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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Gutekunst, Frederick (1831-1917) Chambersburg Pike with Lutheran Seminary to the left. 12 July 1863 ca.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05111.01.0230 Author/Creator: Gutekunst, Frederick (1831-1917) Place Written: Gettysburg, Pa. Type: Photograph Date: 1863/07/12 ca. Pagination: 1 photograph ; 40.6 x 33 cm Order a Copy

Taken by Gutekunst. Inscription on recto reads: "Chambersburg Pike. 1st day." An inscription on the verso elaborates further: "Gen'l. view of the battlefield of the first of July the road in the foreground is the Chambersburg Pike the ridge in the background was our line of battle." The view shows Seminary ridge on the horizon. The Oak Ridge Railroad Cut can be seen on the right of the image. The fence rails have been removed by the armies so that they would not impede the movements of units on the field and later for the use of firewood by soldiers. The water collected on the side of the road attest to the recent heavy rains that followed in the days after the battle.

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