The National Park Service celebrated its 110th birthday on Tuesday as guests came in to visit the memorials and tour the historic battlegrounds at Gettysburg National Military Park.The Department of the Interior announced the beginning of National Park Week on X Saturday. Parks that require entry fees are free for the agency’s birthday.The National Park Service was founded on Aug. 25, 1916, marking 110 years since the U.S. Congress created the agency.
Nearly 53 years before then, the historic 1863 Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War took place. “This is certainly a unique time to be working for the National Park Service, and to be an American,” Jason Martz, public affairs specialist for Gettysburg National Military Park and the Eisenhower National Historic site, told the Washington Examiner.“It’s almost as if it’s a layered cake, or something along those lines,” Martz said. Martz described the importance of NPS’s birthday, along with the 250th birthday of the United States, as seen in the Battle of Gettysburg and the “continued saving of American democracy” in World War II.“We have the 19th century, we have the 20th century, and all of these extra layers when we’re talking about the birthday of the National Park Service,” Martz said. “We have those two layers, and the additional layers associated with America 250, so it’s a really amazing single piece of American history right here in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.”The Battle of Gettysburg is largely seen as one of the most important battles of the American Civil War. It marked a turning point, ending the Confederate army’s invasion of the North, according to the National Park Service. Intense battles happened at places such as Little Round Top. It served as a high point on a hill for the Union Army. They charged downhill with bayonets and were able to attack the Confederates, maintaining their position on the hill.
