| Most visitors to the Gettysburg Battlefield are aware of Evergreen Cemetery but relatively few ever pass beyond the famous brick gatehouse alongside the Baltimore Pike. This gatehouse is possibly the towns most recognizable manmade landmark thanks to many Civil War era photos. To stroll the grounds of Evergreen Cemetery is to look at the history of Gettysburg before, during and after the battle. On this page we present some well known grave sites along with others not so well known. We may occasionally replace various photos.
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| Peter Thorn was hired as the first caretaker of the cemetery on Feb. 9, 1856. On Aug. 16, 1862 he enlisted in the 138th Pennsylvania Infantry where he served for nearly 3 years. His wife Elizabeth was left behind to care for the cemetery. At the time of the battle she was six months pregnant. This beautiful monument of her titled "The Gettysburg Civil War Women's Memorial" was dedicated on Nov. 16, 2002. The sculptor was Ron Tunison. Peter and Elizabeth both died in 1907. Their adjoining graves are approximately 200 yards from the gatehouse.
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| The story of Jennie Wade and Jack Skelly is told elsewhere on our site. Their graves are approximately 100 paces apart. Jennie's statue was sculpted in Italy. The marble is from the Carrara quarries of the Apuan Alps. Michelangelo obtained the marble for his masterpieces from this same region.
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| James Gettys lived from 1759-1815. In 1785 he purchased 116 acres of land from his father. He divided the land into 210 lots and offered them for sale on Jan. 10, 1786. Thus the town of Gettysburg was born. In 1815 tragedy struck the Gettys family. James, his wife Mary and his mother all died of fever within days of each other. To the best of our knowledge Gettysburg has no surviving members of its founding family. |
John Burns, 1793-1872. John was a Gettysburg citizen and a veteran of the War of 1812. On July 1, 1863 he picked up his old rifle and at the age of sixty-nine joined the fighting just west of town. He was the only civilian to fight and did well until being wounded 3 times. He was a local celebrity for the remainder of his life. John Burns died of pneumonia on Feb. 4, 1872. |
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| Just west of town was the Oak Ridge Seminary for girls. At the time of the battle Carrie Sheads was the principal. Her house, which still stands along the Chambersburg Pike, was turned into a hospital. All four of her brothers served in the Union army and all four either died during the war or soon after. Standing at the Sheads family plot can be an emotional experience. Inscribed on the headstones of the four brothers is the Latin phrase: Dulce et decorum est pro Patria mori. (It is sweet and glorious to die for one's country.)
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William H. Tipton was born in Gettysburg. He made a very successful living as a photographer. During his career he photographed nearly every monument and often took photos of the famous visitors to the battlefield. William died on Sept. 20, 1929. |
Oscar Shaw and his wife Mary Louise resided in Great Neck, New York but choose to be buried in Gettysburg where they purchased a summer home. Oscar enjoyed a successful career in radio, stage and film. He may be best remembered for appearing with the Marx Brothers in their first movie, The Cocoanuts. |
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This iron fence separates Evergreen Cemetery from the Soldiers' National Cemetery. At the time of the battle the fence stood across from the White House in Washington, D.C. partly enclosing Lafayette Square. It was moved to the present location in 1933. |
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Harvey McKnight, 1843-1914. He was the 4th President of Pennsylvania College. (today Gettysburg College) Six of the first seven presidents of the college are buried in Evergreen Cemetery. Harvey's father Thomas McKnight was the founder of McKnightstown, Pennsylvania. |
Michael Jacobs, 1808-1871. At the time of the battle he was Professor of Mathematics and Science at Pennsylvania College. He was well known in the field of meteorology and recorded detailed weather data three times per day. His records have provided historians with very accurate weather conditions during the battle. |
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Colonel Emmor B. Cope, Cartographer, 1834-1927. After the battle of Gettysburg Emmor was in charge of surveying and mapping the battlefield. In 1922 he was appointed as the first superintendent of the Gettysburg National Military Park. |
David Kendlehart, Shoemaker, 1813-1891. He owned a boot and shoe store in Gettysburg and ran it for over forty years. At the time of the battle he was president of the borough council. |
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David Wills, Lawyer, 1831-1894. He studied law under Thaddeus Stevens, was admitted to the Adams County Bar in 1854 and was one of Gettysburg's most prominent lawyers. He may be best remembered for his involvement in the establishment of the Soldiers' National Cemetery and for inviting Abraham Lincoln to the dedication ceremony. |
Edward McPherson, 1830-1895. In September of 1862 he was an aide on the staff of General John Reynolds. Ironically, Reynolds was killed very near the McPherson farm just west of town. This photo shows the McPherson family plot. |
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Salome Myers Stewart, Nurse, 1842-1922. At the time of the battle Salome was employed by the Gettysburg public school system as an assistant to the principal. On July 2 she served as a nurse at the Roman Catholic Church near her home. During the 1880's she was elected Treasurer of the National Association of Army Nurses. Buried next to Salome is her son Henry Stewart. |
George Chritzman, Builder, 1790-1871. George was a successful builder and was responsible for some of the most distinguished buildings in Gettysburg. He may be best remembered for building the Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse in 1855. The total cost was $1,025.00. His wife Mary is buried next to him. |
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On June 21, 1861 Pvt. Leander Welsh had the distinction of being the first Union soldier to be buried in Evergreen Cemetery. He died the day before of typhoid fever at the Eagle Hotel in Gettysburg. |
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Samuel Weaver, Photographer, 1811-1871. In 1852 he opened the first photography firm in Gettysburg. From October 1863 to March 1864 he supervised the exhumation of the Union dead for re-interment in the Soldiers' National Cemetery. Samuel was killed in a freak train accident in York, Pennsylvania on February 10, 1871. After having both legs cut off in the accident he uttered his last words, "I am badly hurt". |
Solomon Powers, Stone Cutter, 1804-1883. In 1838 he moved his family from Baltimore to Gettysburg and opened one of the first quarries in the area. Located at Powers Hill his quarry provided the stone for the base of the Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse. Solomon died on September 1, 1883. |
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Frederick Huber, 1842-1862. He was the second Gettysburg native to die from battle wounds. Originally buried on May 31, 1862 at Fair Oaks, Virginia. His father traveled to the battlefield and brought his son home. Frederick's headstone was damaged during the battle at Gettysburg and remains in its damaged state to this day. |
Rev. Dr. Samuel Schmucker, Theologian, 1799-1873. Samuel was one of the most influential men in the Lutheran Church and helped establish the Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1826. He was also one of the founders of Evergreen Cemetery. |
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Some of the headstones that were damaged during the battle are not identified as such. Some, such as this one, are. |
| For further reading we highly recommend the book, 'Beyond the Gatehouse, Gettysburg's Evergreen Cemetery' written by the present caretaker, Brian A. Kennell.
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Music playing is "Barbara Allen"
