Posted on 09/07/2021 8:22:53 AM PDT by MplsSteve
In one week from today, The Wife (aka Mrs. MplsSteve) and I will be in Gettysburg for a few days. Obviously, we're gonna visit the battlefield. We lined up a tour guide thru the Gettysburg Heritage Center and at least for the first night, we'll be staying at the Best Western on Steinwehr Avenue.
I have a few travel brochures and have looked them over but I'm looking for any recommendations or advice on what else to see and do there. That includes places to stay that don't cost an arm and a leg as well as places to eat.
What did you like? What did you not like?
I'd appreciate whatever assistance you can give me.
Those grab and go breakfasts are simply awful.
the monuments were put up by union soldiers. It was only around the turn of the 2oth century that confederate monuments began to be built. And the people who hated to have the confederate flag on the battlefield park. were the veterans themselves. Next time you go to Gettysburg visit the Virginia memorial and see the flag that is on display on that monument. It was put up around 1917 i think and it does NOT have the confederate flag because the union veterans objected to it. So the state flag of Virginia is displayed NOT the traditional battle flag of the confederacy.
I was there 30 years ago and walked up the field where Pickett’s Charge happened. There weren’t any signs saying it was off limits. I don’t know about now. I felt shaken just being there and trying to imagine the horrific slaughter. Those guys were literal cannon fodder.
Take along any of Joshua Chamberlain’s books to read. His writing is so good it sends chills down my back. Used to keep them in my purse for a few minutes reading, and give them away at holidays to friends.
I love first person books and one of the other good ones from Gettysburg was General James Longstreet’s “From Manassas to Appomattox.” Longstreet was married to a cousin of President Grant, as I remember, and that helped him get his citizenship back after the war.
If you’re as fascinated by General Winfield Scott Hancock as I am, make sure you read the account of the way he was finally saved by a clever surgeon. This doesn’t mention it, but the book I read said he was saved by the US Surgeon General, who had come to say final goodbyes when it was thought the general was giving up to the pain and dying.
https://hsmcpa.org/index.php/component/k2/item/125-unraveling-a-mystery
He’s a favorite of mine because he was a friend of great-grandfather, who gave speeches around the country defending General Hancock against Mary Surratt defenders. The general wouldn’t give up Mary Surratt, who was imprisoned under the general’s authority and then hung. GGF was one of the special judge advocates at the Lincoln Assassination Trial.
http://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/burnett/lincoln.htm
Also make sure there’s enough photo storage on your camera. You think you’re prepared for the number of monuments, but you can’t be. So many of the men who fought there joined the associations that put up markers so that the world would remember. I wouldn’t trust the cancel culture to not make a try at destroying the battlefields.
you can still walk it there are paths
Today’s wokesters would ban both the Confederate and Union flags.
Texas put up a good showing and paid a terrible price. This is the memorial they placed over 100 years later:
There are definitely places all over the battlefield that make you feel something - melancholy, sadness, pride...
Probably one of my favorite places was on the huge PA monument where it tells of the dedication ceremony and how veterans of both sides attended, talked, shared experiences and walked away as friends. A lesson for all of us.
As a native Pennsylvanian I’ve been to Gettysburg many times in both my youth and as a U.S. Marine on battle staff rides. In fact, the battlefield has had such a profound impact on my life, I chose to take my commissioned as a 2nd Lt in the United States Marine Corps at the Pennsylvania monument on a foggy December morning in 1993. Still connected to that hallowed ground, my wife and I just spent the night at the Gettysburg Hotel on the square this weekend. The best advice I can give, in preparation for your visit, is to watch the movie “Gettysburg” based on the Michael Shaara’s book “Killer Angels” with your wife. The movie was actually filmed on the battlefield and will bring the characters, the terrain, and the battle to life. Granted, there are certain literary freedoms that were taken in the book, but it will humanize the whole experience. While I was in Gettysburg this weekend, I realized that the fight we are presently engaged in for the soul of our country is much like the battle that transpired in 1863. The strategic outcome was a culmination of many operational and tactical events... when you look deeply into the battle and its many facets, you will find that the actions of individual men and small units contributed to the battle’s final outcome. This brings to mind JKF’s attributed quote “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.” In the face of adversity what sacrifices are we willing to make today for the preservation of our nation? Are we willing to traverse the field of death, punctuated by deadly artillery fire as Pickett’s men dutifully did in obedience to orders and a commitment to a cause they viewed as just? Are we willing to hold the line as Buford’s cavalry did on the first day and as Chamberlain’s infantry did on the last, knowing that the preservation of the Union might very well mean the giving of their last full measure? May we all commit ourselves to such resolve as we take back out states and our nation from tyrants! I hope that you find your visit to Gettysburg as inspirational and spiritual as I have found it to be. Good luck and Godspeed! EKY LtCol (USMC) retired.
yep and only the rainbow flag allowed, which you can see adorning a number of Gettysburg shops
A lot depends on your walking tolerance. It is easy to start on Cemetery Hill, start walking down the Union line, and be doing a big “oops” when you get to Little Round Top. Ya gotta walk back.
Remember that the park roads basically run along the Union and Confederate lines, while the attacks generally ran at a 90 degree angle to the park tour routes. The unit monuments are mostly placed along the roads (for the convenience of tourists) in the general vicinity of where each unit fought, but they give a much more static feel to the scene than was true historically. For the first and second days’ fighting especially, you should try to visualize a very dynamic environment, with troops advancing, retreating, counterattacking, and wheeling and dealing in all directions to adjust to very fluid, short range tactical situations. Today the monuments sit there in nice, orderly rows. Hah! The Wheatfield, for example, almost defies description. If you want to feel the ground, you really need to walk the attack routes. Walk at least one, just to get the feel of it.
Walking Pickett’s charge is almost irresistible for a first timer, but my favorite walks follow Longstreet’s assault on July 2. Start with John Bell Hood on Confederate Avenue on the southern edge of the battlefield and walk across the open ground into the Rose Woods. You will probably get knocked off line a bit as you enter the woods and descend into the Plum Run defile, but you will work your way through that and emerge somewhere on either side of Devil’s Den, at the foot of Little Round Top. Scramble straight up the slope. You will appreciate why the Confederates couldn’t take it.
Another good one is to walk from the Peach Orchard across the open fields to the Trostle Farm area and then on towards the Union line on lower Cemetery Ridge. Aim for the Pennsylvania Monument, which is the Greek temple style building with the small dome. As you approach it, you will encounter the First Minnesota monument. This is the closest the Confederates got to breaking the Union line on July 2 or 3, and the First Minnesota is why they didn’t.
You will also benefit from scrambling up Culps Hill. Don’t be a sissy and drive to the top. Park at the bottom and walk. Depending on your line, you may find yourself scrambling on all fours and grabbing for branches for support.
There is a lot to learn from getting off the park roads and following the troops. You WILL feel the ground and realize that Meade knew what he was doing when he chose his position.
Don’t neglect the first day. If you have time and are up for another walk, take the trail down to Willoughby Run and work your way upstream towards the Chambersburg Road. See if you can find the old quarry. The troops sure did.
Again, all of the above depends on your walking tolerance. None of the above are loops. Ya gotta hoof it back, though you can take an easier route on the return if you stick to the roads.
Way O/T, but next time you’re in San Antonio, stay at the Menger Hotel. If you’re lucky, Teddy Roosevelt’s ghost will appear in the bar. That’s where he recruited soldiers for his Rough Riders.
My favorite restaurants (in no particular order) are The Dobbin House, The Farnsworth House (both of which are a little bit pricey, but nothing you wouldn't pay for elsewhere for a nice dinner out with the family). Garry Owen is a (relatively) new place with good, locally sourced food. The Lincoln Diner is a classic, open 24 hours and some fantastic pies. The Pub on the square has always been pretty good, but gets a lot of tourist traffic.
Others here have referenced the Cashtown Inn. I haven't eaten there for a long while, but it used to be good, and is probably more famous as a "haunted location," than anything else. It's about 8-10 miles to the west of town, and notable as where Lee marshalled his troops before heading towards the town.
Hope you have a great trip!
Stand by the North Carolina memorial and look up the hill, form an opinion if you could take it with 15 000 men.
Then go to the angle on top of the hill, look down the hill, and ask yourself if any 15 000 men ever born could take your position?
Gettysburg Diorama and History Center
Gettysburg National Park Museum and Visitors Center (especially the Cyclorama!)
Drive through every part of the battlegrounds, as you'll not want to miss seeing even one of the countless number of monuments.
Sure there are many other things to see, but also be sure to enjoy a meal or two at the Dobbin House Tavern. Ask/look for a cozy table for two in the basement (original foundation stones exposed). Highly recommend the Baked King's Onion Soup (best I ever had).
Ghost walking tour if you’re into that.
There’s a great little ice cream shop whose name is escaping me a little south of the downtown square.
I’m actually going to be there this weekend myself.
Go to the stone wall where Picket’s division evaporated in the great charge.
The North Carolina Memorial itself is quite impressive. It was sculpted by the same artist who did Mount Rushmore. The faces are actual Confederate soldiers.
The biggest idea I took away from Gettysburg was opposing armies had to FIND EACH other to do battle. No helicopters, GPS, phone sy stems etc... so often they would march around for days or weeks trying to find each other. You probably already know this - but it was something I had never considered.
Also there were strict rules of engagement.... old men, children and women would sometimes leave their homes to watch the battle... they were off limits.
Guides will probably still tell the same stories but if not- the ‘wandering around armies’ was a keeper.
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