Ask A Gettysburg Guide #25- The Soldiers' National Cemetery Dedication, November 19, 1863- with Tim Smith

Addressing Gettysburg · Nov 19, 2020 · 1h 51m

Shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin visited the area and was astounded at the damage done to property and life. Shallow graves in the fields surrounding the town revealed decaying human limbs and faces after rains had washed the meager layer of soil over them away. Their air was thick with swarms of flies and the stench of rot. Curtin described it as "the devil's own planting... a harvest of death."

Many, many more people were just as appalled as Governor Curtin was. And, so, a handful of local leaders approached the governor with a proposal to…