At the time of the battle the town had a population of about 2,000. Little did the quiet inhabitants expect that its peaceful environs—Oak Hill, Seminary Ridge, Culp’s Hill, Cemetery Hill, the Round Tops, and Devil’s Den—would witness the most sanguinary struggle of the Civil War, and that Gettysburg would gain a lasting fame, unequaled by the most noted battlefields of the Old World. Not even the commanders, Meade and Lee, knew where they would meet in battle array. Like two giant stormclouds, the two armies neared each other for days, neither foreseeing where they would mingle their lightnings in the storm of battle. Advance forces met and clashed while making reconnaissances—and Gettysburg and its vicinity was selected by accident rather than by design.
What fame Gettysburg enjoyed was due chiefly to its College, then called Pennsylvania, now Gettysburg, and to its Lutheran Theological Seminary. The town had been the home for some years of Thaddeus Stevens, the “Great Commoner,” life-long champion of human rights, savior of the free school system of Pennsylvania, and after his removal to Lancaster, in 1842, a brilliant leader in the House of Representatives during the war. The vicinity furnished its full quota of soldiers, though none of its companies except one, Company K, First Pennsylvania Reserves, participated in the battle, the rest being on duty elsewhere.
The population of Gettysburg has increased to 5,500. The College and Seminary are still flourishing. The College has an enrollment of over 600 students. A Reserve Officers Training Corps has been added to the course, and students are being instructed in military tactics by United States Army officers.
The area of Gettysburg National Military Park, including East Cavalry Field 15 miles east of the town, and South Cavalry Field 3 miles south, is nearly 40 square miles. The part surrounding Gettysburg covers about 24 square miles, and was the scene of the principal engagements on July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 1863. The Government owns a total of 2,441 acres; the remainder is held by private owners.
The first organization in charge of the battlefield was the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association, upon which the Legislature of Pennsylvania, on April 30th, 1864, conferred the rights of a corporation. In 1867-68 the Legislature appropriated $6,000 to be applied to the purchase of portions of the battlegrounds and the general purposes for which the Association was incorporated. The money was used to secure the portion of Culp’s Hill upon which the breastworks were still standing; the section of East Cemetery Hill where Stewart’s, Reynolds’, Ricketts’, Cooper’s and Weidrick’s batteries were posted, where the lunettes still remain; and also a small piece of ground on the slope and summit of Little Round Top. This purchase was the nucleus of what became, by additional purchases of the Association and later of the Gettysburg National Park Commission, the present Gettysburg National Military Park.
View from Culp’s Hill.—Gettysburg’s fine trees. In the distance is the Phillipoteaux Cyclorama with its vivid representation of Pickett’s Charge
The Legislatures of the Northern States represented in the battle contributed various sums for the prosecution of the work, and from time to time new members of the Association were appointed. As the appropriations were received, additional land was acquired and avenues were laid out. The erection of monuments to the different regiments was begun by the State of Massachusetts in 1879. In 1894, the whole property, about 600 acres of land, with 17 miles of avenues, giving access to 320 monuments, was transferred to the United States Government. The Gettysburg National Military Park was established by Act of Congress, approved February 11th, 1895, and the Secretary of War appointed the Gettysburg National Park Commission: Colonel John P. Nicholson, Pennsylvania, Chairman, John B. Bachelder, Massachusetts, and Brigadier General William H. Forney, Alabama. Colonel E. B. Cope was selected as topographical engineer.
Upon the death of General Forney, Major William M. Robbins, of North Carolina, was appointed to fill the vacancy. John B. Bachelder was succeeded by Major Charles A. Richardson, of New York. On the death of Major Robbins, General L. L. Lomax, of Virginia, was appointed. General Lomax died May 28th, 1913, and Major Richardson on January 24th, 1917. Colonel Nicholson, the last surviving member of the Commission, died on March 8th, 1922. All Commissioners, with the exception of John B. Bachelder, served in the Battle of Gettysburg, and he reached the field immediately after the battle, continuing his interest and his historical researches until his death. On the death of Colonel Nicholson, Colonel E. B. Cope was appointed Superintendent.
The Park is a monument to the devotion of this Commission, in active operation for thirty years. Colonel Cope was succeeded (1931) by Colonel E. E. Davis, a native of Iowa, commissioned Major Quartermaster Reserve Corps, March 6th, 1917, who served overseas in the World War. Colonel Davis retired on July 16th, 1932. James R. McConaghie, native of Iowa, a graduate of Harvard College, 1st Lieutenant, 4th Infantry, 3rd Division in the World War, was appointed Superintendent February 8th, 1933.