Black History Month Commemorated at Gettysburg NMP and Eisenhower NHS
News Release Date: February 18, 2021
Contact: Jason Martz
Basil Biggs and his family stand in front of their house along Taneytown Road.
To commemorate Black History Month, Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site are highlighting history associated with the African American experience in Gettysburg.
New interpretive waysides on the battlefield mark the homes of two of Gettysburg's African American families. At the Abraham Brian farm located on Cemetery Ridge, the wayside explains the challenges faced by black citizens during and after the Gettysburg Campaign. Along the Taneytown Road Trail, a wayside panel shares the story of Basil Biggs and his family. Biggs, a local veterinarian and alleged conductor on the Underground Railroad, was responsible for exhuming the bodies of slain Union soldiers following the battle and instrumental in the creation of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery.
The park recently rehabilitated the exterior of the home of the Warfield family who were members of Gettysburg’s African American community. The entire restoration process is documented on the park’s website, including time lapse videos and photo albums that provide behind-the-scenes access through every phase of the project.
The Eisenhower National Historic Site will highlight stories about the Civil Rights Movement with a specific focus on John and Delores Moaney. John Moaney served as an aide and valet to General Eisenhower during World War II and remained with him in various capacities throughout Eisenhower's presidency and until the president’s death in 1969.