Lincoln Cemetery
Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Established in 1867 by the Sons of Good Will for the proper burial of Gettysburg's African American citizens and Civil War veterans. Some thirty Civil War veterans of the U.S. Colored Troops are buried here, having been denied burial in the National Cemetery because of segregation policies. Also buried here are veterans of the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, and the Korean conflict. First known as Good Will Cemetery, renamed in 1920.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Founded in 1867 by the Sons of Good Will, Lincoln Cemetery gave Gettysburg's African American citizens and soldiers a dignified resting place they were otherwise denied. Roughly thirty veterans of the United States Colored Troops lie here — men who fought for the Union but were barred by segregation from burial in the town's famous National Cemetery. Later generations of Black veterans from the Spanish-American War through Korea joined them in ground first known as Good Will Cemetery and renamed for Lincoln in 1920.
Why it matters
In the shadow of the war's most hallowed battlefield, this cemetery lays bare the bitter irony that men who died for the Union were segregated even in death, making it a powerful marker of African American service and the long road toward equality.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Shriver House Museum0.2 mi away · 309 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Gettysburg Museum of History0.3 mi away · 219 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Jennie Wade House Gifts0.3 mi away · 548 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Gettysburg Diorama & History Center0.4 mi away · 241 Steinwehr Avenue, Gettysburg, PA
- Casteel Sculptures0.4 mi away · 789 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- The David Wills House Museum0.4 mi away · 8 Lincoln Square, Gettysburg, PA
Attractions
- John Eisenhower Bridge2.6 mi away · Waterworks Road
- Sachs Covered Bridge2.9 mi away
- Sachs Covered Bridge2.9 mi away · Waterworks Road, Gettysburg, PA
Food & drink
- Reid's Winery Cider House0.3 mi away · 400 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Hong Kong0.3 mi away
- Tania's Mexican Restaurant0.3 mi away
- Garryowen Irish Pub0.3 mi away · 126 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Ragged Edge Coffee House0.3 mi away · 110 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Jasper's Juice Works0.3 mi away · 110 Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg, PA
Places to stay
- Farnsworth House Inn0.2 mi away · 401 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- The Garlach House 3190.2 mi away · 319 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Tillie Pierce House Inn0.2 mi away · 301 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- A Sentimental Journey Bed & Breakfast0.2 mi away · 433 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- Brickhouse Inn Bed and Breakfast0.3 mi away · 452 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
- 1863 Inn of Gettysburg0.3 mi away · 516 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA
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Related events
- · Burial of U.S. Colored Troops veterans
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Martin Delany (1812-1885)
Chambersburg, PA · est. 2003
Educated in Chambersburg as the son of a free mother and an enslaved father, Martin Delany became one of the most formidable Black voices of his century. He published the antislavery newspaper The Mystery, joined Frederick Douglass in the abolitionist cause, and in 1865 became the first African American commissioned as a field officer in the United States Army. Physician, editor, and activist, he pressed for freedom on many fronts.
Thaddeus Stevens
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Before he became one of the most powerful and uncompromising figures in Congress, Thaddeus Stevens lived in Gettysburg, leaving in 1842. Here he built his early career as a lawyer and ironmaster while championing two causes that defined him: the abolition of slavery and the defense of free public schools in Pennsylvania, which he famously fought to preserve in 1835. From these Adams County beginnings he rose to lead the Radical Republicans and shape Reconstruction after the Civil War.
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