from Gettysburg [and via] excursions from the neighboring towns… These excursions bring in … beer and whiskey which they give or sell to the soldiers. … On a single evening over 50 couples were detected and driven from hiding places behind the tablets, monuments, rocks and trees of the reservation.
  40. ^ "Re-employment Office Set Up" (Google News Archives). New Oxford Item. November 20, 1933. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  41. ^ "Gettysburg Area to Be Renovated for Reunion" (Google News Archive). Lawrence Journal-World. April 18, 1938. Archived from the original on 2023-02-24. Retrieved 2011-02-19. …a $25,000 "face-lifting" for the reunion of the Blue and the Gray. A corps of WPA workers will start possibly this week to obliterate abandoned roadways, reconstruct those now in use, develop parking areas and repaint signs and fences."$52,200 Civil Works Project Approved Here". December 1, 1933. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
  42. ^ a b "homepage". SaveTheElectricMap.com. Archived from the original on 2011-01-28. Retrieved 2011-03-13.
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  52. ^ [1] Archived 2019-08-12 at the Wayback Machine American Battlefield Trust "Saved Land" webpage. Accessed November 23, 2021.
  53. ^ [2] Archived 2020-09-30 at the Wayback Machine Evening Sun, Hanover, Pa., Oct. 24, 2014. Accessed May 30, 2018.
  54. ^ [3] Archived 2018-07-08 at the Wayback Machine The Washington Post, "Lee's Gettysburg headquarters restored, set to open Oct. 28." Accessed May 24, 2018.
G. "Archives" (
Gettysburg Times
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  1. ^ Roth, Jeffrey B (September 7, 1988). "Boundary study draft report for Battlefield now complete". Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-03-12. four acres, the site of the first shot of the opening battle at Gettysburg, which stands next to U.S. Route 30 and the Whistler house &
    Storrick, William C (December 17, 1936). "Who Fired the First Shot At Battle of Gettysburg". Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
  2. ^ "Heritage Sites Walking Tour". June 28, 2002. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 14. … Confederate … skirmish line along Breckenridge Street facing … Federal[s] … on Cemetery Hill.
  3. ^ "Care of wounded after Battle of Gettysburg & Reburial of Union dead in National Cemetery". July 14, 1986. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-02-23.
  4. ^ "Demise Of 1st Tower Is Located". August 7, 1971. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-03-13. (Gettysburg Compiler of July 30, 1895 ) Archived December 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Gettysburg National Military Park Established By Sickles, Bill Passed In February 1895". February 10, 1970. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  6. ^ "Local Miscellany". Out of the Past: Twenty-Five Years Ago. May 25, 1927. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
  7. ^ "Local Miscellany". Out of the Past: Twenty-Five Years Ago. August 9, 1927. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  8. ^ "The Gettysburg & Harrisburg railroad station". February 8, 1988. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
  9. ^ Weaver, William G (November 13, 1967). "Reminisces Of Gettysburg". Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
  10. ^ "1 of 2 Entrance Stations Opens For Public Use". May 21, 1937. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-02-19."Plan $50,000 Battlefield Project Here". July 16, 1934. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-02-08.
  11. ^ "Pickett Spur New Addition To Park Relic Collection". April 2, 1975. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
  12. ^ "Nature Study Areas Are Set For Park Here". December 28, 1971. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-01-26."Two Special Park Walks This Summer". July 5, 1973. Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
  13. ^ De Blasi, Nancy (June 11, 1982). "Draft of park plan will be printed soon". Archived from the original on 2023-06-29. Retrieved 2011-01-26.
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N. "National Park Service". (NPS.gov).
  1. ^ "Camp Letterman General Hospital". Voices of Battle. 1864. Archived from the original on 2011-04-03. Retrieved 2011-02-01. Union dead in the camp [Letterman] graveyard were removed to the Soldiers National Cemetery in [from which] southern remains were exhumed between 1872 and 1873 for relocation to southern cemeteries.
  2. ^ a b Musselman, Curt (2001). Gettysburg's Codori Farm Lane Project (PDF) (Report). p. 1. Retrieved 2011-01-30.
  3. ^ a b …Historians Peer Review of the Process Developed by GNMP …. General Management Plan 1999 History (Report). NPS.gov. March 1998. Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 1927 - The end of the era of battlefield administration by veterans. 1927 marks the death of Supt. Emmor B. Cope.
External images
image icon GettysburgPhotographs.com
image icon Battlefield and 145th Reenactment
image icon Tipton stereoviews
image icon Library of Congress maps
image icon GDG.org map room