Gettysburg

Gettysburg, borough, seat of Adams County, southern Pennsylvania; incorporated 1806. Gettysburg is famous as the site of the decisive Battle of Gettysburg (July 1863), one of the bloodiest encounters of the American Civil War. Subsequently, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his noted speech, the Gettysburg Address, when Gettysburg National Cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863. The battlefield and cemetery are now part of Gettysburg National Military Park (1895). Several museums and other points of interest in and near the borough are concerned with the Civil War events. Also in the borough are Gettysburg College (1832) and Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (1826). Eisenhower National Historic Site, encompassing the home and farm of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, is nearby.

The community, laid out in the 1780s, is named for General James Gettys, an early resident. Population 7,194 (1980); 7,025 (1990); 7,490 (2000); 8,014 (2005 estimate).