Gettysburg National Cemetery

Gettysburg National Cemetery
Photo: Henryhartley at en.wikipedia Statue: Randolph Rogers (1825-1892) · Public domain · source
Name	Gettysburg National Cemetery
Location	Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Established	1863
Area	17 acres
Managed by	National Park Service
Coordinates	39°49′24″N 77°13′13″W
Website	National Park Service Gettysburg

Gettysburg National Cemetery Gettysburg National Cemetery is a historic military cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania created in the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg to inter Union dead from the three-day engagement. Dedicated in November 1863, the site hosts monuments, headstones, and a memorial landscape that anchors commemorations tied to the American Civil War, the Gettysburg Address, and national remembrance rituals. The cemetery lies adjacent to the Gettysburg Battlefield and forms a focal point for scholars, veterans’ organizations, and public history institutions.

History

The cemetery’s creation followed the catastrophic casualty totals from the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), a pivotal engagement between the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia. In the summer and autumn of 1863, local citizens, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and federal agents cooperated with organizations such as the Freedmen's Bureau and veteran relief societies to collect remains from field hospitals, farmsteads, and battlefield trenches. The cemetery was formally established by action of the Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin administration and local leaders including David Wills of Gettysburg Borough, who coordinated purchase of the ground and organization of reinterments.

The dedication ceremony on November 19, 1863, featured addresses by dignitaries including Edward Everett and an impromptu speech by Abraham Lincoln, now known as the Gettysburg Address. The cemetery expanded through additional land purchases and dedications during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, influenced by veterans’ groups such as the Grand Army of the Republic and commemorative bodies like the United States Department of War. Postbellum efforts to mark regimental positions resulted in an evolving commemorative tableau that shaped battlefield preservation movements led by figures associated with the Antietam National Cemetery precedent.

Design and Layout

The cemetery’s plan reflected mid-19th-century funerary and commemorative design principles seen in landscapes like Arlington National Cemetery and municipal rural cemeteries such as Mount Auburn Cemetery. Designed under the supervision of local planners and advisors drawn from Pennsylvania state agencies, the layout organized graves by state and regiment with curvilinear avenues, perimeter walls, and focal monuments. The central Soldiers’ National Monument stands at the cemetery’s summit, creating axial sightlines to adjacent landmarks including the Evergreen Cemetery gate and the nearby Cemetery Ridge.

Grave markers follow a regimentally grouped pattern that mirrors field organization used by units from states including New York (state), Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, and New Jersey. The plan installed circulating pathways and terraces to accommodate processions by organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and later national park visitation. Landscape treatments incorporated specimen trees and sodded lawns, aligning with contemporaneous practices at the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association sites and the National Park Service-era reuse of historic vistas.

Notable Interments and Memorials

Interments include unknown soldiers and identified servicemen from numerous regiments that fought during the Battle of Gettysburg. The cemetery contains mass graves as well as individual plots representing states such as Connecticut, Maryland, Vermont, Indiana, and Illinois. Prominent monuments include the Soldiers’ National Monument and state memorials erected by legislatures and veterans’ associations including the New York State Monument, the Pennsylvania State Memorial, and memorial tablets installed by the Grand Army of the Republic.

Regimental markers and monuments commemorate units like the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and elements of the Iron Brigade. Additional commemorative works honor units from the United States Colored Troops and other contingents whose service featured in Reconstruction-era debates presided over by legislators linked to the 13th Amendment and Reconstruction Acts. Sculptors and architects associated with these memorials include practitioners who also worked on projects for the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site and other Civil War commemorations.

Gettysburg Address and Commemoration

The cemetery dedication and the associated orations—particularly Edward Everett’s two-hour speech and Abraham Lincoln’s brief remarks—transformed the site into a national symbol. Lincoln’s address, delivered from a platform near the cemetery grounds, became central to civic rituals performed by presidents, members of Congress, and veterans’ organizations during anniversaries. The phraseology of the Gettysburg Address influenced memorial rhetoric used at subsequent dedications across sites like Antietam National Battlefield and Shiloh National Military Park.

Commemorations at the cemetery have included Decoration Day observances, reunions of veteran organizations such as the United Confederate Veterans and the Grand Army of the Republic, and modern ceremonies led by the National Park Service, United States Congress guests, and military bands. The site figures in literature, historiography, and popular memory chronicled by authors associated with works on Civil War historiography and by chroniclers of Lincoln’s oratory.

Preservation and Administration

Administration of the cemetery passed through custodians including the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, private memorial associations, and ultimately the National Park Service, which manages the larger Gettysburg National Military Park. Preservation efforts have addressed gravestone conservation, landscape management, and interpretive installations in partnership with organizations such as the American Battlefield Trust, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and local historical societies like the Adams County Historical Society. Archaeological investigations coordinated with agencies like the Smithsonian Institution and university research teams have informed conservation planning.

Legal and regulatory frameworks affecting the site include federal statutes enacted to protect historic sites and battlefield resources championed by legislators and stakeholders who supported the Historic Sites Act of 1935 and related preservation laws. Ongoing stewardship balances commemorative use, visitor access, and conservation of cultural resources against environmental factors and infrastructure needs, with oversight by the National Park Service superintendent for Gettysburg and advisory bodies comprised of scholars, veterans, and civic leaders.

Category:Cemeteries in Pennsylvania