Cemetery Hill - History

History

The 1858 south boundary for the Gettysburg borough extended southeast from the Emmitsburg Road to the Cemetery Hill summit on the Taneytown Rd, then northeast across the Baltimore Pike summit to the hill's base, then northward to Winebrenner Run. On the south slope of Cemetery Hill (originally named Raffensperger's Hill, after farmer Peter Raffensperger, who owned over 6 acres (24,000 m2) on the eastern slope) is the 1854 Evergreen Cemetery and its 1855 gatehouse used as a headquarters during the battle.

On June 26, 1863, prior to the Battle of Gettysburg, Lt. Col. Elijah V. White's Confederate cavalry occupied the hill and captured several horses hidden by local citizens, then departed to York County, Pennsylvania. The Gettysburg Railroad Station telegraph was subsequently moved to Cemetery Hill. The hill remained essentially free of military forces until the arrival of the Army of the Potomac.

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