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War veteran John Burns
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War veteran John Burns seated outside in a rocking chair with his musket propped near the door to a building.

Credit: Library of Congress

A veteran of the War of 1812, John Burns was 70 years old when the Rebels came to Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. With the sound of gunfire growing ever louder, Burns took up his flintlock musket and joined the fight. A surprised officer with the Pennsylvania Bucktails directed Burns to the woods near the McPherson Farm where he fought throughout the afternoon with members of the Iron Brigade until he was wounded. Amazingly, the victorious Confederates allowed the wounded Burns to return home unmolested. After the battle, photographer Matthew Brady heard his story and made this photograph of Burns recuperating at his home on Chambersburg Street. When Lincoln came to town to make his Gettysburg Address, it was John Burns he wished to meet. John Burns died in 1872 and is buried in Gettysburg's Evergreen Cemetery.

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