First Day's Battlefield

Located on the First Day's Battlefield north of town, from the Oak Ridge Observation Tower you can view much of Oak Ridge and the fields of battle from July 1, 1863. Looking south you can observe into the town of Gettysburg.

The West End Guide Station restrooms are open year-round. Seasonally (summer only) volunteers staff the building to provide battlefield information and orientation. The West End Guide Station is located along Chambersburg Road (US 30) just north of Meredith Avenue.

The Battle of Gettysburg began at about 8 a.m. on July 1, 1863 near McPherson Ridge as United States cavalry confronted Confederate infantry advancing east along Chambersburg Pike. Heavy fighting spread north and south along the ridgeline north of the town of Gettysburg as additional forces from both sides arrived.

On July 1, 1863, United States soldiers held this ridge against a Confederate advance until the line began to crumble in the late afternoon. By the evening of July 1, the Army of Northern Virginia traversed over this position and began forming lines to the south of town, where the US Army of the Potomac was forming a new line.

The Eternal Light Peace Memorial sits atop Oak Hill on the First Day's Battlefield. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the memorial in 1938, on the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.