HistoricSiteMarkers
Civil War

Gettysburg Campaign

Freedom Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

The Union Army 1st Corps camped here June 30, 1863, on the way to Gettysburg. Followed later by the 11th and 3rd Corps, they marched next morning to relieve Buford's cavalry, already in action west of the town.

Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Story

In the final days of June 1863, tens of thousands of Union soldiers were converging on the Pennsylvania crossroads town of Gettysburg. The 1st Corps camped on this ground on June 30 before marching at dawn to support John Buford's cavalry, which was already skirmishing with Confederate forces west of town. That collision opened the three-day battle that became the war's great turning point.

Why it matters

The unglamorous work of marching and camping set the stage for Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War and a decisive check on the Confederacy's invasion of the North.

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Related people

  • · John Buford

Related events

  • · Gettysburg Campaign
  • · Battle of Gettysburg

Themes & tags

Civil WarLandmark

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