Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War were used by the Pennsylvania National Guard, Civil War veterans, the US Marine Corps, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the US Army, and the Youth Conservation Corps.
+ Chronology Date Event The 50th Pennsylvania Infantry encamped on Culp's Hill for the Soldiers' National Monument cornerstone ceremony (Capt. Hull's camp for the commissary was on Stevens Knoll.) 1869-07 Attorney David McConaughy, a Captain of the "Adams Rifles", organized the first veteran's reunion at Gettysburg, and distinguished visitors were hosted at the new Springs Hotel which opened June 28. 1872 The G. A. R. reunion for the Pennsylvania division "in the grove adjacent to the Springs Hotel" had only ~200 attendees. 1878 The first Grand Army of the Republic (G. A. R.) national encampment at the battlefield included "hayrides, sack races, band concerts, balloon ascensions, picnics, and dances as well as less-reserved activities." 1882-07-22 Camp Burnside of the G. A. R. was on East Cemetery Hill after the June 14 officers' reunion by John B. Bachelder for surveying sites of the Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day. 1883 Camp Geary was the G. A. R. encampment on East Cemetery Hill. 1884-08-02 Camp Gettysburg of the Pennsylvania National Guard extending from Seminary Ridge over the field of Pickett's Charge was outfitted by the new Round Top Branch. 1885-05-04 President Grover Cleveland's special train arrived at the depot for the First Corps reunion and was given a battlefield tour by John B. Bachelder after a visit to the Gettysburg National Cemetery. 1885-08-04 Burgess William H. Tipton issued a proclamation for the G. A. R. encampment, August 8–16; and the town erected an arch at the square for the arrival parade. Camp Hancock opened for the G. A. R. reunion on East Cemetery Hill (the Third US Artillery camped at The Wheatfield). 1886 US Artillery Battery C (60 men, 80 horses, 6 guns) encamped in The Wheatfield for the dedication of the Reynolds Monument in Herbst Woods. 1887 The G. A. R. encampment on East Cemetery Hill was lit by "a 25-light dynamo…in the Battle Mill." 1888-07 For the 25th Battle of Gettysburg anniversary "Grand Reunion of the Blue and the Gray", Pennsylvania Civil War veterans encamped on East Cemetery Hill, the NJ National Guard was in The Wheatfield (as was Col Campbell), and the WI National Guard was in Reynolds Grove. 1889-09-07 Camp Samuel Harper was the "Grand Army of the Republic and the Veteran Association" camp from East Cemetery Hill to Slocum Av (picnics at Reynolds Grove, Round Top Park, and Spangler Spring). 1890-08-30 Camp Abe Patterson of the PA G. A. R. opened with August 31 religious services at the Gettysburg Rostrum and a ceremony at the Sixth New-York Cavalry Monument. 1892-07-02 The G. A. R. encampment opened on East Cemetery Hill: "The usual programme…including dress parade in the evenings followed by concert. Pic-Nics, burlesque parades and other amusements…". 1893-07-15 The G. A. R. encampment of 700-1000 tents was planned on East Cemetery Hill after the New York memorial dedication on July 2. 1894-06-30 Camp McCartney for the Department of Pennsylvania G. A. R. began on East Cemetery Hill with 400 tents and "a new flag staff" at headquarters. 1894-08-11Camp Crawford Camp Samuel W. Crawford laid out by the Corps of Engineers was the 28th Infantry (Keystone) "Division Encampment at Gettysburg" through August 18 with a burlesque parade. 1896-05-15 Federal law (29 Stat. 120) approved use of national parks for military camps after the Gettysburg National Military Park had been designated in 1895. 1898-09-28 Camp Snyder on the west of Seminary Ridge and south of the Fairfield Road was the 2nd WV Regiment encampment for the dedication of 4 West Virginia monuments. The WV baseball team defeated the Pennsylvania College team 9-8 before continuing to New Oxford for a bivouac at Camp Pfeiffer and to York, Pennsylvania. 1900 Camp Costello (Gettysburg Compiler article, 2000 Out of the Past) at Round Top Park was the Tacony Rifles' encampment. 1901 The "largest encampment ever held by the" Union Veterans League was held "on this historic battlefield". 1901-07-01 Through July 31, the US cavalry and artillery camp commanded by General Witherspoon was on east of Rock Creek and south of the York/Hunterstown Rd intersection. 1902-07-02 Camp George G. Meade was established from the Catholic cemetery over the field of Pickett's Charge to the Wheatfield Road (US Cavalry and Artillery arrived on July 11 to camp at McPherson Ridge). 1904-05-29 Artillery (3rd Battery) and 15th Cavalry soldiers arrived to encamp for the Decoration Day address by Theodore Roosevelt. 1904-06-04 Two troops of the 15th Cavalry en route to Fort Myer encamped at Spangler's Spring. 1904-06-11 The 38th G. A. R. encampment began at the Gettysburg Battlefield (the 1st convention in 1866 was held at Philadelphia.) 1904-07-21 Camp Quay setup began along the Emmitsburg Rd, with a PA National Guard unit beginning at the Sherfy farm, with the Third Brigade from the trolley wye into Tawney Field on Washington St (edge of town), and with the cavalry & artillery along the Chambersburg pike (drill grounds east of Reynolds Av). The summer camp ended on July 30, and the camp's water was pumped from the Gettysburg Water Works. 1906-07-16 Camp Henderson of the PA National Guard used in McMillan Woods and the Trostle, Klingel, Sherfy, McPherson, and Codori farms for the encampment through July 16. Maneuvers were conducted from Zeigler's Grove to Devil's Den. (the joint maneuver camp followed at Mount Gretna's Camp Roosevelt.) 1908-07-23 Camp Alexander Hays, Jr, including Pennsylvania Governor Stuart's tent, was struck by lightning, and the camp was flooded by the storm (cf.the 1880 Camp Alexander Hays @ Thompson, Pennsylvania) (3 killed, 40 injured of the 10,000 soldiers from July 16–25). 1909-05-30 The camp for the US Regulars monument dedication opened at The Angle for a Fifteenth cavalry sq, a Third field artillery battalion, a Fifth infantry regiment, and the Coast artillery's 13 companies & band. 1910-06-28 Troops arrived for the Camp of Instruction (United States maneuver camp), which in addition to students, had 10,832 regulars and militiamen. On July 31, the "Columbia militia and U. S. regulars broke camp" on the hill east of town (Third U. S. Artillery batteries returned to Fort Myer). 1910-08-10 Camp Gobin of the National Guard opened at the 1909 campsite on the field of Pickett's Charge, the Diehl Farm, the Spangler Farm, and the Trostle Farm. NOTE: The subsequent 1911 prohibition was later rescinded. YMCA tents were available, and the maneuver area was southward from Big Round Top to Harper's Hill. 1912-07-31Camp Stuart Camp Edwin S. Stuart of 7000 PA National Guardsmen was held just south of the Peach Orchard. Pennsylvania's only licensed pilot demonstrated a Curtiss Biplane. The airfield was near W Confederate Avenue. A "fully equipped field hospital" was first used during this encampment. 1913-02-01 Water wells were being drilled at the planned Great Camp for the 50th Battle of Gettysburg anniversary. 1913-06-22 Camp General O. O. Howard for the 9th annual convention of Sons of Veterans Reserves opened on the northeast edge of Gettysburg. 1913-06-25 The annual encampment for the PA Grand Army of the Republic opened and lasted until June 28. Many of these men made up the 21,000 who arrived at the 1913 Gettysburg reunion at Great Camp on June 29, instead of the 6,000 expected for the 1st day. 1913-07-02 Six American Civil War veterans at the Great Camp of the 1913 Gettysburg reunion died since June 29, due to effects of heat and age. 1913-07-07 Following a May 10 Army address to college/university presidents, the War Department's Camp of Instruction began at the Newspaper Row ("Meadeboro") facility of the reunion. Captain Robert O. Van Horn had organized the camp, which continued through August 15. In addition to 250 college students, military units included 1 artillery battery, 1 cavalry troop, 1 engineer company, and 4 infantry companies. 1913-07-23 The US Marine Corps conducted an officer's training school at Gettysburg College. 1915 The United States arsenal was located along the Taneytown Rd (by October 1914, the PA National Guard arsenal/commissary along the Round Top Branch had been razed.) 1917-05-22Camp, US Troops
The War Dept notified the Gettysburg Park Commission that "recruiting stations" would be established at the park. "Camp, United States Troops, Gettysburg, PA" ("Gettysburg Camp" colloq.) was on three farms and a "three-cornered field" west of the Emmitsburg Rd/Round Top Branch intersection. The first sites used were the Codori farm and "a tract along the Round Top branch". The new buildings took 1 million feet of lumber. 1917-06-02 The Fourth United States Regulars arrived at the "Gettysburg Camp", which included a post office. 1917-11-26 A small detachment was the remaining unit at the recruit training camp, which had closed by December 16. (Sgt Brannigan, who arrived with the "Fourth Infantry" in 1917, was stationed here until 1919). The facility included buildings, water system, and drill and parade grounds. 1918 A new Pennsylvania College building was built for the Students Army Training Corps "as though they were at camp". 1918-03-02 Over one dozen military truck trains on the Lincoln Highway traveled eastward through Gettysburg. 1918-03-06 Camp Colt was the Tank Corps' "preliminary training" facility ("310th Tank Center" by October). It was established at the "Camp, U.S. Troops, Gettysburg, PA" in the field of Pickett's Charge. (The camp was named for Samuel Colt by the last week of February).—and occupied by December. On March 24, Capt Garner transferred the camp's command to Captain Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was his first command. 1918-04-06 Six World War I truck trains, totalling 200 trucks and 42 cars, convoyed through Gettysburg from evening until noon to an "Atlantic port". 1918-07-01 The only "camp for Tank Corps troops", Camp Colt consisted of "176 acres of the Codori farm, 10 acres of the Smith farm, and 6 acres of the Bryan House place" and included an Officer's Training School. 1918-09-30 A Camp Colt quarantine was implemented for the 1918 flu pandemic. In September, the camp had reached a peak of 10,600 officers and men. 1918-12-01 Camp Colt's on the Codori, Trostle, Smith, and Brian farms held fewer than 6000 soldiers following post-Armistice Day transfers. 1919-05-17 A Liberty Loan Drive volunteer was given a flight from the Camp Colt landing field in a "Curtiss Acrobatic Aeroplane" by an Air Service pilot, who had downed a German bomber over Reims Cathedral. 1919-06-30 Camp Colt had a very small guard under the Quartermaster Corps and closed August 15. In August 1932, the 1st Camp Colt reunion was held at Gettysburg. 1919-07-061919 convoys