http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved The National Park Service has acquired a former golf course where a series of bloody clashes took place on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. en Copyright 2013, History.com Sat, 18 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT History.com 2013-05-18T04:00:00Z en Copyright 2013, History.com http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo1 In March 2011, on the eve of the Civil War's 150th anniversary, the National Park Service completed its 20-year quest to attain a historic parcel of land where the Battle of Gettysburg's first major events unfolded on July 1, 1863. http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo1 http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo2 The 95-acre property, located along the Chambersburg Pike between McPherson's Ridge and Herr's Ridge, was home to the defunct Gettysburg Country Club's nine-hole golf course until 2008. It will now become part of the Gettysburg National Military Park, a 6,000-acre memorial established in 1895. http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo2 http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo3 Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said of the acquisition, "With the addition of the Emanuel Harman Farm to the Gettysburg National Military Park, we are able to include another important chapter to the story that helped shape our country." http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo3 http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo4 "This is a day that many in Gettysburg and the larger preservation community have long dreamt of," said James Lighthizer of the Civil War Trust. "In acquiring this land, known historically as the Emanuel Harman Farm, we have largely completed the protection of the first day's battlefield." http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo4 http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo5 The newly acquired parcel of land borders Willoughby's Run, where Confederate General James Archer and 200 of his men were captured by General Solomon Meredith's Iron Brigade. The property starts roughly to the left of this image. http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo5 http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo6 The land was once home to the Springs Hotel, which was built in 1869 and burned down in 1917. It was used to house visitors during the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in 1913. http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo6 http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo7 This postwar illustration shows General George Meade sampling the spring waters at the newly constructed Springs Hotel. http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo7 http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo8 Preservation groups are now pursuing several other key properties related to the Battle of Gettysburg, including the historic Josiah Benner House and Farm, which served as a field hospital in the aftermath of the bloodshed. http://www.history.com/photos/key-part-of-gettysburg-battlefield-preserved/photo8