We rode the
bike into Gettysburg to the Gettysburg National Military Park. This park is owned by the National Park
Service and is either preserved or being restored to be in the same condition
as it was when Union and Confederate soldiers met there. We opted for the combination 2-hour bus tour,
movie, cyclorama and museum package – it was a good choice.
I can’t
begin to tell you the emotion you feel if you let yourself get absorbed in the
story the guide is telling. I’m a very
distant relative of Robert E. Lee so I’m particularly interested in the telling
of his story. We stood on the Seminary
Ridge where the Confederate troops stood before they went into battle on the
third day and we stood on Little Round Top where the Union troops stood. The battlefield was no more than 2 miles wide.
This picture is of McPherson's Barn near where the first day of battle began.
This is the
view from the Confederate side on the last day of battle.
This year is
the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. It took place over three days in 1863 – July 1st,
2nd and 3rd,. The
Confederate troops won the first two days but were defeated on the 3rd
day and retreated on July 4th.
The small town of Gettysburg (population 2400) was left to deal with
over 51,000 dead or wounded soldiers.
After the
bus tour we went back to the visitor’s center for a look at the Gettysburg cyclorama
– this is awesome. It is a 377 x 35 foot
painting completed in 1884 by French painter Paul Philippoteaux, depicting the
battle of Pickett’s Charge – the last battle of Gettysburg. They have it displayed in a circle, visitors
stand in the middle and when lights and sound effects are applied you feel like
you are in the middle of the battle.
They don’t allow pictures to be taken during this showing, believe me
when I say it can bring tears to your eyes to realize how sad this battle was.
We are
headed back to Gettysburg tomorrow to check out some different sights.
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