Gettysburg, a living battlefield.

Abstract

National Park Service (NPS) battlefields are designed as eternal tributes, but there is little permanence about these landscapes. Structures, scenery, and stories frequently change in relation to public memory of the events commemorated by these landscapes. These changes reveal how the events commemorated have been remembered, and in turn, how these landscapes have shaped those memories. An historical geography of the Gettysburg National Military Park (GNMP) demonstrates this dynamic process. I present the battlefield at five stages, namely Division 1883, Memorialization 1904, Reconciliation 1940, Promotion 1970, and Restoration 2000, to demonstrate how this landscape has told the Battle of Gettysburg five different ways since 1863, and to illustrate how this is indicative of widespread shifts in public memory about the battle and Civil War. The pivotal changes in the telling of the story at each stage lie in the battlefield's physical appearance, the popular sites and celebrated heroes, how visitors toured the field, and the public meaning and importance of the place. My methods involved analysis of Gettysburg photographs and tourbooks, long-term on-site fieldwork, interviewing of GNMP interpretive personnel, and examining Park documents and published visitor accounts. The significance of this work lies in revealing the longterm stages of public remembrance concerning a national event through a comprehensive historiographical study of one place. In addition, my study attempts to offer intimate insight into the manifestations of public remembrance in national historic landscapes.