David McConaughy David McConaughy ( July 13 , 1823 – January 14 , 1902 ) was a noted attorney , cemetery president , and civic leader in Gettysburg , Pennsylvania , as well as a part - time intelligence officer for the Union Army during the American Civil War . He was a driving force behind the creation of the Gettysburg National Cemetery following the Battle of Gettysburg . He also led early efforts to preserve the Gettysburg Battlefield for future generations . Early life . McConaughy was the grandson of Irish immigrants who had settled in Chester , Pennsylvania , in 1712 . The McConaughy family was among the first settlers of Adams County and among the most prominent pioneers . He was the youngest of six children of John and Margaret ( Patterson ) McConaughy . His father died when he was four years old , and David was raised by foster parent s . He attended Gettysburg College from 1834 until 1838 , when he transferred to Washington College , where his uncle , also named David McConaughy , a former Presbyterian minister in Gettysburg , was the president . After graduating in 1840 , he accepted a position as principal of a high school in Maryland , where he remained two years . McConaughy then studied law under noted abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens and became an attorney in Adams County . He was active in politics as a Whig . He helped organize the Gettysburg chapter of the YMCA and often sponsored lectures to raise funds for the organization , which often used " McConaughy ' s Hall " as a meeting place . From 1853 until 1863 , he served as president and chairman of the board of directors for the newly established Evergreen Cemetery , and oversaw the construction of its now famous brick gatehouse on Cemetery Hill . He joined the newly formed Republican Party , served as a delegate to the 1860 National Convention , and became an outspoken supporter of President Abraham Lincoln . Civil War . When the Civil War started in 1861 , McConaughy formed and served as captain of the " Adams Rifles , " a company of civilian scouts , primarily composed of his law clients . They were active in monitoring the region for signs of Confederate activity during several threatened incursions , including during the Maryland Campaign . McConaughy ' s scouts and spies were particularly active in late June 1863 during the early days of the Gettysburg Campaign , when they shadowed oncoming enemy cavalry and , later , the main infantry columns . McConaughy gave this vital information to the local military commander , Maj . Granville O . Haller , who in turn relayed it to Maj . Gen . Darius N . Couch and Governor Andrew Curtin in Harrisburg . McConaughy stayed in Gettysburg during the Confederate occupation in early July , still rendering service to the Federal soldiers . Following the battle , Col . George H . Sharpe wrote a letter to McConaughy on behalf of Maj . Gen . George G . Meade , formally thanking him for the critical information on Confederate troop movements . The year before the Battle of Gettysburg , McConaughy had envisioned a Soldiers ' Cemetery as part of Evergreen Cemetery . At the time , only two Gettysburg men had been killed in combat , so there was not enough support from the community to fund the project . In the days after the battle , he ordered the wife of cemetery caretaker Peter Thorn ( who was off serving in the army ) to bury nearly one hundred soldiers ' bodies in Evergreen Cemetery . Within six weeks , McConaughy initiated efforts to form a National Cemetery as a central resting place for the thousands of slain Union soldiers that had been buried at widely scattered graves throughout the Gettysburg region . Having already laid the groundwork for his concept by previously talking to the adjoining landowners , McConaughy acquired purchasing rights for the of land immediately north of Evergreen Cemetery . By doing so , McConaughy foiled rival lawyer David Wills ' s plans to purchase the land for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . He began buying lots on Cemetery Hill with his own money and asked veterans to contribute financially . The National Cemetery was dedicated November 19 , 1863 , in ceremonies that included Lincoln ' s Gettysburg Address . McConaughy soon left the presidency of the Evergreen Cemetery Association to help establish the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association , serving as its first president for ten years . He served as an Elector for Lincoln in the 1864 presidential campaign . Postbellum career . After the war , McConaughy served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for Adams and Franklin counties . He commissioned a famous painting of the Battle of Gettysburg by artist Peter F . Rothermel . In late August 1869 , McConaughy organized a reunion of the soldiers who fought at Gettysburg to recount their experiences and locate specific historic sites on the battlefield . McConaughy was buried in Evergreen Cemetery .