The Dreadful Aftermath.
The effects of the battle were felt in Pennsylvania for many months after the armies had left. Approximately 5,500 soldiers from both armies were killed in the battle, with 22,000 wounded soldiers packed into churches, barns, and private homes throughout Adams County. Some of the wounded had no shelter except for the shade of trees. Overtaxed Union surgeons who had treated Union wounded continuously during the battle were now left with thousands of wounded Confederates to care for. Even with the the help of Gettysburg citizens and Confederate surgeons who remained, the situation appeared to be near calamity. But lessons learned from other battlefields had not been lost on the US Army Medical Department. Adams County was invaded once again that July, but this time by medical personnel with equipment and supplies who established a central hospital east of Gettysburg, dubbed "Camp Letterman". Wounded men were collected from remote locations to corps hospitals and then to Camp Letterman where surgeons and staff went immediately to work while civilian commissions assisted with nursing care and shelter. Once an individual was strong enough, he was shipped by rail to a permanent hospital in Philadelphia or Baltimore. Despite the best efforts of the army and charitable organizations, an additional 4,000 would succumb to their injuries either in Gettysburg or in the hospitals where they had been sent. Approximately 10,000 soldiers were captured during the fighting and both armies were burdened with their captives until they could be sent to prison camps.
The National Cemetery
23. THE SOLDIERS' NATIONAL CEMETERY |
With the wounded being cared for, attention turned to the sad condition of battlefield burials. Patriotic citizens of Adams County undertook efforts to establish a proper burial place for the Union dead and with funds provided by the Pennsylvania legislature, the process of reburials began that fall. The Soldiers National Cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863, and was the occasion of President Lincoln's highly regarded Gettysburg Address, when the president not only dedicated a cemetery but gave the north a reason to continue the struggle to reunite the nation, the focus of the American Civil War.
For the residents of Gettysburg, the experiences of those three terrible days were vivid for many years to follow. Many, such as store clerk Daniel Skelly, recounted their stories of the battle in letters, journals, and reminiscences. Many of these, such as the story told by Gettysburg school teacher Sallie Myers, related much of the horror of the battle and its immediate effect on the townspeople. Though life eventually returned to normal and repairs were made to damaged buildings, many homes in Gettysburg today still bear the scars of the battle.
By no means did the Battle of Gettysburg decide the final outcome of the American Civil War, but it was one of the more decisive victories for the Union Army of the Potomac and came at a time where northern support for the Union cause was wavering. It was a turning point in the fortunes of the Confederacy- never again would Lee's Army of Northern Virginia be able to strike so far into the North or seriously threaten the northern capitol. Gettysburg was the beginning of the final path, which led these armies to the war's bloody close at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865.
This nation was never the same after Gettysburg.
| The Battle Begins | "A most terrible day..." | "I will strike him there." | The Last Full Measure |
| The Battle of Gettysburg in Detail |
| Army Organization |
US Order of Battle |
CS Order of Battle |
| Voices of Battle
| Camp Letterman | The Great Reunion | Tour Home |
National Park Service
Gettysburg National Military Park
97 Taneytown Road
Gettysburg, PA 17325
Author: John Heiser, GETT
Date: April 2004
www.nps.gov/gett
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