Soldiers' National Cemetery

Stop on Gettysburg Battlefield Historic Tour, a free self-guided tour.

This sacred ground is the final resting place for over 3,500 Union soldiers who fell at Gettysburg, as well as veterans from subsequent American wars. Established just months after the battle through the efforts of local attorney David Wills, the cemetery was designed with a semicircular plan radiating from a central Soldiers' National Monument. Burials are organized by state, creating a powerful statement about national unity. On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address at the cemetery's dedication. Though he spoke for only two minutes (following Edward Everett's two-hour oration), Lincoln's 272 words redefined the war's purpose, shifting emphasis from preserving the Union to achieving a new birth of freedom and affirming that all men are created equal. The speech, initially dismissed by some newspapers, became recognized as one of history's greatest orations. Walking among the graves, including sections for unknown soldiers whose identities were lost, brings home the human cost of the battle. The cemetery remains an active burial ground for veterans. Visiting here provides a contemplative conclusion to a battlefield tour, a place to reflect on sacrifice, the meaning of the war, and Lincoln's challenge that the living must ensure these deaths were not in vain.