Evergreen Cemetery – formerly called Citizen's Cemetery and Ever Green Cemetery – is a historic 29.12 acre rural cemetery located just outside Gettysburg Borough, in Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District, and is surrounded by Gettysburg National Military Park and

Soldiers' National Cemetery Gettysburg National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery created for Union casualties from the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought between July 1 to 3, 1863, resulted in the larges ...

. The cemetery played a strategic role in the July 1 to 3, 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. Four months after the battle, at the dedication of the immediately-adjacent National Cemetery, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his " Gettysburg Address" from a platform in Evergreen Cemetery.

History

Founding

The Ever Green Cemetery Association of Gettysburg was established at a November 29, 1853 meeting. The association managed the property and oversaw selection of its caretakers. By April 3, 1854, 118 lots had been sold, and the association members' first payments were due. The first interment took place on October 29. Opening ceremonies were held on November 7, 1854, and in hi
dedication address
Reverend John H. C. Dosh asked, "Could a more lovely spot have been chosen?" The

Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse (1855) is a historic building located at 799 Baltimore Pike in Adams County, Pennsylvania. During the American Civil War, the gatehouse played an important role in the July 1 to 3, 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. It is a c ...

was designed by Philadelphia architect Stephen Decatur Button, built by local contractors George and Henry Chritzman, and completed in November 1855. The Italianate gatehouse served as the caretaker residence.

Battle of Gettysburg

Evergreen Cemetery is eponymous with

Cemetery Hill Cemetery Hill is a landform on the Gettysburg Battlefield that was the scene of fighting each day of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863). The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive " fish-hook" line, the hill is gently ...

, the landform noted as the keystone of the Union position during the Battle of Gettysburg. Major-General Oliver Otis Howard lined the cemetery's high ground with cannons, turning it into an "artillery platform," and made its gatehouse into XI Corps (Union Army) headquarters. At dusk on July 2, 5 Louisiana regiments under Brigadier-General Harry T. Hays and 3 North Carolina regiments under Colonel

Isaac E. Avery Isaac Erwin Avery (December 20, 1828 – July 3, 1863) was a planter and an officer in the Confederate States Army. He died at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Avery is most remembered for a poignant blood-stained note ...

commenced the Battle of East Cemetery Hill, charging Howard's artillery batteries from the east. "Federal soldiers in the Cemetery laid many of the tombstones on the ground" to limit damage, and some of the XI Corps batteries and infantry used the grave monuments "for shelter from the enemy's fire". Historian Frederick Hawthorne wrote of Howard's successful defense: “Lying in reserve in the Evergreen Cemetery, they (

73rd Pennsylvania Infantry The 73rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 73rd Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania beginning in June 1861 and muster ...

) rushed out through the cemetery gateway to help drive the Confederates away from Rickett’s and Weidrich’s batteries.” Evergreen experienced three days as battlefield, and its resulting condition inspired a Union officer to lament: "A beautiful cemetery it was, but now is trodden down, laid a waste, desecrated. The fences are all down, the many graves have been run over, beautiful lots with iron fences and splendid monuments have been destroyed or soiled, and our infantry and artillery occupy those sacred grounds where the dead are sleeping. It is enough to make one mourn." Two Confederate soldiers mortally wounded during the battle were buried in Evergreen Cemetery.

Post-battle

1904 Cope map - Gettysburg National Cemetery

The Consecration of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg took place on November 19, 1863. The speaker's platform used by orator Edward Everett, and then by President Abraham Lincoln to deliver his Gettysburg Address, was located just east of the National Cemetery, on the grounds of Evergreen Cemetery. From 1893 to 1916, the Gettysburg Electric Railway operated along the cemetery's east and south borders. Following the 1917 demolition of the trolley railway, Evergreen Cemetery expanded southward. In 1972, the " Evergreen Cemetery archway house" was designated an historic district contributing structure by the Gettysburg Borough Council (1 of 38 outside of the borough). Civilian remains at the site of the 1804 Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church cemetery were reinterred at Evergreen Cemetery in 1992.

Photo gallery

File:Evercemadams gatehouse.jpg, Gatehouse File:Gaddress frassanito.jpg, The only published photographic analysis places the site of the platform for the Gettysburg Address at the graves of George Kitzmiller, Israel Yount and John Koch. File:Wade monument.jpg,

Ginnie Wade Mary Virginia Wade (May 21, 1843 – July 3, 1863), also known as Jennie Wade or Ginnie Wade, was a resident of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Battle of Gettysburg. At the age of 20, she was the only direct civilian casualty of the battle ...

, lone civilian casualty of the Battle of Gettysburg File:Evercemadams burns.jpg, John L. Burns, geriatric civilian combatant at the Battle of Gettysburg File:Evercemadams culp.jpg, Esaias Jesse Culp's headstone shows battle damage. File:Evercemadams huber.jpg, Frederick Huber's headstone shows battle damage. File:Evercemadams_maurey.jpg, Maurey headstone shows battle damage. File:Evercemadams mcpherson.jpg, McPherson's obelisk was laid over by Union troops. File:Evercemadams smyser.jpg, Smyser's obelisk was laid over by Union troops. File:Evercemadms battcas usa.jpg, Some 69 Union battle casualties remain permanently. File:Evercemadms battcas csa.jpg, Confederate casualty cenotaphs. Due to local outrage, the remains were re-located to unmarked locations. File:Evercemadams thorns.jpg, At six months pregnant,

Elizabeth Thorn Elizabeth Möser Thorn (December 28, 1832 – October 17, 1907) was an American cemetery caretaker who served as the caretaker of Evergreen Cemetery (Adams County, Pennsylvania), Evergreen Cemetery in Adams County, Pennsylvania, while her husban ...

acted as caretaker in her husband's absence and buried more than 100 casualties. Peter Thorn served in the 138th PA Volunteers. File:Evercemadams wills.jpg,

David Wills David Wills may refer to: * Dave Wills (sportscaster) (1964–2023), American sportscaster; radio voice of the Tampa Bay Rays * David Wills (voice actor) (born 1970), American voice actor * David Wills (musician) (born 1954), American musician; co-f ...

organized and executed the adjacent National Cemetery. File:Evercemadams gh w cannons.jpg, Stewart's Battery straddled the Baltimore Pike, just north of the Gatehouse.

References

External links

Evergreen Cemetery Tour
is a seventeen-part, comprehensive, audio-visual introduction to this subject by Debra A. Novotny, who has served both as a Licensed Battlefield Guide and as a boardmember of the Evergreen Cemetery Association. * * {{Battle of Gettysburg American Civil War cemeteries Buildings and structures in Adams County, Pennsylvania Cemetery Hill Cemeteries in Pennsylvania Gettysburg Battlefield 1854 establishments in Pennsylvania Rural cemeteries