WHAT GETTYSBURG MEANS TODAY.
Our Country's Common Ground.

From July 1 through 3, 1863, Gettysburg was a place of conflict. But in the decades following that battle, it became a symbol of reconciliation. Soldiers from the Union as well as the Confederacy returned to the battlefield to reminisce. Organized reunions took place, each a stirring event. In 1887, the 24th anniversary of the battle, Union veterans from Philadelphia invited Confederate veterans from General Pickett's division to join them. Nearly 1,000 members of the Philadelphia Brigade greeted 160 former Confederate soldiers at the train station.

That same year, some 9,000 veterans and their families assembled at the battlefield. There, Union and Confederate veterans shook hands across the same stone wall they had used as cover during the bitter climax of Pickett’s charge.

In 1913, nearly 50,000 veterans came to Gettysburg to recognize the 50th anniversary of the battle. And in 1938, the 75th anniversary, nearly 2,000 veterans joined President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he lit the eternal flame at the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. The average age of the veterans was 93.

Today, as we look at Gettysburg as both an event and as a destination, we realize that it is our nation’s common ground. It was an event that symbolized the utmost in patriotism. And it is a place where all Americans can honor the soldiers in Blue and Gray, stirred by their commitment to their beliefs.

We recognize the sacrifices made by each soldier and citizen, many of them new to this young country. Most of all, we recognize Gettysburg as a classroom for democracy. Here, by learning about the beliefs that propelled the conflict, the strategies set forth to act on those beliefs, and the mending and healing that occurred as a result, we discover who we are as a nation.

The level of involvement, the depth of commitment, and the scope of sacrifice at Gettysburg were unlike anything we could imagine today:

In 1860, the population of the U.S. was 31.4 million.

  • 12.4% of the population -- 3.8 million men -- was enrolled in military service.
  • 620,000 -- 2% -- would die.

In terms of today’s population of just over 300 million:

  • More than 37.2 million would be enrolled in military service.
  • More than 6 million would die.

No matter what our viewpoints, our backgrounds or our personal history, each of us can't help but be moved by this incredible act of self-sacrifice. Gettysburg is a tribute to true heroes of America. As President Lincoln stated, it is "a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live."