A trip to Gettysburg

Good morning Tuesday people!

How are you all doing and feeling? 

Good, I hope.

Peter and I had a nice weekend. The big chill has left us and we’re in for a fairly mild week. As long as it does not get too warm too soon I am in.

On Saturday Peter and I took off for Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.

It takes less than 90 minutes driving there. So it is a good outing on a Saturday. Our goal was to visit the big battlefields in this area.

You know, the ones that got famous (infamous?) durin the American Civil War.

This was the first time for me visiting these battlefields. I have been to other ones in our area, like Manassas battlefields and other, smaller ones, here in Northern Virginia. But I have never seen anything like the ones in Gettysburg.

People, these battlefields were (are) enormous. Not only are there fields, the battles took place amongst hills, valleys, rocks and boulders as well. I can't even imagine what these poor soldiers had to go through.  And to make matters worse, it took place in the dead of the humid and hot summer.

The battle in Gettysburg took place between July, 1-3 1863.

Three bloody, awful, scary days for all these soliders that fought over the land. For the north, the Union blue soldiers, it was a significant win against the the south, the Confederate gray soldiers. This battle was the turning point during the Civil War. And it also shaped the United States to what it is it today. 

My dear husband is somewhat of a history buff, and he’s very interested in the Civil War, so it was great having him there as I was asking questions.

These battlefields are so wide spread within the town of Gettysburg.

Actually, the battlefields are surrounding the town. There is a self guided auto tour within the park and you'll drive from point to point on the map. The drive is 24 miles long (38 kilometers) and it takes you to all significant places. You can also get the audio tour thru the National Parks app.

This park is a very interesting place to visit. You will learn a lot about the civil war. Many of you have probably watched numerous movies and TV-series about this war. One that I can certainly remember is "North and South" from the 1980's.

Here are some pics from our drive thru the park. 

Don’t let the sunshine and the clear skies fool you, it was very windy and cold.

 

There is a great visitors center that is a must to visit.  One can watch a very informative movie there as well.  Peter and I just missed it.  We did not want to wait 45 minutes for the next one to start, so we took off without watching it.  However, I do believe that said movie is very, very interesting and informative.

Honest Abe and I outside the visitor center.  Abraham Lincoln was the president during the civil war.

We're starting our drive thru the battlefields.

When one looks out over all this today, it is almost impossible to fathom the bloody battles that took place here.
Peter is photographing the topographic map of the fields.

Yes, there are cannons at several places thoughout the park.
The eternal light peace memorial.

You can stop your car and hike a bit as well.  There are several hiking paths on these hallowed grounds, and there are monuments everywhere.  Here we are on Big Round Top.

The statues add to the experience.

We are on our way up to Big Round Hill, it was actually a steep climb.

Peter's looking out over the battlefields just as the offiers were doing during the battles of Gettysburg.
Here we are on Little Round Hill, this is where the cruelest and biggest battle in American history  took place.

It is almost impossible to believe that this is a place where so many soldiers lost their lives. The Confederate soldiers (the South, dressed in grey) were 71.699 in total, 28.063 of them died. The Union solders (the North, dressed in blue) were 93.921 in total, 23.049 of them died.  Over 10.000 soldiers are  missing from those three violent days.  Several thousand soldiers got wounded..

This is the statue of Brigadier General Gouverneur Kemble Warren as he was looking out over the troops.

Have a good Tuesday!