I understand the outrage that the government used the Gettysburg battlefield for WWI camps, tank practice and a German POW camp, but I’d ask you to consider a few things, as someone who has spent two decades studying the battlefield from a view that includes the changing of the battlefield and the attitudes of the times over the years.
Before the battle, the locals used the area as a picnic area, to grow crops, and to raise farm animals. After the battle, they continued to do so. Ever hear of Tipton Park? It was located in the area of Devil’s Den and the Plum Run valley in the early 1900s and included a baseball field, picnic pavilions, and a dance hall. Or Roundtop Inn, located at the intersection of Sykes, Sedgwick and Wheatfield Road? Or the Peace Light Inn off Buford near the Eternal Light Peace Memorial? Or the several airfields on both north and south areas of the battlefield? Or the car dealership off Howard Avenue? The Stuckeys restaurant near the Peach Orchard? The electric trolley line?
A surprising amount of what we call the battlefield today was privately owned up through the 1990s, believe it or not. The Park Service has bought the private land as it becomes available. But you also have to take into account that the locals who owned property on the battlefield actually LIVED there, and needed to make a living or make changed to their houses just like everyone does—they weren’t deliberately disrespecting the battlefield or the men who fought there, they were just living. They couldn’t afford to not plant crops on hallowed land, or build a business that would support them on. As for the govenment, they owned the land and used the land as they saw fit. It was just a resource for them, though we may not agree with that perspective.
Fortunately, in large part, that perspective has changed over the years toward preservation, and combined with the acquisition of private land and groups such as Gettysburg Foundation and the American Battlefield Trust, the battlefield you know now is pretty safe. But even those of you who can remember what the battlefield looked like at the battle centennial, or the National Tower over near the National Cemetery, know that the battlefield is changeable, will remain changeable, and it’s usually not because of some disrespectful malicious intent. It will always be hallowed ground, but keep in mind that there is much more involved with the term than the battle that was fought there.