Gettysburg

Gettysburg

Morale in Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was at an all time high in June of 1863. Following their huge victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville (Virginia), they had been moving northward through Maryland and into Pennsylvania . It was the high water mark of the Confederacy. Behind them, the Union Army under General George G. Meade was also on the march and closing in on the rebels. Meade had recently been appointed to replace General Joseph Hooker and ordered to engage the Confederate forces and protect Washington and Baltimore from capture. The two armies came together briefly on June 30, in the sleepy little Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg, in the shadow of the Appalachian Mountains, and the real battle began the next day, July 1^st.

The battle started with Confederate forces attacking Union positions on McPherson Ridge, west of town. The defenders were heavily outnumbered, but held on most of the day, finally withdrawing to Cemetery Hill, south of town, in the afternoon.

With more reinforcements arriving, Union troops worked long into the night to strengthen their defenses. When dawn broke on July 2, the battle lines were formed in two sweeping arcs, with the main forces of both armies facing each other about a mile apart on parallel ridges. The Confederates held Seminary Ridge to the west, while Meade’s army was waiting for them on Cemetery Ridge.

Lee ordered attacks on both Union flanks, and soon General Longstreet’s thrust against Union forces had blanketed the base of Little Round Top in carnage, filled the Wheatfield with dead and wounded, and overrun enemy positions in the area known as the Peach Orchard. Blood ran in rivulets in the rich Pennsylvania soil. At the other end of the Union line, Confederate General Ewell’s attack on Federal troops occupying Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill was successful at first, but Ewell could not carry through and exploit the situation to his advantage before darkness fell.

On July 3, artillery from both sides fought a thundering duel that did little to soften Union defensive lines, as Lee had hoped. Lee’s next action was to prove disastrous, when 12,000 Confederate troops advanced across open fields in a bloody attack that would be known as Pickett’s Charge. The destruction and suffering was too terrible for most of us to comprehend. More than 5,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in one short, vicious hour.

With Pickett’s Charge driven back, the Battle of Gettysburg was essentially over. Lee’s army, physically battered and emotionally destroyed, staggered back into Virginia , a mere shadow of the victorious force they had been just a month before. Never again would Robert E. Lee attempt an offensive of such large scale.

Throughout the three days of the battle, the suffering and loss was terrible on both sides. More than 51,000 dead and wounded soldiers were left behind when the shooting had stopped. More men were killed at Gettysburg than in any other battle fought on American soil before or after. The wounded and dying were crowded into nearly every building in town, and the dead were buried in hastily dug mass graves or lay strewn across farmers fields. The once-peaceful little town was in a shambles. When the soldiers marched away, the stunned townspeople were left to deal with the terrible aftermath of the conflict. Life went on for the people of Gettysburg, but it would never be the same.

Today Gettysburg National Military Park nearly surrounds the town of Gettysburg, and visitors from around the world come to tour the battlefield and the adjacent National Cemetery. The first stop should be the Visitor Center and Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War. The Visitor Center includes an Electric Map of the battle, a very nice museum exhibiting artifacts from the battle, and a nice bookstore.

The Electric Map presents a narrated orientation to the battle and is a good introduction to the events that happened here. During summer months, park rangers conduct walks, tours, and programs on the battle. Visitors can also hire a licensed tour guide at the Visitor Center. Tours of the nearby Eisenhower Farm, the only home owned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, also begin at the Visitor Center.

Next door to the Visitor Center is the Cyclorama Center, which has exhibits, a free film, and the 360 foot Gettysburg Cyclorama, a spectacular painting of Pickett’s Charge presented in a circular auditorium.

Across from the Visitor Center is Gettysburg National Cemetery, where men killed in the battle are buried, along with veterans of other wars. It was at the dedication of this cemetery that President Abraham Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863.

A very nice two to three hour self-guided auto tour covers most of the important battlefield sites. The Visitor Center has cassette tapes to guide visitors on their auto tour, or the free handout from the Visitor Center will do a fine job of leading visitors from point to point. The eighteen mile long auto tour includes McPherson Ridge, where the battle began on July 1, 1863. Other important stops are Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard, and Cemetery Hill. Throughout the tour are monuments erected to honor the units who struggled here.

For those who enjoy exploring on foot, there are several nice walking tours that take you across the same land where men fought and died. The mile long High Water Mark Trail begins at the Cyclorama and passes regimental monuments, the site of Pickett’s Charge, and General Mead’s headquarters. For those who enjoy more of a challenge, the nine mile long Billy Yank Trail and the 3.5 mile Johnny Reb Trail should fill the bill.

Gettysburg has several nice campgrounds, as well as motels and bed and breakfast inns. In addition to the National Park Service facilities there are also privately operated museums exhibiting artifacts from the battle.

For more information on Gettysburg National Military Park, contact Gettysburg National Military Park at 97 Taneytown Road, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325 or on the Internet at www.nps.gov/gett For information on local campgrounds and accommodations, contact the Gettysburg Convention and Visitor Center at 35 Carlisle Street, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325