Afterwords and Afterthoughts

approach of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg that this attention began to devolve solely upon the upkeep of the grounds and new buildings. The preoccupation with cutting the grass and building new visitor and maintenance facilities 88 arrived on the scene almost immediately after the passing of the disabled-Civil-War-veteran superintendent. 89

_____________ headstones against the naked lawn), he would have found it difficult to censure them for the care of the enclosures and the maintenance of the approaches to the cemetery. exhibits, competing headstones from other wars and time periods, and even identifying markers for the varieties of trees. compelled to alter its purpose by pinning it down as the exact site where Lincoln stood to deliver his dedicatory address on November 19, 1863. _____________ enclosures were not erected by the Soldiers' National Cemetery corporation to safeguard the grounds or to keep people out. They were erected for two reasons only--to define the boundaries and to augment the landscape architecture. If we are willing to sacrifice Saunders' landscaping plans, we should not cringe at the thought of removing the enclosures. What is the difference between neglectfully destroying the landscaped fencing and tearing it all down? If the National Park Service is to regain any of its self-esteem as far as the Gettysburg National Cemetery is concerned, it must commit itself to not only a restoration of the fencing and landscaping and their subsequent cyclical maintenance, but to a truthful interpretation of the cemetery.