Day 3: Gettysburg, PA

2013 is the 150^th Anniversary of the Battle at Gettysburg.  Since we were only 2 miles from the Gettysburg National Military Battlefield, we decided to take the Tour.  We first stopped at the Visitors Center to get our National Parks book stamped and grab a few brochures.

JULY 1, 1863:

McPherson Ridge

First stop was McPherson Ridge where the battle began at 8:00 AM between the Union Calvary and the Confederate Infantry.  Heavy fighting occurred this day and it was an eerie feeling standing here now.    Today, many memorials stand where the fighting took place.

Eternal Light Peace Memorial

Stop #2 was the Eternal Light Peace Memorial.  At 1:00 PM of the same day, the Confederates attacked from this hill.  75 years later, over 1,800 Civil War veterans help dedicate the memorial which is a massive monument overlooking the battlefield.  As I walked up to touch the monument, a shiver went down my spine and emotion almost overtook me.

Stop #3 was Oak Ridge where, at the end of the day, General Lee’s 70,000 confederates held General Meade’s Union army of 93,000 and pushed them back to Cemetery Hill.

JULY 2, 1863:

North Carolina Monument

Tennessee Monument

 Stop #4 was the North Carolina and Tennessee Memorials.  On July 2 the Confederates positioned itself on high ground along Seminary Ridge.  The Union Army occupied Culps and Cemetery Hills and the Round Tops.  Lines of both armies formed two parallel “fishhooks”.  

Virginia Memorial

Stop #5 was where the Virginia Memorial stands, which faces a large open field where the last  Confederate assault, known as “Pickett’s Charge” occurred on July 3.

Stop #6, Pitzer Woods.  On the afternoon of July 2, the Confederate troops were anchored along these lines.

Stop #7, Warfield Ridge.  At 4:00 PM,  the Confederate assaults began here. 

Off in the distance (left) is President Eisenhower's Gettysburg farm.

Stop #8, Little Round Top.  Quick action by the Union army, reinforcements were brought in to defend their position.

George climbed to the top of this viewing tower.....I stayed below.




 

Stop #9, The Wheatfield.  Charge and countercharge left this field and nearby woods strewn with over 4,000 dead and wounded. 

Stop #10, The Peach Orchard.  The Union line extended along this area and points beyond where the Confederates were bombarded with cannon blasts.  About 6:30 PM, the Confederate attacks overran this position.

Stop #11, Plum Run.  While fighting raged, retreating Union soldiers crossed this ground to Cemetery Ridge.

Pennsylvania Memorial

Stop #12, the Pennsylvania Memorial.  Union artillery held the line alone here on Cemetery Ridge late in the day and other areas to strengthen and hold the center of the Union position.  The Pennsylvania Memorial was by far the largest and most impressive of all the memorials.  We climbed 60 steps to the top of the monument to gaze and the fields beyond,  trying to picture the battle.  

Stop #13, Spanglers Spring.  About 7PM, Confederates attacked and occupied the lower slopes of Culps Hill.  The next morning, the Confederates were driven off after 7 hours of fighting.

Stop #14, East Cemetery Hill.  At dusk, Union forces repelled a Confederate assault that reached the crest of this hill.

JULY 3, 1863:

Stop #15, High Water Mark.  Late in the afternoon, after a 2 hour cannonade, some 7,000 Union soldiers repulsed the bulk of the 12,000-man “Pickett’s Charge”.  This was the climactic moment of the battle.

JULY 4, 1863:

Lee’s army began retreating.
Total casualties:  23,000 Union Army.  28,000 Confederate Army.

Stop #16, National Cemetery.  I’ve never been to a National Cemetery before so, once again, emotion overtook me and there was a big lump in my throat as I walked through the cemetery, stopping at the spot where, on November 19, 1863, Lincoln dedicated the National Cemetery and gave his famous Gettysburg Address.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

We left Gettysburg at 12:30 PM, listening to a new book-on-tape, “Hunter’s Moon”, by Randy Wayne White.  Ran into a big traffic jam in Connecticut, sitting in one spot for 30 minutes.  Never did see what that was all about, but it was getting late and we were getting hungry so we stopped for the night at a nice, quiet rest stop just south of Hartford.