The Battle of Gettysburg

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The Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3

Important elements of the battle and its aftermath are featured on various NPS web sites. These online features offer unique information including: a museum exhibit about the objects used by the soldiers, a lesson plan on the men's experiences, a history of the preservation efforts at the battlefield and a database about Civil War soldiers.

The following web sites offer opportunities to learn more about one of the most important battle in American history. Together they also introduce you to the wonderfully varied programs of the NPS and a sampling of our online products.

Camp Life: Civil War Collections from Gettysburg

This exhibit highlights the common, everyday items that Civil War soldiers used off the battleground, often to fight boredom. This exhibit is a product of the Museum Management Program, which supports the development and coordination of NPS policies, standards, and procedures for managing museum collections, including cultural and natural objects, archives and manuscripts.

Choices and Commitment: The Soldiers at Gettysburg

This classroom-ready lesson plan allows students to trace the course of the battle and consider the wrenching personal choices that were made by soldiers on each side. It is presented by the Teaching with Historic Places program of the National Register of Historic Places, which provides materials for educators and preservationists who want to enliven learning by making historic places part of their programs.

Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Profile

Image of siloutted statue of mounted officer

Since the Civil War there have been many initiatives to preserve the battlefield. These are presented here by the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) of Heritage Preservation Services. Also included is a map of protected and unprotected historic land.

Civil War Soldiers System

Photo of African American Union Regiment

The Civil War Soldiers System is a hub of information about the servicemen from both sides of the war, a list of regiments, descriptions of 384 significant battles, sources of information and suggestions for where to learn more. While information is continually added to the site by staff of the Information Technology Center, you can already search the last names of U.S. Colored Troops in an online database.