Gettysburg was first settled around 1761 when Samuel Gettys built a tavern in the area. Twenty-five years later Samuel’s son laid out the town of 21 lots around the tavern. Today the town is called Gettysburg and in 1800, was called the county seat. All of this you will learn on a trip there.
The town had grown to 2,400 citizens by 1860. There were approximately 450 buildings housing carriages, manufacturing, shoemaking with tanneries as well as merchants, banks and taverns. There were also several learning facilities. There were ten roads that led into the town and would bring the Union and Confederate Armies into the county in 1863.
The Northern Army of Virginia with 75,000 men led by General Robert E. Lee was moving north to central Pennsylvania. At the end of June Lee received word that 95,000 men of the Union Army of the Potomac that was being led by Major General George G. Meade were following them. What happened next was that both armies came together at Gettysburg.
What happened next was a group of Confederate men went looking for supplies while the Northern troops unknowingly had gone out looking for supplies as well. What occurred was the bloodiest battle fought in the Civil War. After a terrible three day battle it was several months before the citizens returned to Gettysburg. A well-known Gettysburg attorney named David Wills became a state agent to set up an establishment for construction of a Soldiers National Cemetery which would be the final resting place for the deceased Union soldiers.
Wills also planned a dedication ceremony and invited President Lincoln. On November 19, 1863 Lincoln delivered the now famous Gettysburg Address. Today Gettysburg has become a tourist attraction due to the National Cemetery and the Gettysburg National Military Park.
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