17 Curious Gettysburg Facts That Will Amaze You!

Gettysburg is a small town, more like a borough in the US state of Pennsylvania.

This town is known for the bloodiest battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Additionally, it is associated with the famous Gettysburg address given by the then US President, Abraham Lincoln.

The population of this town was 7,620 based on the census report of the year 2010. The town hosts thousands of visitors at its attraction or tourist point, named the Gettysburg National Battlefield at the famous Gettysburg National Military Park.

During the Gettysburg campaign in July 1863, the battle of Gettysburg was fought between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac.

The battle of Gettysburg was won by the Union forces led by George G. Meade. President Abraham Lincoln further criticized him in the Gettysburg address for his attempt to defeat Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. This civil war battlefield gave rise to many historical places, namely the cemetery ridge, the park, the peach orchard, and many more.

Read on to learn more about the bloodiest battle of Gettysburg. For similar historical knowledge, check out Hands Cave Argentina and New York Statue of Liberty facts.

The History Of Gettysburg

The American Civil War experienced an exciting twist due to the decisive victory at the Battle of Gettysburg. This battle is called the 'high water mark' of the Confederacy because of the advance of Confederate soldiers. Their advance was thought of as intimidation and the largest movement of soldiers trying to attack the union forces.

The Gettysburg boundary was known to have been established in the year 1786. During the Civil War, the battle of Gettysburg was fought between the confederate soldiers and the union troops.

For three days, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's army, along with Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, Brig. Gen. George Pickett, and other major generals, fought against Union soldiers led by Major General George G. Meade.

The battle is also famous for Pickett's charge. Lee's plan, known as the Pickett–Pettigrew–Trimble Charge, was carried out on the third day of the battle. Pickett's charge was a plan to overtake the cemetery hill from enemy territory with the help of an infantry assault. Meade and the federal army eventually won the battle.

Based on the aftermath recorded by the war department, it was clear that both the Confederate and Union armies experienced a casualty rate of up to 51,000. The wagon train that the Confederates had had a length of almost 17 mi (27.36 km) to carry the wounded back to Virginia.

Even though the citizens' lives were kept under consideration during the war, the battle of Gettysburg saw one civilian death, that of a 20-year-old woman, Jenny Wade. She got shot accidentally during the crossfire.

The historically significant spaces of the battle of Gettysburg are still visited, celebrated, and looked up to for the situations that the Union lines overcame or had to face during the Civil War.

The Geographical Location Of Gettysburg

The geographical reference of Gettysburg is often talked about while talking about the Gettysburg campaign during the American Civil War.

Gettysburg is a small town with a land area of only 1.7 sq mi (4.40 sq km). This borough is located in the US state of Pennsylvania at the intersection of US Routes 30 and 15.

The town has two bodies of water flowing through it, the tributary named Rock Creek and the Potomac River.

Both of these bodies of water flow across the eastern regions of the town. Because of this town's kind of historical importance, it is considered the principal city of the PA Micropolitan Statistical Area, Gettysburg.

The Shenandoah Valley is another space with a firm historical and geographical reference from the battle. This is mainly because of the third day's battle plan that Lee had to push the battle up so that they could overtake the union territory.

Before Gen Meade could launch an attack, Lee and his army decided to withdraw, which was another factor that constituted the Union soldiers' victory.

The battle was mainly fought in Gettysburg due to its roads and connectivity in the area. The town had around ten different routes, which helped the confederates enter the place easily. Hence, the geographical placement of the location played an important factor in the battle of Gettysburg being fought where it was.

The People And Culture Of Gettysburg

The victory at the Gettysburg battlefield greatly influenced the demographics and traditions of this borough.

Based on the census reports from 2010, it was concluded that the small borough of Gettysburg had a population of 7,620 individuals. This consisted of people that belonged to the African-American, Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, Asian, and Latino communities.

Gettysburg borough has a reasonable tourism rate that began in the 19th century. This was the result of the battle of Gettysburg and the remains of the battle that attracted the public.

Due to the increase in tourism in this small town, manufacturing companies boomed simultaneously. A few of these industries are hotels, lodging, entertainment, souvenir shops, and modern tourism services.

What is Gettysburg famous for?

Due to the battle, the town of Gettysburg is highly famous for tourism and war references. Keep reading to know more about these references.

The most famous thing about Gettysburg town is the battle of Gettysburg. This battle was fought in July 1863 for three days between the confederate and union army.

This makes the Gettysburg battlefield one of the most famous spaces in the town. With the neck-to-neck fighting throughout the three-day battle, a massive number of deaths followed the aftermath of this battle.

Hence, Gettysburg has a vast soldiers' national cemetery where all the brave fighters belonged to the Union cavalry during the battle of Gettysburg rest.

This space was where the then President Abraham Lincoln had given his short and most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address in the memory of over 3500 soldiers from the union territory who had fought, won, and perished there.

The battlefield also offers around 1400 famous monuments from the battle of Gettysburg. These outdoor monuments and sculptures mark the virtual spaces where the units of union and confederate armies fought in the battle.

A few of the famous sculptures to name can be the Oak Ridge, the Cemetery Ridge, and the Seminary Ridge. These three spaces marked the different positions the armies were placed at, to take over the enemy. This helps the tourists' and visitors' imaginations to go back in time to the scenes of the battle.

Apart from the battlefield tour, the visitor's center and the museum prove to be another famous structure at Gettysburg. The museum is widely known for the painting named Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama.

This was a painting by Paul Philippoteaux, the French artist of the late 19th century. Additionally, the museum consists of around 11 galleries that showcase many other illustrations, videos, voice recordings of the soldiers, civilians, and military generals talking about the aftermath of the battle on the whole.

In addition to this, the Gettysburg Museum of History. It is a free museum, exhibits the different, old and antique, artifacts that belonged to the era of the battle of Gettysburg. This museum also has a small shop where tourists can buy souvenirs to remember Gettysburg history while living their day-to-day lives.

The little round top, also known as Devil's den, is another famous place in Gettysburg. The boulders herein helped the armies on the union line turn the wind of the battle of Gettysburg as it enabled them to attack and defeat the confederates without being seen directly.

Hence, it is alternately named the Devil's den. In addition to this, Culp's hill and Cemetery hill were the most significant locations during the battle of Gettysburg mainly because they held the center and the right side position for the Union armies.

A few houses have been reconstructed and maintained to exhibit the ongoings of the battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. Shriver house has now become a museum for tourists as it showcases the tough and tense times during the battle wherein the confederates used the house as a nest to attack the Union troops outside Cemetery Hill.

Even though there weren't many civilian deaths during the battle of Gettysburg, Jenny Wade, a 20-year-old girl, was the only civilian killed in the crossfire. Hence, her house is a place to visit the unfortunate situations of the battle for many tourists.

In addition to the Shiver and Jenny Wade houses, the David Wills House is a reconstructed and maintained space of historical importance. Abraham Lincoln had stayed for the Gettysburg address and prepared his speech for the battle of Gettysburg overnight.

This house also exhibits the lives of the civilians after the war, as they were left behind to clean up and take care of the injured.

With all the favorite things mentioned above, one of the other famous things in Gettysburg that does not concern Gettysburg's battle is the Eisenhower National Historic Site. This place was where President Eisenhower and his wife lived and entertained a lot of important individuals, like Winston Churchill and the like.

This place is filled with genuine and foreign artifacts, a collection of timeless paintings owned by Eisenhower, and a small scavenger hunt adventure for the youngsters who visit there.

Did You Know...

The Battle of Gettysburg is known to be the 15th bloodiest battle in the history of the American Civil War.

The battle of Gettysburg, even though not the most widely remembered, is considered one of the costliest battles in the history of war.

The cost is measured not only in terms of the money and aid required to fight the war, but also in the number of Union and Confederate soldiers who died while fighting valiantly in the Battle of Gettysburg.

While calculating the same, the second day of the battle was considered the costliest as there were around 100,000 soldiers that fought that day, out of which about 20,000 were killed.

That day had the highest number of fatalities of any of the three days.Even though the civil war raged on for a long time after the battle of Gettysburg, the union leaders' decisive victory in this battle pushed the baton of achievements forward, allowing union officials to become more powerful as the war progressed.

Another reason why this battle is considered important is that women were known to have fought on both sides to win the battle.

There were a total of nine women who related to and cared deeply about the war's cause. These women were enlisted by army officials, trained to fight a war, and allowed to join hands with their male counterparts on the battlefield.

This was one of the events marked during the Civil War wherein the men weren't the only ones fighting, with women staying behind and looking after their families.

The Battle of Gettysburg reenactment happens every anniversary for the visitors and tourists to witness the events that occurred during the battle. This is where one can relive the importance of this battle during the Civil War every year.

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