1913 Gettysburg reunion

For the 75th battle anniversary addressed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, see 1938 Gettysburg reunion.

1913 Gettysburg reunion
Old soldiers of the North and South clasping hands over The Angle in fraternal affection
Gettysburg battlefield during the anniversary celebration
LocationGettysburg National Military Park, Adams County, Pennsylvania in United States
WebsiteUnited States Department of War

The 1913 Gettysburg reunion was a Gettysburg Battlefield encampment of American Civil War veterans for the Battle of Gettysburg's 50th anniversary. The June 29 – July 4 gathering of 53,407 veterans (about 8,750 Confederate)[1] was the largest Civil War veteran reunion.[2] All honorably-discharged veterans in the Grand Army of the Republic and the United Confederate Veterans were invited, and veterans from 46 of the 48 states attended[3] (all except Nevada and Wyoming).[4][5]

Despite official concerns "that there might be unpleasant differences, at least, between the blue and gray"[6] (as after England's War of the Roses and the French Revolution),[7] the peaceful reunion was characterized by instances of Union–Confederate camaraderie.[8] President Woodrow Wilson's July 4 reunion address summarized the spirit: "We have found one another again as brothers and comrades in arms, enemies no longer, generous friends rather, our battles long past, the quarrel forgotten—except that we shall not forget the splendid valor."[9]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Beitler was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ McCann, Erin (July 1, 2013). "Civil war veterans at Gettysburg anniversary in 1913 – in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  3. ^ Davis, William C. (1995) [1983]. Gettysburg: The Story Behind the Scenery (Fifth Printing ed.). KC Publications. p. 28. ISBN 0-916122-89-1. LCCN 83080606. Pennsylvanians made up the bulk of them: 22,103 to be exact, 303 of whom were Confederate veterans. Yet men came from all but 2 of the 48 states.
  4. ^ "Attendance Figures for 1913 and 1938 Gettysburg Reunions". Segway Tours of Gettysburg Blog. September 20, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  5. ^ Tapscott, Logan (November 17, 2011). "Pennsylvania College During the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg". The Gettysburg Compiler. Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  6. ^ "The Peace Memorial Bill: Speech of Colonel Andrew Cowan of Louisville" (Google News Archive). Gettysburg Compiler. April 18, 1914. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  7. ^ "The Gettysburg Reunion" (Google Books). Report of the Pennsylvania Commission. March 29, 1913. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pittsburgh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Wilson Here for One Hour". Adams County News. June 28, 1913. Retrieved December 14, 2022.