Cumberland Township near Gettysburg in Adams County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

A Grisly Undertaking

Gettysburg National Military Park

— National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior —

A Grisly Undertaking Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Karl Stelly, May 23, 2025

1. A Grisly Undertaking Marker

Inscription. Basil Biggs, a free black man and alleged conductor of the Underground Railroad, hastily moved his family as Confederate troops approached Gettysburg. Biggs avoided capture, but the farm he rented suffered loss of crops and property. To support his family, he took a grisly, heartbreaking job that few wanted—exhuming Union soldiers for reburial in the new Soldiers’ National Cemetery. In 1865 he purchased the farm in front of you and lived here until he retired from farming in 1894. A successful farmer and veterinarian, he died in 1906 and is buried in Gettysburg.

(captions)
Biggs recovered this watch from the battlefield.

Biggs and several African Americans worked nearly five months exhuming over 3,300 Union soldiers.

Basil Biggs, at center next to his wife Mary in front of the farm he bought in 1865.

Erected 2024 by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1863.

Location. 39° 48.643′ N, 77° 13.856′ W. Marker is near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in Adams County

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. It is in Cumberland Township. It can be reached from Taneytown Road (Pennsylvania Route 134) 0.2 miles north of Pleasonton Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Located on opposite side of the Taneytown Road from the Frey Farm, next to the walking path to the Visitor Center. Marker is not really visible from the road due to trees. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 424 Taneytown Rd, Gettysburg PA 17325, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 1st West Virginia Cavalry (about 800 feet away, measured in a direct line); Companies A and C, 1st Ohio Cavalry (approx. 0.2 miles away); J. Hummelbaugh Farm (approx. 0.2 miles away); First Brigade (approx. 0.2 miles away); Batteries B & L, Second U.S. Artillery (approx. 0.2 miles away); Sixth Ohio Cavalry (approx. 0.2 miles away); Headquarters of Brigadier General Henry Hunt (approx. 0.2 miles away); 1st Corps Headquarters (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gettysburg.

Also see . . . Gettysburg National Military Park. National Park Service (Submitted on May 23, 2025.)

Photographed by Karl Stelly, May 23, 2025

2. A Grisly Undertaking Marker

Looking south along the walking path to the Visitor Center, with the marker on the right side of the path

Photographed by Karl Stelly, May 23, 2025

3. A Grisly Undertaking Marker

The Frey Farm can be seen just across the Taneytown Road from the marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on July 19, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 23, 2025, by Karl Stelly of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 251 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 23, 2025, by Karl Stelly of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.