Gettysburg National Cemetery

For the eponym of the battlefield's Cemetery Hill, see the adjacent Evergreen Cemetery.

Gettysburg National Cemetery
The Soldiers' National Monument at the center of Gettysburg National Cemetery[1] with 18 Union states' areas, one U.S. Regulars area, and three areas for graves of the unknown
Map
Details
Established19 November 1863; 161 years ago (19 November 1863)
Location
Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
CountryUnited States
Coordinates39°49′2″N 77°13′55″W / 39.81722°N 77.23194°W / 39.81722; -77.23194
TypeNational Cemetery
Owned byNational Park Service
Size17 acres (6.9 ha)[2]
Find a GraveGettysburg National Cemetery
American Civil War cemeteries

Gettysburg National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, created for Union casualties from the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought between July 1 to 3, 1863, resulted in the largest number of casualties of any Civil War battle but also was considered the war's turning point, leading ultimately to the Union victory.

The land of the cemetery was part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the cemetery is within Gettysburg National Military Park, which is administered by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of Interior.[3]

Originally called Soldiers' National Cemetery, U.S. 16th President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address at the cemetery's consecration on November 19, 1863. That day is observed annually at the cemetery and in the town as "Remembrance Day" with a parade, procession, and memorial ceremonies by thousands of Civil War reenactor troops representing both Union and Confederate armies and descendant heritage organizations led by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) and the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV).

The cemetery contains 3,512 interments from the Civil War, including the graves of 979 unknowns.[4] It also has sections for veterans of the Spanish–American War (1898), World War I (1917–1918), and other wars, along with graves of the veterans' spouses and children. The total number of interments exceeds 6,000.[4]

Battlefield monuments, memorials, and markers are scattered throughout the cemetery, and its stone walls, iron fences and gates, burial and section markers, and brick sidewalk are listed as contributing structures within Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District.[5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Soldier's National Cemetery" (Google News Archive). The Wayne County Democrat. September 21, 1887. Retrieved February 25, 2012. …slain in the first day's battle and had lain for days [behind enemy lines] in the sun and rain until recognition was impossible.
  3. ^ National Park Service. "National Cemetery Walking Tour" (PDF). Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CWWiki was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference LCS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).