Evergreen Cemetery
799 Baltimore Street

Established in 1854, the cemetery is adjacent to the Soldiers National Cemetery, which was purchased by the state of Pennsylvania to honor the Union soldiers who gave their lives at Gettysburg. A Philadelphia architect, Stephen Button designed the gatehouse as one of the first Italianate style buildings erected in Gettysburg. Some of the notable persons buried here are Marianne Moore, the distinguished American poet, Eddie Plank, a local baseball hero, Jennie Wade, and Peter and Elizabeth Thorn, gatekeepers during the Civil War.

In 1863, Peter was serving in the 138th Pennsylvania Volunteers in Virginia at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg. General Howard arrived and ordered Mrs. Thorn to prepare a meal. Mrs. Thorn showed General Howard the different roads leading into Gettysburg then he ordered the family to safety. In the days following the battle, Mrs. Thorn, who was six months pregnant, buried 115 soldiers and 14 citizens.

The Soldiers National Cemetery
Cemetery Hill

Patriotic citizens of Gettysburg wanted to establish a proper burial place for the Union dead from the battle. Gettysburg attorney David McConaughy was concerned about the graves of Union dead scattered in fields and poorly marked. He devised a plan to have the Union dead removed to a new cemetery on the grounds of the Evergreen cemetery. Another Gettysburg lawyer, David Wills had a more elaborate idea for a proper cemetery. These differences led to a conflict that was resolved after Pennsylvania’s Governor Curtin visited Gettysburg and was dismayed by the poorly marked graves. Wills used his political pull to gain Governor Curtin’s ear. Curtin was interested in Will’s project and pledged his support with funds to purchase land and finance the process of proper burials. McConaughy then focused on battlefield preservation.

The Pennsylvania legislature provided funds to create a cemetery at Gettysburg for the Civil War dead and reburials immediately. The Soldiers National Cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863, and on Will’s invitation, President Lincoln's delivered his famous Gettysburg Address during the ceremony. At the site where he made his speech, the Lincoln Speech Memorial venerates the Gettysburg Address. The Cemetery was landscaped by William Saunders, founder of the National Grange. The Cemetery was completed by 1872, and under the care of the Federal government. In 1933, the responsibility for the cemetery transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service.

Because the cemetery is also part of the battlefield, monuments to Union regiments and cannons of Union batteries stand in the cemetery grounds.

Thirty-five hundred remains of Union soldiers were interred in the cemetery grounds after the battle. Nearly 1,000 are unknown. In the center of the cemetery stands the Soldiers National Monument, erected in 1869. Marble statues at the base of the monument represent the men who fought at Gettysburg. The New York State Monument stands at the northern end to honor the fact that more New York soldiers were injured or killed at Gettysburg than from any other Union state. Another distinctive monument is the bronze statue to Major General John F. Reynolds, killed at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. A Pennsylvania native son, General Reynolds is the only officer who served at Gettysburg with three monuments dedicated to his memory. A monument to the 1st Minnesota Infantry placed within the Minnesota plot is one of the earliest, erected around 1869.

Although primarily dedicated to the Civil War, the Gettysburg National Cemetery commemorates American veterans from all of America’s major wars. Today the cemetery and annex have over six thousand burials from all of America's wars. The Gettysburg National Cemetery is open from dawn to dusk and is across Steinwehr Avenue from the National Park Service Visitor Center.

Lincoln Cemetery
Lincoln Lane behind the Gettysburg Hospital

Lincoln Cemetery is a rarely visited, overlooked historical landmark in Gettysburg. Originally called the Goodwill Cemetery, the historic African-American cemetery was established in 1867 to provide a proper site for citizens and soldiers. Thirty veterans served during the Civil War as members of the U.S. Colored Troops. The veterans were denied burial in the National Cemetery because of segregation policies. Lincoln Cemetery is the burial ground for veterans from the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War as well as leaders and families from the local community.