The fate of the United States hung in the balance on the first three days of July 1863, as the Battle of Gettysburg unfolded in the Pennsylvania countryside. When it ended, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was turned away from its incursion into Union territory by Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade’s Army of the Potomac.

It was a turning point in the war and the Civil War’s bloodiest battle, with 51,000 soldiers killed, wounded or captured. The Union soldiers whose blood stained the rural Pennsylvania fields were honored in President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address for their “last full measure of devotion.” Every year, 1.5 million visitors visit Gettysburg’s hallowed ground, which is administered by the National Park Service (NPS).

Our Role

We have worked with NPS for more than 20 years to acquire key parcels for Gettysburg National Military Park, including the historic Harmon Farm, where much of the fighting on the first day of the battle took place. The NPS had long sought to acquire the property and, in 2011, with the support of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation and funds from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, we helped the agency buy the property from the former Gettysburg Country Club. Now, instead of hosting a nine-hole golf course, this hallowed ground will be restored to its historic 1863 setting.

Why This Project Matters

Even though Gettysburg marks a pivotal moment in U.S. history, not all of the land where the battle was fought has been protected. Some parcels have been lost forever to development. Thanks to our Battlefield Revolving Fund, established with grants from the Gilder Foundation, we have been able to acquire and donate important sites to the national military park, including:

• 28 acres on East Cavalry Field (in partnership with Adams County);
• 23 acres of the Blocher Farm at the base of Barlow’s Knoll;
• A historic private property adjacent to the park along Baltimore Pike;
• The last privately held commercial land in Gettysburg National Military Park, a former motel located in the area of Pickett’s Charge;
• A nine-acre inholding — property within the park’s boundary — that saw intense attacks and counterattacks at Devil’s Den on the second day of the battle; and
• The 100-acre Harmon Farm, the scene of significant fighting on the first day of the three-day battle, which was formerly operated as a nine-hole golf course

We also assisted the Richard King Mellon Foundation in acquiring and donating to the park two key parcels totaling 313 acres.

Learn More

• Gettysburg National Military Park