— Ch. 1 · Battlefield Origins And Preservation —
Gettysburg National Military Park.
~4 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
The Battle of Gettysburg raged across three days between July 1 and the 3rd of July 1863. This conflict became the turning point of the American Civil War. Following the fighting, veteran associations moved quickly to secure land for memorials. The 1864 Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association acquired tracts like the one holding the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument. These groups purchased property to preserve the ground where soldiers had fallen. Federal acquisition began on the 7th of June 1893. Nine monument tracts totaling specific acreage were bought from these associations. A larger tenth lot was also secured during this initial phase. Samuel M Bushman donated additional land to the cause. The park officially came under federal control on the 11th of February 1895. An Act To establish a national military park at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania transferred the deed to the Secretary of War.
Federal Land Acquisition Timeline
Initial boundaries covered 3,874 acres when Congress established the park in 1895. Limits expanded in 1990 through new legislation. Federal eminent domain takings included the Gettysburg Electric Railway right-of-ways in 1917. Donated land added 160 acres from the 1959 Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association. The W. Alton Jones Foundation contributed further acreage to the growing reserve. A 2010 bill by Representative Platt failed in the US Senate regarding expansion. This proposed measure would have allowed acquisition of the Gettysburg Railroad Station and the Wayne and Susan Hill tract south of Big Round Top. In February 2009, the David Wills House joined the national park. Lincoln completed his Gettysburg Address within those walls before his death. The boundary limits imposed by Congress define the federally-owned land administered today.