Gettysburg Address, Battleground National Cemetery, Washington, DC
**Battleground National Cemetery** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 66000032, date listed 10/15/1966
6625 Georgia Ave., NW.
Washington, DC (District of Columbia)
Battleground National Cemetery is significant for its association with the only military engagement ever fought in the District of Columbia. It is the District’s only national cemetery for Civil War casualties, and it is the Nation’s smallest national cemetery in number of burials.
On July 11-12, 1864, a Confederate force under Lt. Gen. Jubal Early advancing on Washington from the northwest confronted Union defenders at Fort Stevens, one of the earthworks forming a defensive perimeter around the Nation’s Capital during the Civil War. Faced with Union reinforcements, the Confederates withdrew after an exchange of fire that left 59 Union soldiers dead and 145 wounded. Forty of these dead were carried to a field one-half mile north of Fort Stevens and interred in what was established as Battleground National Cemetery.
Two metal plaques, both standard features at national eemeteries, are mounted on fa9ade (west elevation) of the lodge. One, about 30 by 48 inches, contains the embossed text of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in block letters and was in place sometime between 1907 and 1914. The cast-iron plaque is edged in egg-and-dart molding. The second (date unknown) is the Cemetery Dedication plaque, which measures about 16 by 28 inches and is decorated with national and military symbols. (pg 27) (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg...
Gettysburg Address, Battleground National Cemetery, Washington, DC
**Battleground National Cemetery** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 66000032, date listed 10/15/1966
6625 Georgia Ave., NW.
Washington, DC (District of Columbia)
Battleground National Cemetery is significant for its association with the only military engagement ever fought in the District of Columbia. It is the District’s only national cemetery for Civil War casualties, and it is the Nation’s smallest national cemetery in number of burials.
On July 11-12, 1864, a Confederate force under Lt. Gen. Jubal Early advancing on Washington from the northwest confronted Union defenders at Fort Stevens, one of the earthworks forming a defensive perimeter around the Nation’s Capital during the Civil War. Faced with Union reinforcements, the Confederates withdrew after an exchange of fire that left 59 Union soldiers dead and 145 wounded. Forty of these dead were carried to a field one-half mile north of Fort Stevens and interred in what was established as Battleground National Cemetery.
Two metal plaques, both standard features at national eemeteries, are mounted on fa9ade (west elevation) of the lodge. One, about 30 by 48 inches, contains the embossed text of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in block letters and was in place sometime between 1907 and 1914. The cast-iron plaque is edged in egg-and-dart molding. The second (date unknown) is the Cemetery Dedication plaque, which measures about 16 by 28 inches and is decorated with national and military symbols. (pg 27) (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg...