Eternal Light Peace Memorial

Eternal Light Peace Memorial, on Oak Ridge in the northwest section of Gettysburg National Military Park, commemorates the Battle of Gettysburg. The project was suggested by Union and Confederate veterans in 1913, and after funding difficulties and construction delays were resolved, it was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the 75th anniversary of the battle on July 3, 1938. Some Civil War veterans attended the ceremony, which drew an estimated 250,000 people. Perhaps another 100,000 would-be visitors were stuck in nearby traffic.

A perpetual flame burns at the top of the monument, and an inscription reads, “Peace Eternal in a Nation United.”