Civil War Turning Point, Gettysburg, PA.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

We left Somerset, PA., Thursday, with only 120 miles left to get to Gettysburg.  But, a good portion of this trip would be slow going.  We drove about an hour on the Pennsylvania Turnpike before exiting on to US-30. Most of US-30 was either up or down a steep grade, with some 8% grades going down at a speed limit of 20 mph for trucks.  Since we are pulling a 5th wheel, that speed limit applied to us as well as the big trucks.  Frankly, I wouldn't want to go much faster anyway.  That sudden stop at the bottom can be a killer!

We stopped at one of the Allegheny Mountain peaks and had lunch, then headed to Granite Hill Campground in Gettysburg arriving mid afternoon.  We got set up just before it started raining and the trip over the mountains had us both feeling a little tired.  So, we just relaxed the rest of the evening and got ready to hit the battlefield Friday morning.

Friday morning, my first stop was the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center.  Here I picked up some valuable information about the battlefield tours and special tours with park rangers.  I spent the rest of the day driving around the several miles of battlefields in my car, getting out to read many of the more than 3,000 placards and memorials strewn around the battlefield. Later that afternoon, Kitty and I made a short drive to see a round barn and bought some fresh locally grown apples and peaches. Then we went down town and ate at a restaurant that was in one of the original buildings here in 1863.  It has several bullet pocks on the outside brick structure, and was full of civil war memorabilia.

This Barn was built in 1914 and is now the home of a family business that sells fresh fruits, vegetables, jams, cakes and a ton of other stuff!

I took this picture standing in the rain!  I must have a screw loose somewhere!

Saturday morning, Kitty and I headed back to the visitors center and purchased tickets for the film "A New Birth of Freedom" narrated by Morgan Free, tickets to the museum, cyclorama, and narrated bus tour.  After watching the movie and seeing the cyclorama (massive painting of Picketts Charge) , we grabbed some lunch, then boarded the tour bus.  Our tour guide is a certified tour guide and made the trip interesting and fun.  Then we visited the museum which is chuck full of interesting information about the battle and it's affect on the soldiers and town folks. The little town of Gettysburg suffered for months after the three day battle. Both armies soon left the area.  The town folks were left to clean up the carnage and deal with the more than 50,000 American casualties, and dead horses, and mules that were rapidly decaying in the hot July air. Neither army was prepared to attend to so many injured soldiers.  Several buildings in Gettysburg were turned into makeshift hospitals and still some wounded had to remain outside as there was no place to put them. Plus, heavy rains opened many shallow graves, and the stench of death smothered this entire area.

In this picture, the hill in the center is called Big Round Top, and the smaller one on the left was called Little Round Top.  Little Round Top was to be defended at all cost by the Union because it provided a high vantage point, was accessible for canons, and was the Union's far left flank.  For two days the Confederates, who had marched hard to get Gettysburg, tried to take this hill but were exhausted and eventually repulsed by the Union.  

 This view is from the top of Little Round Top looking at the Union line.  You can see some of the battlefield monuments in the distance.

This view is from atop Little Round Top looking at Devils Den.  This was the scene of bitter fighting with so many casualties on both sides it was said many of the rocks were covered with blood.

This view is from the Confederate line looking at the center of the Union line.  General Lee referenced the "copes of trees" as the focal point for the famous Pickett's Charge.  It's a distance of nearly 3/4 mile crossing the open field, slightly up hill.  Also, you can see the fences that the confederates would have to climb with bullets and canon fire every where.

This is the same copse of trees as seen from the Union line.  

This is the stone wall near the center of the Union line just a few yards from the wooded fences the Confederates would have to climb to reach the Union line. The wall is a little lower now than it was in 1863.

On July 3rd, 1863, after trying for two days to break the Union's left and right flanks, General Lee directed his troops the attack the center of the Union line by the copse of trees.  From the Confederate line, it was up hill to the Union line and this was the most visible point for the Confederate troops to aim at.  General Lee ordered a 150 Confederate canons to blast this small area of the Union line for two hours.  As soon as the smoke cleared, General Pickett (known as Pickett's Charge) lead 15,000 Confederate soldiers across the 3/4 mile open field under heavy canon fire from the Union.  They marched in formation, then had to climb two fences, then would run the next several yards to the Union line.  As they climbed the second fence, the Union lines opened fire with their rifles in a massive slaughter.  Only about 150 Confederates managed to breech the Union line but were soon overwhelmed and ran in retreat.  General Lee's army was so decimated, they would never fully recover from this battle, and would never attack the Union on northern soil during the remaining 22 months of the war.

These next two pictures are from the cyclorama and only show a small part of the entire painting depicting Pickett's Charge.

And, some say this is what I looked like back in 1863!!  Actually, this is one of the civil war reenactors

There's thousands of interesting stories about this three day battle and so many acts of bravery on both sides. This battle is considered one of the turning points of the civil war and is a vital piece of American history.  The Confederates nearly won this battle and many experts believe had the south won this battle, the Union would have probably agreed to allow the south to become its own country.  It took many years of hard work to unify the north and south again into the country we all enjoy today.  But, even 150 years later, some of the dissension still exists.