July 3, 1863 - Considered by many historians as the turning point of the Civil War, the Battle of Gettysburg raged for three days and cost nearly 8000 lives. Many of the casualties from both sides remain in Gettysburg, interred in the cemetery consecrated by President Abraham Lincoln several months after the battle. Established as a national battleground shortly after the war, Gettysburg was transferred to the National Parks Service in 1933. There are 1320 monuments scattered throughout the park, as well as 410 cannons.
On Sunday, I visited the park and took a ton of photos on the auto tour of the park. Due to the number of monuments and the historic points on the drive, it takes about five hours to complete. The auto tour takes you into the town of Gettysburg and to each of the landmarks of the battle - Little Round Top, the Peach Orchard, the Wheat Field, Culp's Hill, Cemetery Ridge, the Seminary. There are also observation towers scattered throughout that allow for excellent views of the entire battlefield, which consists of several hundred acres.
A lot of the photos of the battlefield itself are fairly boring. Battlefields are not glamorous, they don't make for extremely scenic vistas. Armies fought in clearings and in farmers' fields. They don't look like much. The power of the sight is in the history, of which Gettysburg has plenty.
The view from atop Little Round Top looking down at Cemetery Ridge. The area is relatively rugged with a lot of hills and boulders scattered throughout the fields. Imagine trying to cross the low ground while being bombarded by cannon fire from where I'm standing.
This small farmhouse was both a Union field hospital and General George Meade's headquarters. Meade was in overall command of the Union forces and operated from this house, which for a time was in the center of the battle.
General Robert E. Lee occupied this larger farmhouse in the northern part of the battlefield. The house is across the road from the Lutheran Seminary that gave name to Seminary Ridge.
This castle structure, which has an observation deck atop accessible via a spiral staircase within, is a monument erected by the State of New York to commemorate the New Yorkers who fought in the battle from atop Little Round Top, which is where the monument is located.
The Pennsylvania State Memorial is the largest of the monuments at Gettysburg. Erected in 1910, it commemorates the nearly 35,000 Pennsylvania soldiers that fought in the battle and has an observation deck around the dome. The photo of me waving from the deck didn't turn out unfortunately.
No battle would be complete without its cannons. This one was placed McPherson Ridge by Confederate forces, overlooking the town of Gettysburg. On the first day of the battle in 1863, it was 80 degrees. On Sunday it was hovering around freezing with 20 mile per hour winds.
Abraham Lincoln looked a little lonely sitting by himself outside the museum, so I decided to keep him company for a little while. I believe that the statue was of his actual height, which just goes to show how short I am comparatively.
I could post dozens of photos of museum exhibits, but they are not nearly as interesting as the battlefield and monuments, so I'll just show you this one. There were display case after display case of period arms - both rifles and revolvers. The museum was interesting, especially the cyclorama, a 42 foot by 365 foot oil painting depicting Pickett's Charge.
The Gettysburg Address Memorial commemorates Lincoln's speech dedicating part of the battlefield as a burial ground for fallen soldiers from both sides.
I was expecting the type of headstones normally found at military cemeteries, but instead found these - small square stones with numbers instead of names. Many soldiers were never identified and are identified only with a number. The last remains were discovered on Seminary Ridge in 1997 and interred in the cemetery.
The visit to Gettysburg was very moving and one that I would like to make again when the weather is warmer, for there are many miles of walking paths throughout the entire site to explore each and every location in which fighting occurred.
Situated on a high hill in Dushore, this church is built almost exclusively of locally quarried stone. It sits on one of the highest points in town and can be seen from anywhere within the small town.
The Cell Block in Williamsport is the old Lycoming County Jail dating from the late 19th century. After it closed, it was converted into a restaurant and nightclub. Although it looks gloomy and daunting, it is really quite nice inside.
As the sign says, this is the historic Sullivan County Courthouse in Laporte. I spent most of my time here in the records room. It was built in the late 19th century, but has been extensively remodeled and restored over the last two decades.
Traveling on US 15 into Williamsport, there is a scenic overlook that offers views of both the Susquehanna River and the town of Williamsport, seen in this photo. The Endless Mountains can be seen behind the town.
US 15 runs alongside the Susquehanna River for most of its length and offers stunning views of the river. North of Harrisburg, the Susquehanna is virtually non-navigable because of currents, rapids, and the fact that at many points the river is only a foot or two deep. Thus, it makes an excellent river for canoers and kayakers and the park service maintains campsites along the river and on some of the islands for campers.
The Pennsylvania Capitol Building seen from across the Susquehanna in Wormleysburg. Harrisburg is a fairly drab town and aside from the capitol, most of the Commonwealth administrative buildings are built in the '70s concrete bunker style. I visited the State Archives one day and got to see the dinginess and bleakness first hand.
Pennsylvania is full of historic old barns that have been well maintained by farmers through the last two centuries. This particular barn is on the grounds of the Gettysburg Battlefield and most likely predates the battle.
