The Battle of Gettysburg 11.08

Day 7 - Gettysburg - Sunny and 70

So, I guess I'm slacking by not posting on this blog the minute that anything happens on our trip. I'll try to be more on top of it so I don't keep all our fans waiting.

To re-cap we spent a glorious day at Gettysburg National Historic Park on Sunday. We started the day at the visitor center and debated on whether to take a bus tour or doing a CD guided auto tour. We decided to go with the CD auto tour because it would give us more freedom at the sites and enjoy some more time in the car together.

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought during July 1, 2 and 3 of 1863 and was one of the critical and bloodiest battles of the entire civil war. The Union army lost 23,000 men while the Confederate army lost 28,000 men over the course of the three day battle. We started the tour on McPherson's Ridge where the battle started and then moved onto the Eternal Light Peace Memorial which was dedicated in July of 1913 when 50,000 Union and Confederate men came back for the 50th anniversary of the battle. The monuments flame has burned since the dedication in 1913. We then made our back through town and over to the North Carolina and Virginia Memorials. Heather really had to use the bathroom, so we stopped for lunch at the amphitheater and had a nice picnic lunch out of the station wagon.

Once back on the road we stopped at the numerous monuments along the outer left edge of the battlefield and then made our way to Big Round Top which is the highest point in Gettysburg but not a great place to fight because it was a heavily wooded area. We stopped and hiked to the top where we saw the 16th Maine regiment. Heather of course wore sandals and her broken foot was not feeling that great from the hike. We head back to the car and onto Little Round Top where the famed 20th Maine regiment lead by Joshua Chamberlain fought and "held the line at all hazards." This was a turning point in the war because the were able to drive back the Confederate's and keep the left end of the battle intact. We then moved onto the Wheatfield which was the spot of the bloodiest fight over the course of the three days and it was said if you fell in this field you would fall onto the body of another soldier. It took almost four days for some of the wounded to be found and treated in this field. We then raced past the Peach Orchard and Plum Run to the Pennsylvania Memorial which is the largest monument in the park. There happened to be an Indian wedding taking pictures, so we got to see a different type of wedding with a lot of men and only the bride. We then lost some history steam and made our way over to the eastern part of the battlefield and Culps Hill. Finally we drove to the Angle and High Water Mark where the Union army defeated the Confederate army on July 3, 1863. That was then end of the CD auto tour and we learned a great deal about the battle and the historic national park.
Heather then lead us into town to the David Wills House where it's believed that Abraham Lincoln finished the Gettysburg Address and then to the Soldiers National Cemetery where Lincoln delivered his speech.

After a full four and a half hours of history we were tired and drove to Lancaster for dinner and the night.