Gettysburg battlefield acquires 95 historic acres
HARRISBURG - For the first time, Civil War buffs can now walk the land on Chambersburg Pike west of Gettysburg where Confederate and Union troops locked in a ferocious struggle at the start of the epic battle.
The 95-acre tract, scene of major fighting on July 1, 1863, has been made part of Gettysburg National Military Park at last.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday - weeks before the start of a series of events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War - that the former country club land had been bought by the National Park Service from a conservation group.
The price was $1.6 million.
"Gettysburg will always have a sacred place in America's heritage for the pivotal role it played in our nation's history and for the enormity of the sacrifice that took place here," said Salazar, whose agency oversees the National Park Service. "With the addition of the Emanuel Harman Farm to the Gettysburg National Military Park, we are able to include another important chapter in the story that helped shape our country."
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The 95-acre tract, scene of major fighting on July 1, 1863, has been made part of Gettysburg National Military Park at last.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday - weeks before the start of a series of events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War - that the former country club land had been bought by the National Park Service from a conservation group.
The price was $1.6 million.
"Gettysburg will always have a sacred place in America's heritage for the pivotal role it played in our nation's history and for the enormity of the sacrifice that took place here," said Salazar, whose agency oversees the National Park Service. "With the addition of the Emanuel Harman Farm to the Gettysburg National Military Park, we are able to include another important chapter in the story that helped shape our country."