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When Robert E. Lee was forced to turn back and retreat from Pennsylvania ending his dream of winning the Civil War by invading the North it quickly became clear that he had thrown his best punch and failed. Lee almost won but didn’t. While the Confederates won some major battles after Gettysburg their will to fight and the appetite for loaning them money was gone. Yesterday the Wisconsin Democrats brought their invasion to Republican held State Senate districts. To turn back the tide of conservatism in Wisconsin the Democrats instigated recall elections of six Republican Senators. They almost won enough...

My wife and I are thinking of an October trip that would include Gettysburg. We want to fly into the area and would probably take a bus or some type of shuttle, not a rental car, into Gettysburg for however many days we need to stay. So I need some advice from knowledgeable FReepers (Is there any other kind of FReeper?): First of all what city should we fly into? Baltimore and Harrisburg look most likely. I know Gettysburg has an airport but it doesn't appear to have major carriers. Does anybody know if bus or shuttle service is available...

Five re-enactors were injured by lightning early Sunday morning at a campsite near Gettysburg and taken to area hospitals, and two people remained under observation for burns. The identities were reported as Erich Griffey, 28, and Lou Griffey, 30, of Moon Township, Allegheny County; and Randy Morgan, 61; Marisue Morgan, 45, and Ben Morgan, 11, of Irwin, Pa., near Pittsburgh. Lou Griffey remain hospitalized at York Hospital, as of Sunday evening, and was in stable condition, with relatives and friends reporting that she is six-months pregnant. Marisue Morgan also remained hospitalized in Gettysburg, according to her husband, Randy Morgan. “It...

Fifty years had passed since the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1st- 3rd, 1863.

When I first visited Gettysburg years ago, I was overwhelmed with the sense of sacrifice made to secure our union, but my most recent visit this morning was even more significant as subsequent visits allow reflection on the state of our union today. Striking to me is how ready and willing troops and civilians were in 1863 to lay their lives on the line. Are we as ready and willing to accept the call for sacrifice today in order to keep our union secure? Hopefully the kids on school field trips whom we met this morning grasped the poignant irony...

UPDATE: Former Alaskan Governor and Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin is in Gettsyburg. Her patriotic themed bus is parked outside the Gettysburg Courtyard hotel arriving late Monday afternoon. Palin is not releasing a public schedule, but a crowd is gathering at the battlefield in anticipation she'll make a public appearance Monday evening. Palin is traveling with her husband and daughter on a "One Nation" tour which she began in Washington, D.C.

Rumors continued to circulate Friday about the prospect of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin visiting Gettysburg National Military Park this weekend. The website POLITICO reported Palin will stop at the battlefield as part of a Memorial Day-weekend bus tour to sites of historical and national significance. Walt Tuchalski, communications coordinator for the Adams County Republican Committee, said he's heard speculation of a Sunday visit. "The rumor from reliable sources on the street is that Sarah Palin's campaign has made some inquiries into what's going on in Gettysburg this Sunday," he said. (snip) Still, Tuchalski said he's hopeful for a visit....

My husband and I are traveling to Gettysburg this month and currently are considering where to stay. I am looking at the Fairfield Inn, which is outside Gettysburg in Fairfield and looks lovely, including is from the year 1750s with a gorgeous tavern. But the reviews online are poor. Has anyone stayed there to give me any information? My husband prefers the Gettysburg Hotel, which is right in Gettysburg and has a lot going for it besides location, including a jacuzzi, fireplace and lovely restaurant, but is an old bank converted and to me doesn't seem to have the charm...

One score and four months ago, American voters brought forth in this country a historic presidency, conceived in hope and dedicated to the proposition that yes, we can. Now I am engaged in a great political war, the conditions of which I largely inherited from my predecessor, testing whether this presidency, or indeed any presidency, at least one so crowned in virtue, can long endure.... And from these honored dead I take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion to me. I highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in...

In 2004 a gentleman by the name of John Wega refounded the USCC and at his own expense built an exact replica, as far as Civil War documents could dictate, of one of the chapels in the heart of the city of Gettysburg. The chapel has held services every Sunday from April until the end of November and it is a visitor center as well, open 24/7. Below is a picture of the interior of the rebuilt 480 sq. ft. 40′ x 12′ chapel which was built on a vacant lot with permission, at the time, of the city of...

As the Gettysburg Area Democracy for America met Wednesday night, members joked of the "elephant in the room." And when they asked their panel guests -- political science and economics professors at Gettysburg College -- what happened in Tuesday's election as Republicans gained many U.S. House and Senate seats, the professors said they had no answers. "The world is a confused place," joked moderator Lou Hammann. The group assembled at the Lutheran Seminary threw out ideas and questions as to why this election seemed to be a referendum on President Barack Obama. The one thing they all agreed on was...

September 03, 2010 Your Dog's Papers (and your money), Please. Jason McNew Under Pennsylvania Law, animal control officers can carry firearms and have powers of arrest. Here in Adams County, PA (seat of Gettysburg and the battle fields), The Evening Sun reports that local dog law enforcement "will be knocking on doors across Adams County in the second canvass this year to make sure all dogs are vaccinated, licensed and safe". The article further explains: "The maximum fine per violation of the licensing and rabies requirements is $300, in addition to possible court costs." Using the Law of Averages, one...

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The town where the Civil War's tide-turning battle was waged is fighting dissension in its own ranks, with even hard-core preservationists split over a proposed casino that would rise near the historic battlefield and be named for the line that divided North and South. It's the second time in five years that Gettysburg has fought over a plan to build a casino. This time it's the Mason Dixon Resort & Casino, proposed on a hotel and conference center site within a mile of the southern boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park. "No Casino" and "Pro Casino" signs...

Jul 1, 1863: The Battle of Gettysburg begins The largest military conflict in North American history begins this day when Union and Confederate forces collide at Gettysburg. The epic battle lasted three days and resulted in a retreat to Virginia by Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Two months prior to Gettysburg, Lee had dealt a stunning defeat to the Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville. He then made plans for a Northern invasion in order to relieve pressure on war-weary Virginia and to seize the initiative from the Yankees. His army, numbering about 80,000, began moving on June...

Happy 234th birthday America! The War Between the States Sesquicentennial, 150th Anniversary, runs from 2010 through 2015. The Georgia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans has an information page. Make it a family affair to attend the events planned throughout the USA . The National SCV Sesquicentennial Commission has a website. The fading photos and stories of Union and Confederate Veterans from that summer of 1913, shaking hands, sharing a meal and trading war stories is a special part of our National Heritage well worth sharing. Do young people know who Gen. Robert Edward Lee, Major Gen. George Edward Pickett and...

Albert Snyder speaks at Gettysburg rally for troops By JEFF FRANTZ Daily Record/Sunday News Updated: 05/22/2010 05:32:12 PM EDT GETTYSBURG - When they came home to bury their friend in 2006, Pete Bellizzi and Dan Broughton saw so much respect for Marine Sgt. Jonathan Eric McColley, the way he lived and the sacrifice he made to keep their country safe. But Bellizzi and Broughton - both Gettysburg natives, now staff sergeants who keep military planes in the air - remember something else about the funeral for McColley, who was killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Africa. Westboro...

Seven score and seven years ago, a wounded Wisconsin soldier stood his ground on the Gettysburg battlefield and made a valiant stand before he was felled by a Confederate bullet. Now, thanks to the dogged efforts of modern-day supporters, 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing shall not have died in vain, nor shall his memory have perished from the earth. Descendants and some Civil War history buffs have been pushing the U.S. Army to award the soldier the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration. They'll soon get their wish. Secretary of the Army John McHugh has approved their request, leaving...

In the fall of 2003 my wife and I decide to visit the battlefield at Gettysburg. Being a civil war junkie, it was a must on my to-do list of historic civil war sites to see before I left this world. I must say it turned out to be one of the greatest experiences of my life. We did all the things that tourists do; snapped a few family pictures, visited all the historic museums, and toured the key points of interest on the battlefield. As the day drifted towards sunset we made our last two stops. The first was...

The NY-23 special election on Tuesday has the attention of the White House at the highest levels, with White House sources saying that the endorsement of Democrat Bill Owens by "Republican" Dede Scozzafava came only after a call from White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel asking that she throw her support behind the Democrat. On Monday Vice President Joe Biden will visit the district, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Sunday was coordinating with its colleagues in the SEIU as well as the Working Families Party (ACORN) and may spend as much as $150,000 over the next 48...

The story of the Battle of Gettysburg and 50th Anniversary Reunion would make for a heart-warming and touching TV Historic mini-series or Hollywood movie.

Do you know who Gen. Robert Edward Lee, Major Gen. George Edward Pickett and Major Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain were?

Those that recognize my name know I usually write the Westminster AAR’s. Westminster used to be our hometown and we do FReep/Rallies the 2nd and last Saturdays of each month, but Gettysburg, PA is our hometown. The past 2 weekends have given me great opportunity to share some special events that have taken place in our historic and amazing hometown. Westminster is a great place to visit, but we love living in Gettysburg! For those of you that live elsewhere, Gettysburg is a great place to visit! Over 40 miles of scenic road including the Gettysburg National Military Park, battlefields,...

The Gettysburg Address Gettysburg, Pennsylvania November 19, 1863 Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It...

July 2, 1863 The second day of battle at Gettysburg General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia attacks General George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac at both Culp's Hill and Little Round Top, but fails to move the Yankees from their positions. On the north end of the line, or the Union's right flank, Confederates from General Richard Ewell's corps struggled up Culp's Hill, which was steep and heavily wooded, before being turned back by heavy Union fire. But the most significant action was on the south end of the Union line. General James Longstreet's corps launched an...

July 1, 1863 The Battle of Gettysburg begins The largest military conflict in North American history begins this day when Union and Confederate forces collide at Gettysburg. The epic battle lasted three days and resulted in a retreat to Virginia by Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Two months prior to Gettysburg, Lee had dealt a stunning defeat to the Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville. He then made plans for a Northern invasion in order to relieve pressure on war-weary Virginia and to seize the initiative from the Yankees. His army, numbering about 80,000, began moving on June...

Lincoln's Gettysburg AddressThe Daniel Chester French Victory atop the Memorial to the First Division of the Army, the Big Red One, outside the White House (monument details here). Photo by Mike's AmericaMemorial Day first started as Decoration Day when citizens of the reunited Northern and Southern states began an annual observance of the 600,000 lives lost during the American Civil War. (history of the holiday here) So it is perhaps fitting that we take Lincoln's Gettysburg Address delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863 as the text...

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Three weeks and two days ago our community organizers and voter fraud operatives brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Socialism, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created to be subservient to their government.

Marilynn Phillips is sick and tired of waiting for people to take her seriously. The disability-rights activist has long said Gettysburg lags far behind many other towns when it comes to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. For years, Phillips has filed complaints with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. But those cases take months, sometimes years, to resolve. In the meantime, Phillips said the businesses and other facilities she files against have largely ignored her concerns. Now with the help of an attorney, Phillips has decided for the first time to file some Gettysburg cases in federal court in...

John J. Miller at The Corner asks the question: What are the best conservative movies of the last 25 years? This cinema epoch begins roughly with the release of Red Dawn in 1984. I might be happy if I could find 25 bona-fide conservative movies at all in the past 25 years. I’m afraid that most of what Miller will get in response will be of the Red Dawn variety, since the only place safe for conservative themes in Hollywood has been action films. Red Dawn itself had that in spades, but it was also a rather dreadful movie with...

Today, November 19, 2008, is the 146th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address delivered by President Abraham Lincoln. It is truly one of the most amazing speeches ever delivered. Lincoln was preceded on the program by orator Edward Everett, who delivered a two-hour speech with more than 13,000 words. It took Lincoln little more than 2 minutes to deliver his words on that day, but what he said endures to this day, and will endure as long as America endures as a nation. The video above contains Ken Burns' narration of the Gettysburg Address. . . . (Watch Video)

3rd Day- Pickett's Charge On the outskirts of Gettysburg, at 1 p.m., 170 Confederate cannons open fired. The Union was positioned in Cemetery Ridge with only a stonewall for protection. The Union returned fire. About 2:30 p.m. the Federally slowed there rate of fire and fooled the rebels, to believing they were out of ammunition. Gen. Picket went to see Gen. Longstreet and asked, " General shall I advance"? Longstreet responded with his head bowed and raised his hand. The command was given. " Charge the enemy and remember Old Virginia" Picket said as he lead 12,000 rebels toward the...

July 2, 1863 The morning of July 2 found the two armies facing each other from two nearly parallel ridges separated by a plain of open farmland. Overnight, Longstreet had arrived with the divisions of McLaws and Hood, bringing the strength of the Confederate Army to 50,000. As of this morning, Pickett's division had not arrived. The Union Army had also received reinforcements during the night, bringing their numbers to over 60,000. While Meade's attention was directed towards Ewell's corps on Culp's Hill to the north, Lee decided to attack from the south. In the afternoon, Hood's division encountered Federal...

Obama adds a little more cowbell TRIBUNE-REVIEW BY Salena Zito Bristling at charges that, so far, Barack Obama is running a less-than-spectacular race in Pennsylvania, the candidate's chief political strategist told reporters this afternoon that the campaign was going all out to win the Keystone State. "We are gong to contest vigorously in Pennsylvania," David Axelrod said. "We're going to be running a full campaign."

In 1863, Pittsburgh fortified against Confederate army By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW From mid-June through early July of 1863, the citizens of Pittsburgh prepared for an invasion by the Confederate Army under Gen. Robert E. Lee. It marked the only time that Pittsburgh would become militarily involved in the Civil War. The "Emergency of 1863" began when Major Gen. William Brooks, who commanded the U.S Army's Department of the Monongahela in Pittsburgh, received a dispatch June 11 that outlined a probable invasion of the city. Since the start of the Civil War, there was always uneasiness that Pittsburgh, known as the...

I am researching the phrase that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. that was used by Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address Specifically the part "of the people, by the people, for the people." Is this phrase used anywhere in our constitution or DOI?

Delivered at Gettysburg on November 19,1863 "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and...

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Abraham Lincoln photos are rare -- especially those from the day of the Gettysburg Address. For years, only one such photo was thought to exist, but now that may not be the case. "I think it's absolutely staggering to see something like this that was in a sense hidden in plain sight," said Lincoln author Harold Holzer. Holzer thinks the image of a person in one of only two known photographs taken at Gettysburg on the day of Lincoln's address looks like Lincoln possibly arriving to the stage on horseback. "To have the moment recorded minutes before...

I had the opportunity this weekend to visit Gettysburg National Military Park, and experience walking the battlefield. StainlessBanner, Stand_Waitie and all of my southron brothers, for this Yankee (and a descendant of men who fought at Little Round Top, Devil's Den and behind the stone wall during Pickett's Charge) to stand at the Virginia Monument and look down the Confederate line and stare across that wide open field, and to think of what your ancestors did there, brought me to tears, what brave honorable men they were. God Bless their memory and God Keep their sacred honor.

A coffee mug used by Department of Public Safety Commissioner John A. Danaher III showing the Confederate flag in a Civil War battle has angered black leaders who said it was insensitive to display a symbol of hate, particularly when the state police have been under fire for complaints of racism. The issue arose Wednesday night after the NAACP met with members of the Commission on African American Affairs to discuss how to address recent allegations of rampant racism within the state police and state Department of Correction. The African American Affairs Commission is a group of citizens appointed by...

Pickett's Charge A lone cannon and the field of Pickett's Charge. The Copse of Trees (focal point of the charge) is the right-most cluster of trees on the ridge, "The Angle" is marked by the single tree to the left of the Copse of Trees. Pickett's Charge was a disastrous infantry assault ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge, on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, and it was arguably an...

American Culture on the 4th of July By John E. Carey Peace and Freedom July 4, 2007I am never sure whether it is our American culture that shapes our TV, movies and other media or whether our media shapes our thinking to such an extent that it changes culture.Probably a little bit of both.What is culture? One very good online dictionary calls it “The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. These patterns, traits, and products considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community, or population.”On July 4,...

It was 144 years ago this week. Thirty-five miles from where I write, for three extraordinarily violent days beginning on July 1st and ending on July 3rd, the fate of America hung in the balance. By July 4th, the small village of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was a horrific landscape of carnage. The words of author and educator Garry Wills in his classic Lincoln at Gettysburg leave little to the imagination:

1863 : Pickett leads his infamous charge at Gettysburg Troops under Confederate General George Pickett begin a massive attack against the center of the Union lines at Gettysburg on the climactic third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the largest engagement of the war. General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia encountered George Meade's Army of the Potomac in Pennsylvania and battered the Yankees for two days. The day before Pickett's charge, the Confederates had hammered each flank of the Union line but could not break through. Now, on July 3, Lee decided to attack the Union center, stationed...

1863 : The second day of battle at Gettysburg General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia attacks General George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac at both Culp's Hill and Little Round Top, but fails to move the Yankees from their positions. On the north end of the line, or the Union's right flank, Confederates from General Richard Ewell's corps struggled up Culp's Hill, which was steep and heavily wooded, before being turned back by heavy Union fire. But the most significant action was on the south end of the Union line. General James Longstreet's corps launched an attack...

WASHINGTON—The National Archives on Thursday unveiled a handwritten note by Abraham Lincoln exhorting his generals to pursue Robert E. Lee's army after the battle of Gettysburg, underscoring one of the great missed opportunities for an early end to the Civil War. An archives Civil War specialist discovered the July 7, 1863, note three weeks ago in a batch of military papers stored among the billions of pages of historical documents at the mammoth building on Pennsylvania Avenue. The text of Lincoln's note has been publicly known because the general to whom Lincoln addressed it telegraphed the contents verbatim to the...

We thank you President Bush for 20 years of peace and freedom. Here in 2027, as we look back on all that has happened, we salute you for your steadfastness in the face of unstinting vitriol from the left, including books and movies advocating your assassination, in holding fast to your belief that America’s future could only be secured by facing the terrorists on their ground, not ours. Your decisions to go first into Afghanistan and then into Iraq before they could supply nuclear weapons to terrorists and to finish that job has turned out to be as important to...

Can any good brothers from Maine or Alabama confirm to me the source of this quote, said to be found in a book written by Joshua Chamberlain. An Amazon review says this is found on page 21 in the book, but a search of other internet links does not mention this letter as much as one would imagine. Here is the Amazon quote/review: A letter written to Chamberlain...by a Confederate combatant of the 15th Alabama Regiment which assaulted Little Round Top on July 2...is astonishing(p.21).The former rebel soldier simply states that he COULD HAVE SHOT CHAMBERLAIN TWICE during the battle...

GAMING CONTROL BOARD REJECTS SLOTS PARLOR NEAR HISTORIC GETTYSBURG BATTLEFIELD After 20 months of debate, the Control Board concludes that Gettysburg and gambling don’t mix. (Harrisburg, Pa., 12/20/2006) – During a public hearing today, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board rejected a proposal to build a 3,000-machine slots parlor one mile from the Gettysburg Battlefield. James Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), issued the following statement in the wake of the vote: “This is a great day for Gettysburg and for preservationists throughout the nation. By not allowing gambling to encroach on this famous town and battlefield, Pennsylvania...

GETTYSBURG, Pa. - A woman admitted to smoking marijuana daily with her 13-year-old son to reward him for completing his homework. Amanda Lynn Livelsberger, 30, pleaded guilty to several charges Monday and will be sentenced Nov. 27. Livelsberger, of Conewago Township, admitted in Adams County court that she had been smoking marijuana with her son since he was 11, and that she often gave it to him as a reward. The boy told police that he was required to do his homework as soon as he got home from school, and then was allowed to smoke marijuana with his mother,...