1913 Gettysburg reunion

Planning

After a number of smaller Gettysburg reunions, including the 1906 Philadelphia Brigade-Pickett's Division reunion during which Brigadier General Lewis Armistead's captured sword was returned to the South, in April 1908 General Henry S. Huidekoper of Philadelphia suggested a 1913 50th anniversary reunion to Pennsylvania Governor Edwin Sydney Stuart. On September 8, the Gettysburg National Park Commission met with Gettysburg borough officials about the event. Stuart held a sub-committee meeting on October 25, and addressed the General Assembly about the matter in January 1909.

On May 13, 1909, the Pennsylvania Assembly created the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg Commission. The commission's "first tentative programme" of October 13, 1910 included a "Peace Jubilee", with a noon July 3 placement of the cornerstone for a "Great Peace Memorial". The August 26, 1912, US Congress bill appropriated $150,000 and directed the War Department to establish the camp. Because the memorial funding was not approved, the Peace Jubilee plans were removed from the schedule.

The site of the camp and the 8 acre for the Great Tent, west of the Codori House, were selected in 1912 and mapped by the Gettysburg National Park Commission. and mailed invitations to 40,000 veterans. On June 28, President Woodrow Wilson notified the Pennsylvania commission that he would attend the reunion for a "very limited period". The 33 contributing states provided a total of $1,033,000 for the reunion, with $450,000 coming from Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania commission headquarters at Gettysburg was at 231 Baltimore Street, in Pennsylvania State Capitol's Room 509.-- Commemorative tokens and programs were designed for attendees, including three types of Pennsylvania badges ("Press", "Guest", and "Scout"),-- a commemorative medal,---- The Pennsylvania Railroad added "a telephone line between Gettysburg and Hanover along the Western Maryland Railway, over which the Pennsy [would] operate a large number of trains during the battle anniversary". On the Chambersburg-Gettysburg turnpike and the Gettysburg-Petersburg turnpike, tolls ended for the reunion. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the 1911 Sproul Roads Act on June 27, enabling the Commonwealth to acquire private toll roads and make them free for the public.

Water wells were being drilled for the July encampment by February 1, 1913, and hotels in Hanover, Chambersburg, Hagerstown, and "the Blue Ridge section [were] filling rapidly" by June 26. Local planning for the reunion included expanding the Gettysburg hackman tax to automobiles (upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1914), a 50-cent maximum for taxi fares in the borough, and a request from a few Missouri veterans for "a few good widows or old maids ... good housekeepers and not too young" to go west after the reunion. (The "kind-hearted mayor", J. A. Holtzworth, agreed to forward photos to the veterans in the "Cupid ... operations".)

Facilities

The War Department's Great Camp (Gettysburg Encampment, Anniversary Camp, or Veterans Camp) The Great Camp included the Great Tent (Big Tent,-- measuring 200 x) and (near the Great Tent) an emergency station and two health-department Comfort Houses which supplied the Great Tent water fountains. in February, trolleys of the Gettysburg Electric Railway had been prohibited from using the branch.

After the state health department's chief engineer estimated that Gettysburg (with a population of 4,500) would be inundated with 100,000 people, the borough accepted the commissioner of health's request for his department to take over medical and sanitation efforts in the area from June 25 to July 25. The department set up a field hospital on the Kurtz property facing Brickyard Lane on the north foot of East Cemetery Hill and six comfort stations in the borough: one at each railroad station. The department tested borough wells and mitigated contamination sources upstream from the water-works supply on Marsh Creek. The American Red Cross Society and 72 additional Boy Scouts-- operated fourteen 7 x-- relief stations for first aid and rest on the battlefield-park roads. Gettysburg's Tuberculosis Dispensary was also used as a relief station.

Attached to the Great Camp were a battery of the Third United States Field Artillery and several companies of regular infantry. of the Fifteenth United States Cavalry arrived on June 26 to guard the battlefield, and Philadelphia and Baltimore Salvation Army members encamped at Stonesifer's Grove in Biglerville.

Events

The commission planned a four-day series of events, with each day dedicated to a different group. Anticipating that some veterans might arrive early (especially those traveling a long distance), the Great Camp was opened for supper on June 29. Pennsylvania veterans who attended the state reunion, which adjourned on June 28, made up most of the over 21,000 arrivals that day.

Vice President Thomas R. Marshall and his wife; Speaker of the House Champ Clark; eight senators, and 21 congressmen were among the officials who arrived that day. In the Great Tent from 4:30–6 p.m. was the New York Veterans' Celebration, which included a speech by Colonel Andrew Cowan, in which he again proposed a Gettysburg peace memorial. at 9 p.m. included "gigantic set pieces covering the entire face and crest of Little Round Top".}} At noon, a five-minute tribute was held in silence for "Our Heroic Dead"; people throughout the area stood at attention, including at the "College Hotel" and "Seminary Hotel". The tribute began with a bugle salute while the Gettysburg bells in the distance tolled. The remaining minutes of silence were punctuated by periodic artillery firing in the distance. From 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., 7,147 automobiles used the national-park roads as visitors departed.}}

About 12,000 veterans had already left on July 2, and about the same number on July 3. The Virginia governor spoke to officials on behalf of Henry, and his father (a Confederate major) posted bail for his son. The victims (all but one of whom were taken to a hospital) were all expected to recover, and most were released from the hospital the next day.

Dismantling of the Great Camp began immediately after the July 4 tribute. The hospital closed on July 5,-- and the last veteran left on July 8. The annual military instructional camp (250 college students) used several tents in the veterans' camp The quartermaster headquarters on Baltimore Street closed on August 13, and by August 15 the Grand Camp had been removed except for "four great water storage reservoirs". A film, United at Gettysburg, documented the reunion and was shown at local theaters. Lt. Col. Lewis E. Beitler, Secretary of the Commission, finished compiling the organizations' reports on December 31, 1913. only the concrete base remains.

Celebration of the Semi-Centenary of the Civil War

Gettysburg Celebration Reunion Celebration at Gettysburg

Gettysburg Reunion Gettysburg Peace Reunion

Great Peace Reunion Great Peace Jubilee Golden Jubilee

Great Reunion Grand Reunion Blue and Gray Reunion

and, in a souvenir program of poems, Grand Reunion of the Blue and the Gray on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

References

References

1. (1 July 2013). "Civil war veterans at Gettysburg anniversary in 1913 – in pictures". The Guardian.
2. Davis, William C.. (1995). "Gettysburg: The Story Behind the Scenery". KC Publications.
3. (September 20, 2014). "Attendance Figures for 1913 and 1938 Gettysburg Reunions". Segway Tours of Gettysburg Blog.
4. Tapscott, Logan. (2011-11-17). "Pennsylvania College During the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg". The Gettysburg Compiler.
5. (April 18, 1914). "The Peace Memorial Bill: Speech of Colonel Andrew Cowan of Louisville". Gettysburg Compiler.
6. (March 29, 1913). "The Gettysburg Reunion". Report of the Pennsylvania Commission.
7. (June 28, 1913). "Wilson Here for One Hour". Adams County News.
8. Frazier, John W. (1906). "Reunion of the Blue and Gray: Philadelphia Brigade and Pickett's Division". Ware Bros, Company, Printers.
9. (May 30, 1913). "Civil War Veterans To Meet On Gettysburg Battlefield". The Hudson Independent.
10. Loski, Diana. "The Pennsylvania Memorial: A Centennial". GettysburgExperience.com.
11. Crawford, John Wallace "Jack". (1913). "A Prayer and a Benediction … and Other Poems from his new book".
12. (February 8, 1913). "Railroad Blocks Trolley Plans" & "Medals for the Gettysburg Men". Adams County News.
13. (June 26, 1913). "Walter's Theatre ….Here…. The Battle Of Gettysburg", "First Boys in Gray Here, & "Many Cancel Reservations". Times and News Publishing Company.
14. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=waRcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6534,179391&dq=hackmen+gettysburg&hl=en Gettysburg Times – Google News Archive Search]
15. [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=66RcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZlgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6960,1224251&dq=hackmen+gettysburg&hl=en Gettysburg Times – Google News Archive Search]
16. (June 2, 1913). "Chance for Local Husband Hunters". Times and News Publishing Company.
17. (June 28, 1913). "Expecting Many More Veterans & Railroad Telephone". Adams County News.
18. Dixon, Samuel G. (December 15, 1913). "Commissioner's Report". Pennsylvania Department of Health.
19. (July 15, 1963). "Out Of The Past: From the Files of the Star and Sentinel and The Gettysburg Times". Gettysburg Times.
20. (July 1, 1913). "Pathetic Night Scene in Veterans' Great Reunion". The Pittsburgh Press.
21. [http://williamzulker.com/john_wanamaker John Wanamaker], by William Zulker
22. (July 3, 1913). "March on Rebs: Blues Advanced on the Grays Wednesday Night", "Many Leaving", "Reviewed Virginians"". Times and News Publishing Company.
23. (3 July 1913). "Marshall and Clark In Town". Gettysburg Times.
24. "Gettysburg Times - Google News Archive Search".
25. "Youngstown Vindicator - Google News Archive Search".
26. [https://books.google.com/books?id=rFHr8ti5sAwC&pg=PA164 ''The Hospital on Seminary Ridge at the Battle of Gettysburg''], McFarland & Company, 2002