National Park ServiceNational Park Service
| Gettysburg National Military Park 97 Taneytown Road Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325 www.nps.gov/gett |
In 1865, a Gettysburg visitor expressed his vision of future battlefield preservation. Charles Coffin was a correspondent for the Boston Journal during the Gettysburg Campaign and returned two years later to re-visit the site of this terrible battle:
"Oh how it stirs one’s blood to stand here upon this spot, to recall that scene, walk over the ground, trace the yet visible outlines of the conflict and read the historic record—that there the hopes of the confederacy began to wane—that there the future of our country began to brighten."
"I hope that no vandal hand will ever be permitted to touch one of those trees, that no other growth will ever be permitted to rise, that the fences may never be removed or others erected, but that through the coming years the features may remain as they are. As the years roll on we shall understand more fully than now how great were the issues involved, and how momentous the decisions of that hour."
These words, written so long ago, resound today as Gettysburg National Military Park takes on one of its biggest projects for the year 2000 and for the next 15 to 20 years--the rehabilitation of the Gettysburg battlefield as nearly as possible to the way it looked in 1863.
The park’s new General Management Plan notes that changes to the landscapes have occurred over time, including the growth of trees, changing field sizes, and missing fences, orchards, and farm lanes. These changes obscure the key terrain, avenues of approach, and fields of fire that affected the outcome of the battle. As a result, some portions of the battlefield have changed physically. They can no longer convey to people today what it was like for the men who fought there.
The NPS believes that restoring these places to the way they were in 1863 will have a dramatic effect on battlefield interpretation and help Gettysburg National Military Park meet it fundamental purpose – preserving the historic landscape of the great battle. If we are successful, visitors will be able to understand both the major movements of the armies but also the individual features of the landscape that determined the outcome of the battle for the individual soldiers.
Over the next 15 to 20 years, we plan to restore fences, orchards and lanes that were present in 1863 but are now gone. We will remove non-historic woodlands and replace woodlots that were there during the battle but are now missing. This will improve visitors understanding of the battlefield, and also help make sense of the marvelous monuments, statues and markers placed by the soldiers to commemorate their experiences. Once again, the battlefield will be as it was, and as the veterans intended to keep it, when it was made a national military park.
Katie Lawhon
Public Information Officer
Gettysburg National Military Park
June 26, 2000
Gettysburg General Management Plan
Gettysburg National Military Park
97 Taneytown Road
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325