Culp’s Hill and the Culp family remain inextricably intertwined with the story of Gettysburg. The Culp family’s presence in Gettysburg dates to the town’s very founding in the late 18th century. In 1787 – just one year after Gettysburg was laid out – a German immigrant named Christopher “Christophel” Kolb (later Americanized to Culp) purchased a 239-acre farm on the east side of the new borough. This tract, originally part of the Manor of Maske (a proprietary reserve of the Penn family), lay on a wooded rise south of town that would eventually bear the Culp name. Christophel Kolb had come to Pennsylvania from the Palatinate region of Germany, arriving in Philadelphia in 1759 and fighting as a militiaman in the American Revolution. After the war he settled near Gettysburg, attracted by William Penn’s promises of religious freedom and cheap land for immigrants. By the time Gettysburg was founded, Kolb – now Christopher Culp – established his farm just outside the town, thus beginning the Culp family’s Gettysburg story.

Ownership of the hill passed through the family across generations. Christopher’s son Peter Culp acquired the farm in 1798 and built a home on the hill’s eastern slope. Peter’s wife, Elizabeth “Polly” Culp, became a beloved local figure (nicknamed “Aunt Polly”) who later nursed wounded soldiers in her Gettysburg home. The Culp farm remained in family hands into the mid-19th century. Peter Culp died in 1841, after which his son Henry Culp purchased the property. Henry, a farmer and blacksmith born in 1804, would own the hill and its surroundings at the time of the Civil War. The hill’s modern name took hold shortly after the battle: it was identified in contemporary accounts by the family name by October 31, 1865. (During the battle itself, soldiers simply knew it as the high wooded hill south of town, but within two years “Culp’s Hill” had entered the lexicon of the battlefield. Note: many writers frequently describe Wesley Culp as dying on the hill named for his family. The record indicates that he would not have known the hill as “Culp’s Hill,” and it’s also unlikely he died there, as the official record puts his unit further away.) Henry Culp’s farm and its prominent twin-peaked hill thus became forever linked to Gettysburg’s history, giving Culp’s Hill its name.

Henry Culp (1804–1886) was the owner of the farm on Culp’s Hill during the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Culp Family Genealogy and Civil War Connections

Tracing the Culp family lineage in Gettysburg reveals a large and interrelated clan, in which multiple members played roles during the Civil War. The family patriarch, Christophel (Christopher) Culp, had five sons who settled in the area. Two of these sons were Peter Culp (Henry’s father) and Christian Culp, both of whom raised families in Gettysburg. Peter’s line produced Henry Culp – the farmer who owned Culp’s Hill in 1863 – while Christian’s line produced the branch of Culps that included Wesley, William, and Julia Culp. This means that Henry Culp was actually a cousin of the father of Wesley, William, and Julia (rather than their uncle, as later legend often misstated). In fact, Esaias “Jesse” Culp – Wesley’s father – was Christian Culp’s son, making him a first cousin to Henry; thus John Wesley Culp was Henry’s first cousin once removed. The close familial tie explains why local people said Wesley died “on his uncle’s farm,” though technically Henry was a more distant relative. Genealogically, the Culp’s Hill Culps all descended from the original brothers Peter and Christian Culp, whose children and grandchildren intermarried with other Gettysburg families and sometimes even shared identical names (for example, both Peter and Christian each had a son named Henry, one of whom was the landowner). This can cause confusion, so careful attention to the family tree is required – the Henry Culp of Culp’s Hill (b. 1804) was Peter’s son, whereas another Henry Culp (b. 1830s) was Christian’s son and a blacksmith in town.

Within Christian Culp’s line, Esaias Jesse Culp (often simply “Jesse”) and his wife Margaret Ann Sutherland had four surviving children who came of age in the Civil War era: William Culp, John Wesley Culp, Barbara Ann Culp, and Julia Culp. This generation provides a direct link between the family and the Battle of Gettysburg. John Wesley Culp, born in Gettysburg in 1839, famously chose to fight for the South – he had moved to Virginia for work before the war and enlisted in the Confederate 2nd Virginia Infantry (part of the Stonewall Brigade). In a tragic twist, Wesley returned with the Army of Northern Virginia to his hometown and was killed in action during the fighting on July 2. He was shot through the head in the woods where he had played as a boy. Wesley’s story became one of Gettysburg’s enduring tales – a local man fighting for the Confederacy, dying on “home” ground – and it was made even more poignant by the fact that he carried a message for a Gettysburg friend (some accounts say a letter to a sweetheart) that never could be delivered. Meanwhile, Wesley’s elder brother William Culp chose the Union side, serving in Company F of the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry (a regiment raised in Adams County). William fought in many battles with the Union Army of the Potomac, surviving the war. Two Culp sisters also contributed to the war effort: Julia Culp (later Julia Culp Welliver) volunteered as a nurse in Gettysburg’s makeshift hospitals, tending to wounded soldiers in the Courthouse during and after the battle. Her sister Barbara Ann Culp married into the Myers family (another prominent Gettysburg family), and through those connections the Culps were linked by marriage to figures like Salome “Sally” Myers, a well-known Gettysburg diarist who also nursed wounded after the battle. Thus, the family members associated with “Culp’s Hill” in name – Henry Culp and his ancestors – were directly connected by blood or marriage to the familiar names of Gettysburg’s Civil War story, including Wesley Culp (Henry’s cousin’s son, who died on the hill) and Julia and William Culp (Wesley’s sisters and brother). The Culp family genealogy intertwines closely with Gettysburg’s Civil War history, illustrating how one family’s legacy spanned both Union and Confederate allegiances during the conflict.

John Wesley Culp (1839–1863), who died fighting for the Confederacy at Gettysburg, was a member of the Gettysburg Culp family (the son of Esaias “Jesse” Culp).

Influence of the Culp Family in Gettysburg Society

Throughout the 19th century, the Culp family established itself as an integral part of Gettysburg’s social and economic fabric. They were neither transient residents nor passive landowners – rather, multiple generations of Culps became known for their trades, civic involvement, and community relationships. The family’s patriarch, Christophel Culp, had been a patriot soldier turned farmer, and his descendants continued that blend of service and enterprise. Christian Culp (son of the immigrant) worked as a wheelwright in town and was a member of the local fire company, literally helping to protect the town from flames. His brother Peter Culp tilled the soil of Culp’s Hill and was by all accounts a generous neighbor – his wife “Aunt Polly” was remembered for her hospitality and care for others. Christian’s son Esaias Jesse Culp (Wesley’s father) was a tailor by trade, running a clothing shop on Chambersburg Street where townsfolk obtained custom-made suits. The Culps were largely middle-class artisans and farmers, but one branch – Henry Culp, the owner of Culp’s Hill – became quite prosperous. By the 1860s Henry Culp was regarded as one of Gettysburg’s wealthier citizens, owning extensive acreage and a fine brick farmhouse. Despite their material success, Henry and his wife Anna were known as unpretentious, benevolent people; they attended St. James Lutheran Church with many other family members (setting aside the Mennonite roots of Christophel’s generation) and were described as “kind and friendly” in disposition. The Culp home was said to be “hospitable…enjoyed by all who knew them,” a center of neighborhood welcome.

In civic and political terms, the Culps were not major officeholders – one does not find a Culp serving as town burgess or state legislator in that era. Rather, their influence was of the grassroots kind: they married into other prominent families, upheld the town’s economy through skilled work, and responded in moments of crisis. During the Gettysburg campaign in 1863, members of the Culp family rendered important services to both military and civilian efforts. On June 30, 1863, as Union General John F. Reynolds hurried into Gettysburg, it was Peter Culp, Jr. (a grandson of old Peter) who rode out to guide Reynolds to General Buford’s position west of town – local oral history credits Peter Jr. with helping Reynolds find the cavalry line on Seminary Ridge that morning. When battle broke out, the Culp families sheltered neighbors in their cellars and dispensed water to thirsty Union soldiers marching through town. In the aftermath of the fighting, Daniel Culp (a cousin in another branch) and his nephew, who were carpenters, put their skills to morbid use by constructing coffins for the dead. Notably, they began fashioning a coffin for Confederate General William Barksdale after he was mortally wounded, but when Barksdale’s body was evacuated, that same wooden coffin was repurposed to bury Jennie Wade, the only Gettysburg civilian killed in the battle. Thus a Culp craftsman’s handiwork became part of Gettysburg’s lore, tying the family even to Jennie Wade’s tragedy. The Culp women, too, took action: Julia Culp and other female relatives volunteered as nurses, caring for wounded from both sides. Julia assisted doctors at the Adams County Courthouse hospital, while venerable “Aunt Polly” Culp (by then in her seventies) opened her York Street home to injured soldiers until they could be moved to better facilities. Even the death of a family member became entwined with the battle – Esaias Jesse Culp’s grave in Evergreen Cemetery was struck by a Confederate artillery shell on July 3, damaging the tombstone while Jesse’s family hid in the cemetery vaults. In short, the Culp family’s influence in Gettysburg was not measured in grand political deeds, but in countless contributions to the town’s life and its hour of need. From guiding Union generals, to providing wartime medical care, to rebuilding the community afterward, the Culps earned a reputation as solid, involved citizens. Their economic roles (farmers, tradesmen, artisans) sustained the town’s growth, and their social ties (through marriage into families like the Myers, Weavers, and Paxtons) created a broad kinship network that elevated their profile. By the end of the 19th century, “Culp” was a familiar name in Gettysburg – representing a family that, quietly yet significantly, had helped shape the community before, during, and after the cataclysm of 1863.

Culp’s Hill After the Civil War: Preservation and Park Status

In the decades following the Civil War, Culp’s Hill itself underwent a transition from private farmland to a carefully preserved historic site within the Gettysburg National Military Park. Henry Culp, who had remained the proprietor through the Battle of Gettysburg, continued to live and farm on the hill for some years after the war. By the 1880s, however, Henry was aging (he died in 1886), and the battlefield landscape was gradually being transformed by memorialization efforts. Early preservationists recognized Culp’s Hill as hallowed ground: its summit and slopes still bore visible scars of battle, including the well-preserved log and stone breastworks that Union soldiers of the XII Corps had built and the shattered trees from the intense fighting. These dramatic features made Culp’s Hill a popular destination for postwar tourists and veterans. Local guides would lead visitors to see the “old breastworks” winding through the woods, and the hill’s proximity to town made it one of the most accessible sections of the battlefield. Consequently, Culp’s Hill drew the attention of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association (GBMA), the private group formed in 1864 to preserve important parts of the field. The GBMA wasted little time in securing Culp’s Hill – by the end of the 1860s, they had acquired key parcels of the hill (including the summit and adjacent areas) to protect the Union entrenchments from being dismantled. This was among the earliest land preserved at Gettysburg, reflecting how crucial contemporaries considered Culp’s Hill’s role and relics.

Over the next few decades, more of the hill was brought under public protection. In 1895, the U.S. War Department took over the maintenance of the Gettysburg battlefield, turning it into a national military park. At that time, the GBMA transferred nearly 600 acres to the federal government, and Culp’s Hill was included in that transfer. By February 1896, the War Department formally acquired numerous tracts on Culp’s Hill (as part of a 522-acre purchase of battlefield lands). All told, about 40 acres of Culp’s Hill became government property by 1910, comprising the hill’s most significant battlefield areas. Fortunately, because Culp’s Hill was rocky, wooded, and unsuitable for farming beyond Henry Culp’s immediate homestead, it escaped heavy commercial development – unlike some other parts of the battlefield, no residential neighborhoods or large enterprises encroached on its slopes. Henry Culp and his family had moved off the farm into town in their later years, making it easier for the association and government to purchase the land without displacing the owners. After Anna Culp (Henry’s widow) died in 1896, the remaining Culp farm acreage was sold. The National Park Service (which took over Gettysburg in 1933) later confirmed that by 1910 the U.S. government owned essentially all of Culp’s Hill proper.

Once under public stewardship, Culp’s Hill saw only modest alterations aimed at interpretation and commemoration. Tour roads were constructed to allow veterans and visitors to reach the locations of key engagements on the hill. In the 1880s, winding lanes like Slocum Avenue, Geary Avenue, and Williams Avenue (all named for Union generals of the XII Corps) were built along the Union defensive lines. These roads made the summit and the line of works accessible by carriage. In 1895, the War Department erected a tall steel observation tower on Culp’s Hill to give visitors a panoramic view of the battlefield. The tower, 60 feet high with a platform at the top, stood near the summit and became a noted landmark for decades (it was eventually removed in the 1960s as the Park Service sought to restore a more authentic landscape). In addition, the War Department undertook forest management on Culp’s Hill: many of the trees blasted by battle or cut for firewood in 1863 had left the hill partly bare, so authorities planted new trees in the late 19th century to maintain the wooded character and stabilize the earthworks. The famous Spangler’s Spring at the base of Culp’s Hill – a clear-water spring where legend says Union and Confederate pickets peacefully shared drinks during lulls in battle – was also embellished. In the late 1890s a stone spring house and monument were installed at Spangler’s Spring, complete with a metal cup or dipper chained to the spring so that any visitor could take a refreshing drink of the “historic” water. Meanwhile, the Culp family farmhouse survived the passage of time. The original Henry Culp house (a two-story brick home that Henry built in the 1850s) still stands today at 301 Middle Street in Gettysburg, to which it was moved after the war. The house appears much as it did in the summer of 1863, a tangible artifact of the family’s presence. With the hill itself protected and the landscape lightly improved for historical tourism, Culp’s Hill entered the 20th century as one of the best-preserved portions of the Gettysburg Battlefield. Modern rehabilitation projects by the National Park Service have continued to preserve the hill’s features, even clearing overgrown vegetation to re-expose the original Civil War earthworks in recent years (ensuring visitors can still see the trenches dug in 1863). In short, Culp’s Hill’s post-war history is one of early and successful preservation. The combination of timely land purchases and minimal post-war development means that today one can walk Culp’s Hill and still feel the atmosphere of the 1863 battle, thanks in large part to the foresight of those who kept the Culp farm from ever being lost to history.

Postwar photograph of the Union breastworks on Culp’s Hill, published by local photographer W. H. Tipton. These log breastworks, originally built by Union troops on July 2, 1863, remained a prominent feature decades after the battle.

Post-War Commemorations and Notable Events on Culp’s Hill

As an important sector of the Gettysburg battlefield, Culp’s Hill has been the scene of numerous commemorative events and notable occasions since the Civil War. In the immediate post-war years, veterans from both North and South revisited the hill to reminisce and honor their fallen comrades. Union veterans of the XII Corps (who defended Culp’s Hill) held early reunions where they walked the old lines and eventually erected regimental monuments to mark their positions. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, dedication ceremonies on Culp’s Hill became common, as one monument after another was placed along the crest and slopes. Typically, these ceremonies involved speeches by veterans or dignitaries, the reading of unit histories, and the presence of civilian crowds. For instance, the veterans of the 123rd New York and 60th New York regiments (part of Geary’s brigade) dedicated monuments on the lower hill with great fanfare, recalling their successful defense of those works. On August 2, 1884, Culp’s Hill hosted a milestone event in Gettysburg’s commemorative history: the dedication of the 2nd Maryland Infantry (CSA) monument. This monument, placed by survivors of the Confederate Maryland Battalion that had assaulted Culp’s Hill, was the first Confederate regimental monument erected at Gettysburg. Its installation was initially controversial (many Union veterans were hesitant to allow monuments for the Rebel regiments), but the 2nd Maryland veterans persisted and unveiled their stone memorial on the hill where they had charged against fellow Marylanders in Union blue. The poignant “brother vs. brother” symbolism – Maryland Confederates attacking Maryland Union troops on Culp’s Hill – was noted in the dedication addresses. Thereafter, Culp’s Hill became one of the few places on the battlefield with early monuments from both sides, underscoring its significance.

Large-scale battle anniversaries also shone a spotlight on Culp’s Hill. During the 50th anniversary of the battle in 1913, thousands of aging veterans returned to Gettysburg for a grand reunion. While the famous Blue-Gray reunion events centered on Pickett’s Charge and Cemetery Ridge, many veterans took the opportunity to visit the quieter woods of Culp’s Hill as well. Newspaper accounts from July 1913 describe elderly Union veterans from the XII Corps guiding their former Confederate opponents through the trees, pointing out where each regiment stood in the crossfire of July 2–3, 1863. Some veterans posed for photographs by the old breastworks, and informal handshakes and story-swapping took place at spots like Spangler’s Spring – echoing, perhaps, the legendary camaraderie that spring had symbolized 50 years earlier. The 75th anniversary in 1938 saw a similar, if smaller, visitation to Culp’s Hill by the last surviving veterans. A notable modern event came in 1928, when the U.S. Army held a large encampment on Culp’s Hill as part of a national commemorative exercise. On Memorial Day of 1928, President Calvin Coolidge delivered an address in Gettysburg, and regular Army troops established a camp near Culp’s Hill for joint exercises with veterans during that time. The War Department allowed this camp under a 1896 law permitting military maneuvers in national parks, and it was a striking scene – tents and soldiers of the modern era bivouacked on the same ground where blue and gray soldiers had fought 65 years before. During the ceremonies, President Coolidge referenced the bravery shown on spots like Culp’s Hill, linking the legacy of the Civil War volunteers to the then-current U.S. Army.

Culp’s Hill has also been the site of countless smaller ceremonies over the years. Veteran associations often gathered at specific monuments on the hill for remembrance services. For example, survivors of the Veteran Reserve Corps (some of whom manned Culp’s Hill late in the battle) held an excursion in the 1890s and paused at the hill to honor their fallen. In more recent decades, park rangers and historians have conducted annual walks and talks on Culp’s Hill to commemorate the battle anniversary, sometimes even at night by lantern light to simulate the conditions of the July 2–3 nighttime fight. The hill has also been visited by notable figures: various Pennsylvania governors, military officials, and Civil War historians have given speeches or tours there, recognizing the ferocity of the combat that occurred under its oaks and boulders. In July 1963, during the 100th anniversary commemorations, Culp’s Hill was part of the official tour for dignitaries, and a time capsule was reportedly buried nearby containing mementos of the centennial. In all these events, the common thread is a desire to remember what happened on Culp’s Hill and to honor those who struggled there. From the early veteran monument dedications to presidential visits and present-day educational programs, Culp’s Hill remains a focal point for post-war remembrance at Gettysburg – a place where the past is regularly revisited, interpreted, and kept alive for future generations.

The Culp Family Legacy and Descendants Today

The legacy of the Culp family in Gettysburg did not end in 1863. Although some of the family’s best-known members (like Wesley and Henry) passed into history in the mid-19th century, the broader Culp family continued to thrive and multiply. In fact, historians note that there remains “a large posterity of Culps” in Pennsylvania and across the United States. Many of Henry Culp’s and Christian Culp’s descendants moved elsewhere over time – for example, some branches of the family left Gettysburg for the American Midwest or West – but others stayed in Adams County. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, local records (census, church, and civic documents) show multiple Culp families living in Gettysburg and neighboring townships, indicating that the name and bloodline carried on. Henry Culp himself had eight children, four of whom survived to adulthood (Mary, Rufus, Calvin, and Edward Culp), and they in turn had families of their own. The descendants of those lines, as well as the descendants of Henry’s cousins, are part of Gettysburg’s extended community to this day. Some of the Culp descendants remained very engaged in preserving family history and the story of Culp’s Hill. In 1954, for instance, a Culp family member (Charles Curtis Culp) authored a comprehensive historical study of Culp’s Hill, drawing on family papers and local archives. This work, Historical Background of Culp’s Hill, was shared with the Adams County Historical Society to benefit researchers, demonstrating the family’s ongoing commitment to the stewardship of their heritage. The wider Kolb-Kulp-Culp Family Association also traces the genealogy of the family, connecting Gettysburg’s Culps to a larger lineage of Kolb/Culp descendants nationwide.

Today, one can occasionally find Culp descendants participating in Gettysburg events or contributing to discussions about the battle. In recent years, for example, a descendant of the family publicly clarified details of Wesley Culp’s story – pointing out the precise cousin relationships and even correcting the record on the name of Wesley’s sister (noting that family records list her as Anna, not “Ann”). Such interventions show that the Culp descendants feel a personal connection to the legacy of Gettysburg. Some still live in the Gettysburg area, while others around the country make pilgrimages to the hill that bears their name. In Gettysburg, the Culp name itself endures in various ways: Culp Street, a residential lane in town, commemorates the family, and a modern memorial sculpture dedicated to the memory of Wesley and William Culp stands on private display not far from the battlefield. The enduring interest in the family’s saga – often highlighted in Gettysburg guidebooks and lore – ensures that the Culp story continues to be told. Visitors hearing of “Culp’s Hill” learn not only about military strategy but also about a real family whose immigrant ambition, frontier farming, and divided wartime loyalties left an indelible mark on American history.

In sum, the saga of Culp’s Hill is inseparable from the saga of the Culp family. From Christophel Kolb’s arrival seeking freedom in the 18th century, to Henry Culp’s stewardship of the hill in 1863, to the sacrifices of Wesley and William Culp in Civil War uniforms, the family’s odyssey mirrors the broader American experience. Their hill – once a quiet patch of woodland and pasture – became a crucible of the Civil War and is now a carefully preserved memorial visited by hundreds of thousands each year. Thanks to diligent preservation and proud descendants, the memory of the Culps of Gettysburg remains very much alive. Standing atop Culp’s Hill today, one stands not only on a battlefield but also on the homestead of a family whose roots sank deep into Gettysburg’s soil. The stone walls and regimental markers may tell of the battle, but the name of the hill itself is a reminder that real people – the Culps – lived and loved here, leaving a legacy that survives in records, in descendants, and in the very name “Culp’s Hill.”

Modern view of restored earthworks on lower Culp’s Hill (National Park Service, 2021). The NPS has cleared vegetation to reveal these original Union fortifications, preserving the tangible legacy of the battle on the Culp family’s land.