This was the site of the largest Civil War battle ever waged in the Western Hemisphere. The Battle of Gettysburg opened on July 1, 1863 and closed two days later with the climactic "Pickett's charge". Historians have referred to the Battle of Gettysburg as the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy." It was the last major effort by Lee to take the fighting out of Virginia and into northern states. The Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg contains more than 7,000 interments including over 3,500 from the Civil War. It was here that President Abraham Lincoln delivered his immortal Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. On February 11, 1895, congressional legislation was signed to establish Gettysburg National Military Park as a memorial dedicated to the armies that fought that great three day battle. Gettysburg National Military Park incorporates nearly 6,000 acres, with 26 miles of park roads and over 1,400 monuments, markers, and memorials.