BGuthrie Photos: PA -- Gettysburg -- Town -- Railroad Depot

PA -- Gettysburg -- Town -- Railroad Depot:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. GETDEP_130929_008.JPG: Gettysburg Railroad Depot: Built in 1858 in the fashionable Italianate Villa style, this railroad depot and its attendant telegraph line afforded Gettysburg with modern day transportation and communication. The Battle of Gettysburg expanded its use for unanticipated purposes. On July 1, 1863, this building and its passenger platform were commandeered for use as an army hospital. When train service was restored following the battle, the U.S. Sanitary Commission set up a tent lodge across the tracks from the rear platform to assist the wounded brought from the field hospitals for transportation to home or distant hospitals. Volunteer Georgeanna Woolsey recalled: "Twice a day, the trains left... and twice a day, we fed all the wounded who arrived for them." On November 18, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln arrived by train at this depot for the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery, where he delivered the Gettysburg Address.
2. GETDEP_130929_017.JPG: Locomotive "Conewago" While no definitive known record exits [sic], this in all probability is the locomotive which powered President Lincolns' [sic] train between Hanover Junction and Gettysburg on November 18th and 19th, 1863. The "Conewago" was built in 1853 by the York Locomotive Works and was one of three light weight locomotives (25-27 tons) constructed for the Hanover Branch Railroad. Because of its financial weakness, poor construction and extremely light rail, the Gettysburg Railroad did not own any locomotives for the first six years of its operation and leased the three lightest weight locomotives available from the Hanover Branch -- the "Gettysburg", "Heidlerburg", and "Conewago." The Conewago was the most modern with its "wagon-top" boiler and was used mostly for passenger service. At the time of President Lincolns' [sic] trip it was the most readily available and the most serviceable.
3. GETDEP_130929_024.JPG: Original section of "U" Rail from the Orange and Alexandria Railroad in Virginia during the Civil War. This rail was identical to that used by the Gettysburg Railroad in 1863. The accompanying photography by Alexander Gardner, taken at Manassas, Virginia in 1862, shows a similar section of "U" Rail in place.
4. GETDEP_130929_037.JPG: Switch Tie: This tie was excavated about 100 feet behind the station, in the area of the backhoe seen in the photograph. It was identified as a switch tie from the pattern of double spike holes at each end. In the 1860s railroad switches operated differently from modern switches in that there were no moveable switch points to align the rails with either the main or diverging track. As shown in the above illustration, the approach trails moved to align with either set of stationary rails in the main or diverging track. Where these two sets of rails met the moveable approach rails they were parallel and very close together, thus the double set of spike holes in this tie which identify it as a tie adjoining the moveable approach rails of a switch. The site from which this tie was excavated positively located the position of the 1860s track switch which enabled an arriving or departing train to access or leave the station track.
5. GETDEP_130929_049.JPG: Gettysburg's Railroad Station: The Gettysburg Railroad Station: This elegant station was completed in 1859. It served travelers until passenger service ended in 1942. When contractors John and Valentine Warner completed the original two-story brick building in May 1859, it became Gettysburg's latest example of the fashionable Italiante style, characterized by low pitched roofs, decorative cornice brackets, arched windows, and sometimes, as here, cupolas. The Gettysburg station building was designed as a "head-house" where the rail line ended. Its architecture set it apart from typical one-story plain wood or brick rural train station structures. The second floor was used as an office for the railroad company. The lower floor held a ticket counter and two waiting rooms, which at the time were gender-separated to protect the sensibilities of women and children. The men's or "general" waiting room was on the station's south side. President Lincoln and his party probably moved through the general waiting room when arriving and departing Gettysburg in November 1863. A double doorway led to the covered passenger platform extending to the rear of the station, where the main track line terminated. A local passenger reminisced: "Remember how the passenger car was cut loose and shot into the big shed... when the shed had been traversed... you had your choice of ladies' or gentlemen's room." The building was expanded in 1886 to its current configuration. The one-story addition accommodated a new ticket and operator's office, an enlarge ladies waiting room, and a baggage room. The old passenger platform was removed, and boarding was moved to a new platform that paralleled the track passing alongside the building, as it does today.
6. GETDEP_130929_056.JPG: The Gettysburg Railroad Station, 1863: The Gettysburg Station was the western terminus of the Gettysburg, Hanover, Hanover Junction short-line. The drawing illustrates the passenger boarding platform shed on the east side of the head house. The main line track turned into the shed and ended at the building. The spur seen to the right extended about 500 feet westward to warehouses.
7. GETDEP_130929_059.JPG: The Old Gettysburg Railroad Station ca 1918, from the East: This photo shows the 1886 one-story rear addition to the head house. The open steel shed was added in 1911, the first major addition since 1886. The Old Gettysburg Railroad Station ca 1918, from the West: The eternal facade of the 1859 head-house remains unchanged except for the 1886 extension of the roof overhand on the north side addition, and a door opening onto the track platform.
8. GETDEP_130929_062.JPG: The Iron Horse Comes to Town: The Gettysburg Railroad Station: The railroad established Gettysburg as a commercial center and stimulated its economy. On December 16, 1858, a gala celebration marked the opening of the Gettysburg Railroad Company. Eight thousand people from far and wide attended the day's festivities, the largest crowd ever in Gettysburg's 72-year history. The "iron horse" had arrived! The event was the result of twenty years of planning and hard work by local entrepreneurs, who saw that railroad access to major metropolitan markets was the key to expanding commerce in Gettysburg and Adams County. Freight and passenger service began even though the two story passenger depot was not completed until May 1859. The line was an immediate success. New warehouses and retail establishments sprouted on undeveloped lots next to the tracks. Passengers and goods could travel daily to and from Baltimore, Harrisburg and other more distant cities. The railroad and train station proved to be more than a catalyst to commercial growth and passenger travel. This station was a witness to -- and an active participant in -- the battle, its aftermath, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and the rebirth of a nation. The station is central to the history of Gettysburg, Adams County, and in a way, America.
9. GETDEP_130929_068.JPG: The Type of Wood-Burning Locomotive Used on the Gettysburg Railroad: This style locomotive, pictured ca 1863 at the Hanover Branch depot in Hanover, Pennsylvania, moved passenger and freight trains daily between Gettysburg, Hanover, and Hanover Junction, a trip of thirty miles. Hanover Junction and Depot: Connector to National Destinations: By connecting at the Junction with the north-south line of the Northern Central Railroad (tracks on the far right), Gettysburg passengers and freight could travel to and from other railroad centers. The train in the center was on the short-line track to Hanover and Gettysburg.
10. GETDEP_130929_075.JPG: Sheads and Buehler Warehouse: This stove, coal and lumber business was located directly across the tracks from the railroad passenger station. It was one of seven new commercial structures built along the track line in Gettysburg, fulfilling the expectation of the Gettysburg Railroad Company founders. The McCurdy and Diehl Produce Warehouse: Located adjacent to the north side of the Sheads and Buehler building. Co-owner Robert McCurdy, the president of the Gettysburg Railroad Company, personally profited from the commercial opportunities the railroad made possible.
11. GETDEP_130929_077.JPG: A Gettysburg Timeline: Frontier to Established Settlement: 1735 to 1835: After the Revolutionary War, the land around Samuel Gettys' tavern was surveyed for a town. Before 1735, this area was wilderness and saw occasional battles over land ownership and hunting rights between roaming Native American tribes. By 1735, Scotch-Irish homesteaders were arriving, clearing forests and planting crops. Soon roads from established eastern settlements were constructed to help develop the frontier, and inns were established every six or eight miles, a day's travel. Many of these early inns became towns. In 1786, the land surrounding the Samuel Gettys tavern at the intersection of the Nickolson's Gap and Shippensburg-Baltimore roads was formally laid out as a town by the innkeeper's son, James Gettys. In 1800, the town, called Gettysburg, became the county seat for the newly created Adams County. Dynamic growth in building construction, local industry, town infrastructure and social development followed. Free public elementary education and two institutions of higher learning, the Lutheran Theological Seminary and Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College) were established by 1835. Gettysburg's water system, established in 1825, was unique for a rural town. The system distributed water by gravity flow via buried wooden pipes to both public and private subscribers. First Adams County Courthouse, 1804 to 1859: The two-story brick courthouse was placed in the center of the town square and opened for business in 1804. It was razed in 1859 when it was replaced by a larger structure built on the corner of Baltimore and West Middle Streets. Tavern To Town: Samuel Gettys built his residence and tavern around 1775. When son James bought his father's 116-acre tavern property and laid out a town plot, the tavern became the first building in the new town of Gettysburg. James Gettys, Founder of Gettysburg: James Gettys' plan for a town was incorporated in 1786. Before his death at age 56 in 1815, James served his town and Adams County as town clerk, sheriff, treasurer, county representative in the state legislature, and as an officer of local militia in the War of 1812. The Rev. Alexander Dobbin's House: Built in 1776, this substantial stone structure served as the manse for prominent Presbyterian minister Rev. Alexander Dobbin. Here Dobbin hosted important church and community meetings and established a "classical school" for young men. The house is now the oldest in the borough of Gettysburg. The Academy Building, Corner of West High and South Washington Streets: Built in 1813 to house the Gettysburg Academy, it became the temporary home of the new Lutheran Theological Seminary. After 1832, the building served the same purpose for the newly founded Pennsylvania College, now Gettysburg College. After the college moved to its present location in 1837, the building served as a private female academy. It temporarily served as a hospital during and following the battle of Gettysburg. Christ Lutheran Church: This church has been in continual use since opening in 1835. During its first 100 years, it served as the church of the Lutheran Seminary and Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College students and town parishioners. On July 1, 1863, its doors were opened to Union surgeons as a hospital. Nursing care for the wounded during and immediately after the battle was provided by local women volunteers and later by the Patriot Daughters of Lancaster. Lutheran Theological Seminary: The Seminary opened in 1832 to house students and classroom facilities. It was later named Schmucker Hall after its founder and first president, Samuel S. Schmucker. On July 1, 1863, it was surrounded by fierce fighting and suffered severe damage. Beginning that evening and continuing for two months, it served as a hospital for wounded of both armies.
12. GETDEP_130929_083.JPG: Tavern To Town: Samuel Gettys built his residence and tavern around 1775. When son James bought his father's 116-acre tavern property and laid out a town plot, the tavern became the first building in the new town of Gettysburg.
13. GETDEP_130929_085.JPG: The Rev. Alexander Dobbin's House: Built in 1776, this substantial stone structure served as the manse for prominent Presbyterian minister Rev. Alexander Dobbin. Here Dobbin hosted important church and community meetings and established a "classical school" for young men. The house is now the oldest in the borough of Gettysburg.
14. GETDEP_130929_088.JPG: James Gettys, Founder of Gettysburg: James Gettys' plan for a town was incorporated in 1786. Before his death at age 56 in 1815, James served his town and Adams County as town clerk, sheriff, treasurer, county representative in the state legislature, and as an officer of local militia in the War of 1812.
15. GETDEP_130929_090.JPG: The Academy Building, Corner of West High and South Washington Streets: Built in 1813 to house the Gettysburg Academy, it became the temporary home of the new Lutheran Theological Seminary. After 1832, the building served the same purpose for the newly founded Pennsylvania College, now Gettysburg College. After the college moved to its present location in 1837, the building served as a private female academy. It temporarily served as a hospital during and following the battle of Gettysburg.
16. GETDEP_130929_092.JPG: Christ Lutheran Church: This church has been in continual use since opening in 1835. During its first 100 years, it served as the church of the Lutheran Seminary and Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College students and town parishioners. On July 1, 1863, its doors were opened to Union surgeons as a hospital. Nursing care for the wounded during and immediately after the battle was provided by local women volunteers and later by the Patriot Daughters of Lancaster.
17. GETDEP_130929_094.JPG: Lutheran Theological Seminary: The Seminary opened in 1832 to house students and classroom facilities. It was later named Schmucker Hall after its founder and first president, Samuel S. Schmucker. On July 1, 1863, it was surrounded by fierce fighting and suffered severe damage. Beginning that evening and continuing for two months, it served as a hospital for wounded of both armies.
18. GETDEP_130929_097.JPG: A Gettysburg Timeline: A Growing Town: 1835 to 1860: By the eve of the Civil War, Gettysburg was a mature and thriving town of 2,400 inhabitants. The August 20, 1860 issue of the Gettysburg Compiler captured the scope and spirit of seventy-four years of the town's many accomplishments: "Gettysburg now has her railroad, her water works, her cemetery, her college, her seminary, her large public school. What will come next? We can not say, but our enterprising little town never says stop." Gettysburg was not just an agricultural center -- its diverse population included college professors, judges and lawyers, small manufacturers, merchants, and both skilled and unskilled laborers. The arrival of the railroad in 1858 marked a significant advancement in the town's economic fortunes. The railroad stimulated growth in local warehousing, lodging, and manufacturing, and also expanded trade with Eastern cities. Not all citizens shared in this growing prosperity. Widespread racial discrimination, typical of that practiced throughout the northern states, hampered the progress of the town's African-Americans. Segregation in public schools created inferior education opportunities -- a barrier to self-improvement and better jobs. Pennsylvania College: Founded in 1832, Pennsylvania College occupied this campus in 1837 on land purchased from distinguished local citizen Thaddeus Stevens, a prominent lawyer, Adams County state representative, and education advocate. Pennsylvania Hall (1837) ... housed all college functions. Linnaean Hall (1847) .. provided additional classrooms. The president's "White House" was completed in 1860. During the battle and afterward, the student buildings served as a Confederate hospital.
19. GETDEP_130929_103.JPG: Pennsylvania College: Founded in 1832, Pennsylvania College occupied this campus in 1837 on land purchased from distinguished local citizen Thaddeus Stevens, a prominent lawyer, Adams County state representative, and education advocate. Pennsylvania Hall (1837) ... housed all college functions. Linnaean Hall (1847) .. provided additional classrooms. The president's "White House" was completed in 1860. During the battle and afterward, the student buildings served as a Confederate hospital.
20. GETDEP_130929_107.JPG: McAllister's Grist Mill, an underground Railroad Station: James McAllister's mill was located along Rock Creek two miles southeast of Gettysburg. McAllister was a strong opponent of slavery and it is thought he used his mill to hide fugitive slaves on their flight north to freedom. Others in Gettysburg, including some members of the African-American AME church and President of the Lutheran Seminary. Rev. Samuel S. Schmucker, are also believed to have helped fugitive slaves.
21. GETDEP_130929_108.JPG: The Center of a Booming Town: This 1886 view looking southeast across Gettysburg's center square captures its 1860 appearance (excepting the three-story in the right center background). The David Wills house (ca 1816) is on the left and the Schick Building (ca 1820) is on the right. The photo shows a demonstration of the fire company's new pumper, the "General Meade."
22. GETDEP_130929_112.JPG: The Station During Battle: The Gettysburg Railroad Station: The station was one of the first buildings in Gettysburg to be used as a hospital. During the morning of July 1, 1863. Union army surgeons began arriving in town to set up hospitals. The Gettysburg Railroad station was one of the first buildings selected. For weeks, normal railroad services were suspended to meet the needs of the battle's wounded. Convalescing soldiers still able to walk began using the station's cupola as an observatory. Private James Sullivan, Co.. K 6th Wisconsin Volunteers, was one of those who made the climb up the spiral staircase to the cupola to observe Pickett's charge. Sullivan recalled, "There were ten to fifteen of s in the observatory, and they went wild with joy... I forgot all about my wound..." By July 10, train service was restored to the station, but traffic on the railroad was far from normal and would remain so for several months. The station was crowded with wounded departing for hospitals in the Eastern cities while food, medical supplies and volunteers to help the wounded were arriving.
23. GETDEP_130929_119.JPG: The Gettysburg Railroad Station as Sketched ca July 4 or 5, 1863: Alfred R. Waud, illustrator for Harper's Weekly magazine, sketched this view of the first block of Carlisle Street. It provides the only unobstructed, contemporary view of the station, in the right foreground. The railroad ore cars on their sides across Carlisle Street and other debris were positioned by Confederates to serve as a barricade against a possible Union attack. The Sheads and Buehler warehouse is seen just beyond the station building.
24. GETDEP_130929_122.JPG: Patrick James Patrick Sullivan, 6th Wisconsin Infantry ca 1861: Sullivan was wounded in his left shoulder on the morning of July 1, 1863 and convalesced at the railroad station hospital. On July 3, he and a dozen other ambulatory wounded climbed the spiral staircase to the station's bell cupola where they witnessed Pickett's climatic charge.
25. GETDEP_130929_125.JPG: Post-Battle US Military-Issued Gettysburg Railroad Time Table: Immediately following the battle, the US military seized control of the railroad line from Gettysburg to Hanover Junction. Normal business operation of the line was suspended for the remainder of the summer. The military set the schedules and determined traffic priority. The Gettysburg Railroad Company never received any compensation from the federal government for the use of their facilities and lost revenues.
26. GETDEP_130929_127.JPG: A Gettysburg Timeline: War Comes to a Northern Town: 1861 to 1863: The meeting of Lee's and Meade's armies at Gettysburg made the town's wartime experience different from other northern towns. Gettysburg's Black and White citizens both faced daunting, but different experiences. While the war was being fought in nearby Virginia, Gettysburg was frequently subjected to the rumor, "Rebels are coming!" White citizens tended to make light of such alarms, but the town's African-American citizens felt a well-founded fear of abduction and enslavement by the Confederates and would flee, with what belongings they could carry, into the countryside. The terrifying experience of the full fury of war came to Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. When the fighting briefly passed through the town's streets, civilians fled to their cellars in a state of shock and horror. When the clamor of combat ended, they emerged to find their streets occupied by enemy soldiers and the debris of battle. For two and a half days, Gettysburg lived under enemy occupation, forced to share their food, water and buildings and the constant danger of random missiles from the nearby battlefields. The battle miraculously claimed the life of only one citizen, Jenny Wade. The wounded, occupying every church, public building, and many private homes, presented an additional challenge. Gettysburg's women volunteered to nurse and feed the casualties from both armies during the battle, and for days afterwards without relief, an heroic deed. Where Sharpshooters Battled: Union soldiers occupied the buildings in the foreground and exchanged shots with Confederates who were in the houses in the background, along the southern edges of Gettysburg. Jenny Wade, the only citizen killed during the battle, was accidentally struck while baking bread in her sister's house. ... The Rebels Are Here! Local artist Dale Gallon depicts the panic among citizens created by the arrival of Confederate forces in the [sic] Gettysburg. During their overnight stay, they liberally patronized local stores paying with Confederate money. They burned some railroad freight cars but generally refrained from harassing citizens. Henry Jacobs recalled: "Those Confederates were very business-like... toward the townspeople, but were considerate enough." Gettysburg in 1863: View from Oak Ridge (just west of town) with Chambersburg Pike on the right. This is the view the Confedereates had of Gettysburg when they arrived along the pike on June 26. In left foreground is Carrie Shead's Oak Ridge Female Academy where members of the 97th NY regiment surrendered on the afternoon of July 1, 1863. The Academy was then converted to a hospital. Today the building is 331 Buford Avenue. Mag Palm: Mag Palm and her daughter Josephine rented a small house from Abraham Brian on Emmitsburg Road and fled her home as the Confederates arrived. Some residents recalled that before she left, Mag warned other Blacks of the impending danger and consequences of capture. Almost all heeded her example, and left for distant refuge. Uncertainty and Dread: Artist Don Troiani captures the ordeal of many citizens who sat in their cellars while bullets and artillery flew overhead, occasionally striking their houses. The Moses McLean family's experiences were similar to the artist's scene: "... there was a loud crash and a shell came tearing through a 15 inch brick wall... the dust was so thick that at first it was mistaken for smoke, but the shell did not explode." John Burn [sic], Civilian Hero of Gettysburg: John Burns did not take in his cellar to avoid the danger of flying missiles. On July 1, when the battle opened, he took to the field to fight alongside Union troops. He was wounded three times and his actions earned him national fame. Here he is seen convalescing in front of his house at the southeast corner of Chambersburg Street and West Street. Burns' home was replaced with the double house now on the site.
27. GETDEP_130929_133.JPG: The Rebels Are Here! Local artist Dale Gallon depicts the panic among citizens created by the arrival of Confederate forces in the [sic] Gettysburg. During their overnight stay, they liberally patronized local stores paying with Confederate money. They burned some railroad freight cars but generally refrained from harassing citizens. Henry Jacobs recalled: "Those Confederates were very business-like... toward the townspeople, but were considerate enough."
28. GETDEP_130929_135.JPG: Gettysburg in 1863: View from Oak Ridge (just west of town) with Chambersburg Pike on the right. This is the view the Confedereates had of Gettysburg when they arrived along the pike on June 26. In left foreground is Carrie Shead's Oak Ridge Female Academy where members of the 97th NY regiment surrendered on the afternoon of July 1, 1863. The Academy was then converted to a hospital. Today the building is 331 Buford Avenue.
29. GETDEP_130929_137.JPG: Mag Palm: Mag Palm and her daughter Josephine rented a small house from Abraham Brian on Emmitsburg Road and fled her home as the Confederates arrived. Some residents recalled that before she left, Mag warned other Blacks of the impending danger and consequences of capture. Almost all heeded her example, and left for distant refuge.
30. GETDEP_130929_142.JPG: Uncertainty and Dread: Artist Don Troiani captures the ordeal of many citizens who sat in their cellars while bullets and artillery flew overhead, occasionally striking their houses. The Moses McLean family's experiences were similar to the artist's scene: "... there was a loud crash and a shell came tearing through a 15 inch brick wall... the dust was so thick that at first it was mistaken for smoke, but the shell did not explode."
31. GETDEP_130929_144.JPG: John Burn [sic], Civilian Hero of Gettysburg: John Burns did not take in his cellar to avoid the danger of flying missiles. On July 1, when the battle opened, he took to the field to fight alongside Union troops. He was wounded three times and his actions earned him national fame. Here he is seen convalescing in front of his house at the southeast corner of Chambersburg Street and West Street. Burns' home was replaced with the double house now on the site.
32. GETDEP_130929_147.JPG: 1865 to 1942: All Aboard! The Gettysburg Railroad Station: Tourists sustained railroad passenger service until World War I, but the automobile led to its end in 1942. The economic recession following the end of the Civil War did not bypass Gettysburg. In 1870, a nearly bankrupt Gettysburg Railroad Company was forced to sell. Numerous changes in ownership and name occurred before it became part of the Western Maryland Railroad system in 1895. During the 1890s, a surging interest in visiting the battlefield, and a parallel growth in freight traffic, sparked a 25-year recovery. Passenger traffic reached a peak in the years immediately before the first World War. The post-war period saw dramatic growth in the use of private automobiles, and tourists began driving to Gettysburg in ever increasing numbers. By 1942, there was no longer sufficient demand to support passenger train service. The end came with little fanfare. At 4:00pm on December 31, 1942, the engineer's pull on the throttle started train No. 44 on its final journey to Baltimore. After 84 years, passenger service on Gettysburg's oldest and most historic railroad line was a thing of the past.
33. GETDEP_130929_152.JPG: A Train Preparing to Depart the Old Gettysburg Railroad Station, ca 1868: The locomotive represents an upgrade over the earlier wood-burning engines used on the line during the first ten years of operation. The tear of the head house is partially visible above the train cars.
34. GETDEP_130929_155.JPG: A Gettysburg Tourist Information Pamphlet, ca 1915: Beginning in the late 19th century, a number of pamphlets and guide books promoting the battlefield and surrounding attractions were published by competing local enterprises. This pamphlet was issued by the Western Maryland Railway Company and distributed to tourists arriving at its Gettysburg station.
35. GETDEP_130929_158.JPG: The Lincoln Highway (US route 30) in Adams County ca 1925: The Lincoln Highway, the nation's first continental east-west highway, created easy automobile access to Gettysburg. Though tourist visitation to Gettysburg grew through the 1920s, train travel to the town began to decline.
36. GETDEP_130929_160.JPG: The Final Passenger Trains: December 31, 1942: Western Maryland Railway Co.'s final day of passenger service from the old Gettysburg Railroad Company's station began with a run to Hagerstown. Engine No. 202 is pictured leaving for Hagerstown. It returned later in the day to make the final passenger run to Baltimore.
37. GETDEP_130929_178.JPG: A Gettysburg Timeline: Aftermath of the Battle: Summer & Fall, 1863: The departing armies left Gettysburg overwhelmed with wounded soldiers, thousands of visitors soon followed. Both armies departed, leaving insufficient food and medical supplies to care for 21,000 wounded soldiers. Within days, a second invasion of thousands arrived to help with the wounded, seek loved ones, or to tour the great battlefield. The cumulative effect was to overwhelm a town already burned by chaos and destruction. The situation was made worse by the condition of the battlefield. Poorly prepared graves for the fallen solders and untended dead horses drew swarms of "bottle" flies that increased the risk of contagious diseases. The smothering stench from the fields, not life-threatening but generally nauseating, did not disappear until the first frosts of autumn. By August, some degree of normalcy returned. The number of wounded remained in the Gettysburg area had fallen to 5,000, with most of those sent to a consolidated field hospital named Camp Letterman, a mile east of town along the York Pike. The railroad provided a lifeline of food and supplies for the wounded and local citizens, coffins for the dead, and transportation for thousands of wounded to be moved to city hospitals. A major problem requiring immediate attention were the thousands of Union soldiers lying in scattered and inadequate graves. A meeting of state representatives was held at the home of local attorney David Wills. The group recommended a common burial ground on the battlefield, leading to the creation of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, and to President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. David Wills: Local lawyer David Wills was a pivotal part of the plan to create a cemetery on the battlefield to inter, honor and memorialize the fallen Union soldiers. Governor Andrew Curtain of Pennsylvania appointed Wills to implement the concept. Wills acquired the site, arranged for the cemetery design, planned the dedication ceremony, and invited President Abraham Lincoln to set aside the grounds with a "few appropriate remarks." US Sanitary Commission Supply Depot: The Sanitary Commission took over the Fahnestock Brothers store at Baltimore and West Middle Streets for a relief supply warehouse. Dr HH Douglas noted that their mass of supplies piled up "... till the sidewalk was monopolized and even the street encroached upon." The goods... sustained thousands of wounded and helped feed the local population whose food stores were exhausted by the demands of soldiers of both armies.
38. GETDEP_130929_184.JPG: US Sanitary Commission Supply Depot ca July 9, 1863: The Sanitary Commission took over the Fahnestock Brothers store at Baltimore and West Middle Streets for a relief supply warehouse. Dr HH Douglas noted that their mass of supplies piled up. "... till the sidewalk was monopolized and even the street encroached upon." The goods seen here sustained thousands of wounded and helped feed the local population whose food stores were exhausted by the demands of soldiers of both armies.
39. GETDEP_130929_187.JPG: After the Battle: Although the photograph taken from York Street looking south along Stratton Street was taken well after the battle, the disarray closely resembles the after-battle chaos prevalent in Gettysburg's streets and yards. The cupola building in the center background is the German Reformed Church (still standing), which served as a hospital.
40. GETDEP_130929_190.JPG: Camp Letterman, September 1863: By August 1, the 5,000 remaining wounded soldiers were removed from the many hospital sites in and around Gettysburg to a consolidated facility. Camp Letterman was located a mile east of Gettysburg on the York Pike, now Route 30. The town buildings used as hospitals then returned to their normal purposes. Camp Letterman was closed on December 1, 1863.
41. GETDEP_130929_194.JPG: Access to the World: The Gettysburg Railroad Station: 1942 - Present: A Community Landmark Restored. After 1942, the station saw just limited use, and in 1955 the Western Maryland Railway leased it to the Gettysburg Travel Council, which maintained a popular visitor information center here until 2002. While the Travel Council rented the building, it was not responsible for major repairs. In 1996, local residents, alarmed at the rapid deterioration of the building, formed a Train Station Committee to seek a solution. In November 1998, the Borough of Gettysburg obtained title of the building, and with the help of local, state and federal officials, and many generous private donors, raised more than two million dollars to undertake a complete restoration. From 2002 to 2005, the Train Station Committee conducted careful historical, architectural, and archaeological work to provide a better understanding of how the building looked at various times in its history, and to plan the restoration. During this process, hundreds of rare documents and artifacts were uncovered, some now on display. The restoration got underway in January 2005 and was completed in the late spring of 2006. A special public ceremony to rededicate the building took place on November 18, 2006 on the 143rd anniversary of President Lincoln's arrival at the station. The building now serves the public as a museum and for various community functions.
42. GETDEP_130929_201.JPG: View of the Station while the home of the Gettysburg Travel Council, ca 1960.
43. GETDEP_130929_205.JPG: View of first floor of the "Head House" prior to restoration, Spring 2002: Note evidence of original double door (later bricked in) at the left of the picture.
44. GETDEP_130929_208.JPG: Removal of old station platform by Borough of Gettysburg Highway Department, Summer 2002: A rare Civil War era "switch tie" was discovered near the location of the backhoe.
45. GETDEP_130929_211.JPG: Dedication of the Gettysburg Railroad Station, November 18, 2006
46. GETDEP_130929_214.JPG: A Gettysburg Timeline: November 18 and 19, 1863: Lincoln in Gettysburg: Abraham Lincoln paid his only visit to Gettysburg to deliver a speech lasting less than three minutes. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address resonated throughout the world and forged an enduring association of Lincoln with Gettysburg. The Soldiers' National Cemetery dedication ceremony prompted another influx of almost 20,000 people Gettysburg. Despite good planning and preparation, Gettysburg was once again overwhelmed. President Lincoln and a small entourage of aides and dignitaries arrived at this railroad station at six pm on November 18, 1863. In the solitude of David Wills' guest room, Mr. Lincoln put the finishing touches on his dedication speech and the next day's ceremony. Following a parade along Baltimore Street to the dedication site on Cemetery Hill, and three hours of speeches and music, President Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address in less than three minutes. He then returned to town to meet and accompany local citizen-hero John Burns to a patriotic meeting in the Presbyterian Church. Twenty-four hours after arriving, Lincoln departed from the Gettysburg train station. He left behind a world-wide legacy for Gettysburg as the site of a "new birth of freedom." David Wills House: Built in 1816, this prominent three-story building was purchased in 1859 by David Wills for his residence and law office. President Abraham Lincoln stayed here as Wills' guest on the eve of the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery. While there, Lincoln made some final changes to his speech, which resonated around the world as the Gettysburg Address. The Presbyterian Church at Baltimore and East High Streets: Following the ceremony dedication, President Lincoln attended a patriotic service in this church featuring a speech by Ohio Governor David Tod. He invited local citizen-hero John Burns to accompany him. Inside, they shared a pew and then the President mingled briefly with the crown before boarding his train and departing Gettysburg. One hundred years later, another president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, regularly attended services in this church. The pews used by both presidents are still in place.
47. GETDEP_130929_220.JPG: The Procession to the Soldiers' National Cemetery, November 19, 1863: View looking north along Baltimore Street, showing the procession turning into the Emmitsburg Road (now Steinwehr Avenue). The procession eventually entered the cemetery grounds from the Taneytown Road. Lincoln himself had already passed by when this photograph was taken.
48. GETDEP_130929_224.JPG: Speakers Platform in the Soldiers' National Cemetery, November 19, 1863: The scene was photographed just as the dignitaries, including President Lincoln, were being seated upon the elevated speakers platform. The President can be clearly seen sitting among the group with his hat removed. It would be three hours before he would rise to deliver his "few appropriate remarks," forever after known as the Gettysburg Address.
49. GETDEP_130929_228.JPG: The Presbyterian Church at Baltimore and East High Streets: Following the ceremony dedication, President Lincoln attended a patriotic service in this church featuring a speech by Ohio Governor David Tod. He invited local citizen-hero John Burns to accompany him. Inside, they shared a pew and then the President mingled briefly with the crown before boarding his train and departing Gettysburg. One hundred years later, another president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, regularly attended services in this church. The pews used by both presidents are still in place.
50. GETDEP_130929_235.JPG: A Gettysburg Timeline: Dedicated to the Unfinished Work: Gettysburg: 1863-Today: Union veterans memorialized their Civil War experiences here, and their monuments remind visitors of their valor. Since the 1880s, the memorialization of the battlefield by Union veterans has generated interest in travel to Gettysburg. In response, the town evolved into a major tourist community, and manufacturing further boosted the local economy. However, racial discrimination in Gettysburg continued to mirror the country's racial attitudes, preventing African-Americans from sharing the town's prosperity. They coped by forming institutions such as the Lincoln Lodge (Masonic Order) and Lincoln Cemetery, maintained today as a memorial to African-American veterans of the Civil War and the town's African-American citizens. Local schools were integrated in the 1930s, but only 1960s civil rights legislation lifted remaining economic barriers. Gettysburg's economy has continued to change. Manufacturing has declined, but tourism continues to flourish. The 50th and 75th Battle Anniversary celebrations gained national interest and paved highways, most notably the Lincoln Highway, and the automobile improved Gettysburg's accessibility. Following WWII, former General of the Army and President Dwight David Eisenhower made Gettysburg his home. At the end of his second term in 1961, Ike and Mamie retired to their farm on the south end of the battlefield. Today the Eisenhower Farm National Historic Site and Gettysburg National Military Park have made Gettysburg and international tourist destination.
51. GETDEP_130929_242.JPG: The Franklin "Colored School": An elementary school for the town's African-American children opened on Franklin Street in 1884. While the school had excellent teachers, both Black and White, is was hampered by lack of adequate funds for maintenance and supplies. It closed when the Gettysburg schools integrated in 1932.
52. GETDEP_130929_246.JPG: "Black Folks" Memorial Day Parade, ca 1930: Evidence of racial discrimination in Gettysburg can be seen in this view of a separate Memorial Day parade, held annually by the town's African-American citizens until well after World War II. Here a group of veterans marches down South Washington Street on the way to ceremonies at Lincoln Cemetery.
53. GETDEP_130929_247.JPG: The Great Peace Jubilee, July 1 to 4, 1913: The first grand reunion of Union and Confederate veterans was held at Gettysburg to herald the 50th anniversary of the Battle. 55,400 veterans and over 100,000 visitors attended this world-wide event, characterized by the London Times as "the mingling of the Blue and the Gray [which] has eradicated forever the scars of the Civil War." The nation's African-American leaders disagreed, noting that racial equality for Blacks, the real purpose of the Civil War, had yet to be achieved. Right: Union and Confederate veterans greet each other in friendship.
54. GETDEP_130929_249.JPG: The National Garage in Gettysburg: Plans for a coast to coast highway from New York City to San Francisco were launched with the birth of the Lincoln Highway Association in 1913. Passing east to west through Gettysburg, the rapid growth of automobile travel in the 1920s led to the opening of many gas stations and repair shops like this one on Chambersburg Street.
55. GETDEP_130929_251.JPG: Home At Last! Ike and Mamie Return to Gettysburg, January 21, 1961: The Eisenhowers lived briefly in Gettysburg in 1918 when Ike commanded Camp Colt, the home of the US Army Tank Corps, and they had font memories of those early years. Following World War II, they bought a farm at the south end of the Battlefield, but Ike's two terms as president delayed his retirement. Upon leaving the White House, the Eisenhowers arrived to a warm welcome at the Hotel Gettysburg.
56. GETDEP_130929_254.JPG: Gettysburg and Abraham Lincoln: The Gettysburg Railroad Station: President Lincoln arrived and departed through this station to deliver his historic Gettysburg Address. On the evening of November 18, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln arrived at this station. His visit was occasioned by an invitation to make "a few appropriate remarks" at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery on November 19. When Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg, he exited his railroad coach onto the platform and then passed through the station onto Carlisle Street. There he was greeted by his host, David Wills, and other dignitaries. The group walked the short distance to the Wills' house on the town square. The next afternoon he delivered the "remarks" forever afterwards known as the Gettysburg Address. At six pm, he was back in this station to board his train for the return trip to Washington DC. Abraham Lincoln and the town of Gettysburg would forever be associated in world history with the enduring acclaim of the three-minute speech. The old station stands today as a witness and reminder of that great event. John Eckert, conductor for Lincoln's Train to Gettysburg: John Eckert was the conductor on the train that carried the President and his party from Hanover Junction to Gettysburg and back. Upon his return to the Junction, Lincoln presented Eckert with a silver watch and said to him, "Mr. Conductor, I thank you for returning us safely. May God bless you. May you live long and prosper." The Coach That Carried President Lincoln and His Party to Gettysburg? The train coach, believed to have carried President Lincoln to Gettysburg from Hanover Junction and back remained in service on the Gettysburg and Hanover Junction line until the early 1870s. It was then sent to Baltimore and converted to a crew bunkcar. It is seen here in its last days, showing significant modifications to its original appearance.
57. GETDEP_130929_260.JPG: John Eckert, conductor for Lincoln's Train to Gettysburg: John Eckert was the conductor on the train that carried the President and his party from Hanover Junction to Gettysburg and back. Upon his return to the Junction, Lincoln presented Eckert with a silver watch and said to him, "Mr. Conductor, I thank you for returning us safely. May God bless you. May you live long and prosper."
58. GETDEP_130929_264.JPG: The Coach That Carried President Lincoln and His Party to Gettysburg? The train coach, believed to have carried President Lincoln to Gettysburg from Hanover Junction and back remained in service on the Gettysburg and Hanover Junction line until the early 1870s. It was then sent to Baltimore and converted to a crew bunkcar. It is seen here in its last days, showing significant modifications to its original appearance.
59. GETDEP_130929_288.JPG: Western Maryland Station This is the original station where President Lincoln's train arrived November 18th, 1863. After the dedication of the national cemetery and the delivery of the Gettysburg Address on November 19th, the train departed from this station. Erected by Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania.
60. GETDEP_130929_291.JPG: Presented to the Western Maryland Railway Company in appreciation of its reenactment of Abraham Lincoln's visit to Gettysburg, Nov. 19, 1863 in the pageant Mr. Lincoln Goes to Gettysburg. Given October 18, 1952 The Gettysburg Chamber of Commerce
61. GETDEP_130929_294.JPG: Abraham Lincoln presented by The Lincoln Fellowship Sculpted by Joseph Kelly Dedicated November 19, 1981
62. GETDEP_130929_315.JPG: Ticket Window: Access to the World Beyond Gettysburg for Travelers Began at this Window. The station's rooftop bell pealed reminders to travelers fifteen minutes before the departure of each of two daily trains. Tickets were purchased through this slightly arched ticket window, where the ticket agent greeted customers from behind a counter. The station agent's office was a small, one-story structure attached to the outside east wall of the brick head house. Access to the room was through the small door to your right, and another door opening on to the covered passenger platform. The ticket window was probably open only for the fifteen minutes before each train's departure. The rest of the time, the station agent used the office to conduct train operation duties including monitoring departures and arrivals through the window at the rear of the office. The second floor was utilized as the office for the Gettysburg Railroad Company president and Board of Directors.
63. GETDEP_130929_318.JPG: The Gettysburg Railroad Station, 1859 to 1886: This model depicts in exact scale (one inch equals one foot) the appearance of the station or "head house" in 1863. The south wall has been left partially open to show how the first floor was divided into two rooms, providing separate waiting areas for women and children, and for men. This was in keeping with the public custom of the times. The floor-to-ceiling cylinder structure at the east end of the room contained a spiral staircase that led to the second floor, and from there to the roof and bell cupola. The second floor was one large room and housed the office of the president of the Gettysburg Railroad Company. The double doors on the rear side of the station led to the passenger boarding platform and provided separate access to each of the two waiting rooms.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
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