Gettysburg PA

Left Reading on Wednesday & drove to Gettysburg, PA. Stayed at Artillery Ridge Camp Resort right by the battlefield.


First, we went to the Gettysburg National Museum & Visitors Center which houses one of largest collections of Civil War relics/artifacts. We watched a documentary film , "The New Birth of Freedom," about the causes of the Civil War & the sacrifices of Gettysburg. The battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War. It was the wars bloodiest battle with over 51,000 casualties (every farm field & garden was a graveyard).



That's Joe & Abe in front of the Visitor's Center.

Next, we saw the Gettysburg Diorama, a 3- dimensional viewing of the entire Gettysburg battlefield with over 20,000 hand painted figures. You get to see & hear the fury of the battle through the eyes of Generals' Lee & Meade.




There are many ways to tour the battlefield - tour bus, Segway, horseback, bicycle, or auto. We opted for the auto tour.








There are 1,328 monuments, markers & memorials throughout Gettysburg battlefield.



We stopped at Little Round Top; a pivotal point of the battle. Union forces seized this strategic high ground, which they held for the remainder of the battle. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by the Confederate troops against the left flank on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.




This is the of Valley of Death. So named for the many soldiers that fell here during the struggle for Little Round Top.






Our last stop was at Soldiers' Memorial Cemetery. This is also the place that Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address speech.