Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

We began the day by going to the Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park. Photo to the right. We decided on seeing the 22 minute film, "A New Birth of Freedom," narrated by Morgan Freeman which tells the story of the three day (July 1, 2, 3, 1863), battle, its causes and consequences. The film was very thorough and was an excellent refresher of history lessons long ago! We were then entered into a circular building and observed an absolutely spectacular work of art like none we have ever seen. It is called a Cyclorama Painting. In 1884 French painter Paul Philippoteaux took brush to canvas and created an oil painting of gigantic proportion. It is 360 degrees, 377 feet long, 27 feet high, weighing 3 tons, re-creating Pickett's Charge, the peak of fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. It also includes a magnificent sound and light program that brings the painting to light. The audience stands in the middle of the circular building on a platform about 30 feet from the painting. The space between the platform and the painting is landscaped with plants and relics that blend into the painting so as to give it all a three dimensional appearance. Flash cameras were not allowed, but we were permitted to return in the evening to see it with all lights on, and then could take non-flash photos. Several are shown to the right. We then went downstairs to the museum and saw thousands of Civil War memorabilia. We were in the museum for almost 3 hours and did not see everything. Leaving the Visitor Center, we took the auto tour of the battlefield. They have an option of hiring a personal guide who rides in your vehicle, or a CD to play as you tour, or a self-guided tour with a brochure explaining each major stop. We did the self-guided tour. We have included several photos of the battlefield tour. The complete 24 mile auto tour traces the 3 day battle in chronological order. There are so many monuments along the drive, it is impossible to tell how many...but we would guess over 1,500 for every infantry unit of every battalion, often including the names of every soldier. The Pennsylvania Memorial is the largest, standing above all others in the middle of the battlefield. Photo of the Peace Memorial at the battlefield is included. Also, we saw a barn still standing which was hit by a cannon ball. You will see in the photo the hole which resulted. No doubt, the Battle of Gettysburg was a conflict of tremendous proportion, and because of it, the tides turned in the Civil War. 165,000 soldiers were involved and more than 51,000 soldiers became casualties. We finished our tour at the Soldiers' National Cemetery, paying our respects to these brave men who gave their lives for their beliefs, and also viewed the site where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. Photo of the Soldiers Monument where the speech was delivered. Interestingly, following the war the remains of 3,220 Confederate soldiers were removed from the battlefield to cemeteries in the South. We would highly recommend that every American visit this site. It is truly an experience you, like us, will never forget. Time prevented us from touring the President Dwight D. Eisenhower National Historic Site located on the farm where he and Mamie owned their only house. However, we were able to photo the farm and house from a distance on an observation platform at the battleground.