Soldiers’ National Cemetery

Historical Sites, Historical SitesGettysburg, PA

Across from the battlefield visitor center, this peaceful knoll overlooking the town is where Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address in 1863. The cemetery came about of necessity.

Thousands of soldiers who died at Gettysburg had been hastily buried in shallow graves in scattered fields, there awaiting final burial. A group of Gettysburg citizens, with assistance from Pennsylvania, founded and funded the purchase of the land and the re-interment of the soldiers.

Soldiers’ National Monument stands at the center of the cemetery. The text of Lincoln’s speech is transcribed on a plaque at a memorial. Veterans of all major U.S. conflicts are buried here. Open daily, dawn till sunset.

Soldiers’ National Cemetery

Gettysburg, PA

Adams County, PA