Gettysburg

Living in Northern Virginia opens up a lot of opportunities to see historic places that we in the West don’t get to see very often.  One of the top spots on that list of things to do for us is Gettysburg.  Bri and I have long loved the stories of heroism and dedication on both sides that come out of Gettysburg, and we decided to take advantage of MLK Day to go to Gettysburg with another family.  We loaded up early Monday morning and started our 1.5 hour drive.  On the way, we listened to all of Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech and Johnny Cash’s reading of The Gettysburg Address, Bri told us stories about some of the different battles, and the kids watched Joshua Chamberlain defend Little Round Top and the glorious failure of Pickett’s Charge in the movie Gettysburg. 

We arrived in a sleepy little town in rural Pennsylvania early in the morning, with a light fog in the air and the sky overcast.  It seemed unbelievable that the most pivotal battle of the Civil War happened here in this quiet place, and we were grateful to go on a cold January Monday morning when we had the place to ourselves.  We made our way to the Gettysburg Diorama, tucked in the back of a souvenir shop in town, and met up with our friends.  The Diorama is an incredible miniature replica of the 6,000 acre battlefield with 20,000 hand-painted soldiers, horses, canon, and buildings.  From our seats in little bleachers on the side we watched a narrated show with various parts of the battlefield lit up as the story of Gettysburg’s famous three days unfolded.  It was a great way to start our time there and really gave a nice overview of the key battles, locations, and sequence of events.   

After previewing the Diorama and time in the souvenir shop, we decided to do a CD self-guided tour, and headed west to Seminary Ridge where the South massed for Pickett’s Charge.  We toured the different states’ monuments and saw the dozens of canon that lined the ridge all along the route.  

A useful map of the places and actions

We arrived at the Virginia monument where a large General Lee sits on horseback looking out over the battlefield.  This is the place where Lee met the defeated South and what was left of Pickett's Charge returning from failing to take Cemetery Hill on the decisive third day of the battle.  We walked out several hundred feet from the memorial onto the battlefield and marveled at the courage and bravery it took to march out from there heading to Cemetery Hill under canon and musket fire, with 7,000 men falling on the way.

From there, we headed to the Longstreet Tower for a good look at the entire battlefield.  

After the lookout, we went on to Warfield Ridge and finally Big and Little Roundtop.  This was the highlight for all of us.  The kids have grown up with their dad getting misty-eyed every time he talks about Joshua Chamberlain, the academic commander of the 20th Maine that many credit with holding the Union’s extreme left flank in a decisive interaction on the second day with Alabama regiments.  Because (as dad always tells us) Chamberlain was faithful to his assignment to “hold the line at all hazards” against impossible odds, Longstreet had to send Pickett straight into the Union guns the next day.  We saw the various memorials on the exposed rocky face (New York had a little castle next to the rock on which Brigade Commander Vincent was killed on the second day), and then we walked about a quarter mile down the path and into some lovely, quiet woods.  There, we found the remains of the 20th Maine’s rock wall fortifications and a little humble memorial to this unit.  The area had an almost sacred feel to it, and we were all touched by the location and its significance.

From the top of Little Round Top, looking down the rocky face.  Longstreet wanted the South's guns to point from here down on the Union's position on Cemetery Hill (on the right side of the photo).

Devil's Den from the top of Little Round Top

"Hero of Little Roundtop" by Mort Kunstler -- one of Bri's favorites.  This depicts the moment Chamberlain ordered his men to fix bayonets after two hours of heavy fighting when he realized his men's ammo was gone.  Chamberlain led their charge down the hill with just their bayonets, and two Alabaman regiments with twice the number of soldiers were so shocked and overwhelmed they surrendered immediately to Chamberlain.  

From Little Round Top, we drove to The Devil’s Den, The Wheatfield, and The Peach Orchard, some of the fiercest close and hand-to-hand fighting in the Civil War, with more than 10,000 casualties between them.  

Devil's Den

Top of Devil's Den

The Wheatfield

The Peach Orchard

We then headed up Cemetery Ridge towards Cemetery Hill and the heart of the North’s defense and victory on the third day in Gettysburg, and stopped at the large Pennsylvania Memorial to take in the view from the other side of the battle.  We imagined what it must have been like to see the entire Confederate Army march on your position, and walked part of the battle line.

 Pennsylvania Memorial

General Meade waiting with his canon on Cemetery Hill

The battlefields in Gettysburg are well-preserved and the monuments are lovely, and we had the place to ourselves in about as intimate an experience as you could hope for given the fame of Gettysburg.  As the afternoon was ending, we had just enough time to run to the Gettysburg National Cemetery, a moving tribute to those who died in the fight.  We found the spot where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address, and pondered his words there in the failing light.  

They built this memorial on the site where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address

We couldn't have asked for a better day in Gettsyburg!