About Gettysburg National Military Park
Gettysburg National Military Park preserves much of the landscape on which Union and Confederate armies fought from July 1 through July 3, 1863. The Union victory ended General Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North and made Gettysburg one of the defining battlefields of the American Civil War; the park also includes Gettysburg National Cemetery, where President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863.
Visitors can follow the 16-stop battlefield auto tour, walk historic ridges and farm lanes, explore monuments and artillery positions, visit the national cemetery, and attend ranger-led walks, talks, and living-history programs. The Museum and Visitor Center provides orientation through artifacts, multimedia exhibits, the film "A New Birth of Freedom," and the restored Gettysburg Cyclorama. The combination of preserved terrain, firsthand interpretation, and nationally significant memorial landscapes makes the park essential for understanding both the battle and the larger meaning Americans assigned to it.
