gettysburg

Milestone

chiquimonkey wrote:

anybody been? toying with the idea of stopping thru on a road trip

Yes, I've been there. Very much worth visiting. I took a fantastic tour there and there is a very nice museum.

On a side note, I had a friend that went to college at Gettysburg. He told me some funny stories about tripping on acid on the battlefield at night, and having some intense visions and experiences.

Porchsitter

It's good to take your time, but believe me, I did it in half a day. Would I have liked more time? Absolutely, but it was worth it to take the time out and just get a few hours there. Plus, you can always plan to go back (which I plan on doing some day).

Oh, and just for perspective.....60,000 seems like a lot, but imagine around 160,000 fighting. That was the estimated sizes of both armies combined.

brain of c

Porchsitter wrote:

Common misconception about Gettysburg. Only 10,000 people actually died. 50,000 were wounded.

ten thousand americans died. go. take a tour. avoid the hall of presidents. read the headstones. swim @ the pool at the holiday inn. stay for four days. go to boyds bears.

deadmosquito

it's definitely worth going to. i went once or twice on school trips when i was in high school and just found it to be unbelievable. of course, i ended up a history major in college so maybe i'm biased. but even if you get the chance to do a stop on a road trip and just stay for a few hours, you'll be able to see the museum and the site of the gettysburg address, and to drive through with a couple stops (definitely stop and see the hill where pickett's charge took place).

also, if you're going to DC, on the way back (although it might be out of your way a little bit) i would recommend stopping in sharpsburg, MD to see the battlefield at antietam. i've been there several times and it never seems any less amazing. there's a few really cool monuments there, plus sites like burnside bridge and the sunken road that are really worth seeing. the bloodiest single day of the civil war took place there, with casualties really heavy on both sides. it was after that battle that lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation; there's a cool 15-20 minute film they show in the main building there that's worth watching as well. i think you can get a CD and do your own tour of that place too, but i'm not sure, as i went with history teachers/professors and never had to utilize one of those. anyway, it's just a thought.

whulmef

My junior year in high school I took a week long class on the Civil War. We went to a few battle sites and this was the best one. Being from north carolina, we did the mile march up the hill from the NC memorial. We had confederate flags and NC flags and stayed in formation. Our teacher called out the different marches that would have been done during the charge. There was about 10 inches of snow on the ground which made it that much more fun.

By the way, for people not from the South, don't get the idea that they are still teaching that the civil war was the "war of northern agression" and that we wished the south won the war, or that they teach that the war wasnt about slavery and it was about states' rights. Only old men still think it was about states' rights anymore here in the South. We were just reinacting the march to get an idea of what happened.

chiquimonkey

thank you everybody for sharing your experiences. it does sound like a very moving place to visit. what we're doing is driving from jersey down to DC, spend a couple days, and then we wanted to hit up philly, stay the night and then drive back up to jersey. even though gettysburg is a bit out of the way, google says it's 2.5 hours from philly, perhaps we can drive there first from dc, and then go to philly. gaaaaah never enough time! lol

deadmosquito

whulmef wrote:

My junior year in high school I took a week long class on the Civil War. We went to a few battle sites and this was the best one. Being from north carolina, we did the mile march up the hill from the NC memorial. We had confederate flags and NC flags and stayed in formation. Our teacher called out the different marches that would have been done during the charge. There was about 10 inches of snow on the ground which made it that much more fun.

By the way, for people not from the South, don't get the idea that they are still teaching that the civil war was the "war of northern agression" and that we wished the south won the war, or that they teach that the war wasnt about slavery and it was about states' rights. Only old men still think it was about states' rights anymore here in the South. We were just reinacting the march to get an idea of what happened.

well i understand wanting to maintain that it isn't the "war of northern aggression" because it wasn't. but as far as it being about states' rights: that's the crux of the war. that's exactly what it was about. i hope they are still teaching that, because it is the one positive truth. it took the civil war to make the states understand that states' rights were no longer in effect as it were. it was like part II of the american revolution. it did not start over slavery, so i really hope they aren't teaching you that.

NCBRI

I would reccomend a trip to Gettysburg to anyone. It's only about an hour north of DC. Even with a kind of rushed visit, I really enjoyed it. The audio cd really enhances the battlefield tour. Here are some pics I took when I went: http://travel.webshots.com/album/45090074SNjGpb

chiquimonkey

NCBRI wrote:

I would reccomend a trip to Gettysburg to anyone. It's only about an hour north of DC. Even with a kind of rushed visit, I really enjoyed it. The audio cd really enhances the battlefield tour. Here are some pics I took when I went: http://travel.webshots.com/album/45090074SNjGpb

oh it's only an hour? i saw it was like 1hr 45 min on maps google. if it's an hour though, that could be totally doable! thanks for the pics link

samick

I want to visit gettysburg so bad............I also want to visit some of WWII sites as well..........But gettysburg is number one on my list......

NCBRI

chiquimonkey wrote:

oh it's only an hour? i saw it was like 1hr 45 min on maps google. if it's an hour though, that could be totally doable! thanks for the pics link

I could be wrong, but I think it only took about an hour for us to get from Gettysburg to I495. I guess it depends on how far south you would be coming from and traffic. We were headed back down to NC and went around DC. It's not a bad trip at all. And if you are headed toward Philly after Gettysburg, you can take the scenic route and see some nice countryside.

chiquimonkey

NCBRI wrote:

I could be wrong, but I think it only took about an hour for us to get from Gettysburg to I495. I guess it depends on how far south you would be coming from and traffic. We were headed back down to NC and went around DC. It's not a bad trip at all. And if you are headed toward Philly after Gettysburg, you can take the scenic route and see some nice countryside.

yeah traffic i think will be the deciding factor, since it's over the memorial day weekend. i guess we'll just play it by ear and see how it goes, if traffic/time permits. i really want to check it out now though, after reading everybody's experiences there. sounds like a powerful place.

prism

chiquimonkey wrote:

oh it's only an hour? i saw it was like 1hr 45 min on maps google. if it's an hour though, that could be totally doable! thanks for the pics link

I've been to Gettysburg a couple of times. it's most definitely worth the trip. though from what I remember it was about a two hour drive from DC

whulmef

deadmosquito wrote:

well i understand wanting to maintain that it isn't the "war of northern aggression" because it wasn't. but as far as it being about states' rights: that's the crux of the war. that's exactly what it was about. i hope they are still teaching that, because it is the one positive truth. it took the civil war to make the states understand that states' rights were no longer in effect as it were. it was like part II of the american revolution. it did not start over slavery, so i really hope they aren't teaching you that.

You are dead wrong. My history professor read out loud in class the statements that states made about why they were seceding from the Union. The main reason in all of them was slavery. The whole states' rights thing is complete bullshit. It is people from the South buttering up what the war was about. The Civil War started as a war on slavery, any history professor will tell you this.

markymark550

cutback wrote:

never been but i'd love to do a drive across the south going to all the civil war "landmarks".....i love history...:)

Gettysburg isn't in the South though, so I guess you'd miss this one....:)


Although, I would really like to go visit Gettysburg as well.

chiquimonkey

prism wrote:

I've been to Gettysburg a couple of times. it's most definitely worth the trip. though from what I remember it was about a two hour drive from DC

yeah 2 hours seems to make sense from the maps and all. we'll just play it by ear, i hope we can fit it in though, i'm super intrigued now.

Boss302

I grew up and still live 10 minutes from Gburg. There are plenty of haunted places to go. Some are B.S. some are true. The college has some good ghost places. The ghost tours in town aren't bad i've heard. Solomon's bridge is haunted, which is in between Littlestown, where I live, and Gburg. I'm a fairly cynical person but when you sit on that bridge you will be freaked out.

I kinda take it for granted because i've lived here my whole life, but if you have the chance to walk Pickett's charge I'd do it. While you're walking it remember that those thousands of men were marching directly into cannon fire across that field.

Devil's den is neat, so are Little and Big Round Top. If you walk around little and big round top enough you'll probably find some bullets on the ground.

You can take any number of guided tours which are free and informative.

It's about 1.5 hrs to DC and 1.25 hrs to Baltimore from Gburg depending on traffic.

Tom K

Can't forget to stop in Appalachian Brewing Co. for a few beers and some lunch.

http://www.abcbrew.com

chiquimonkey

Boss302 wrote:

I grew up and still live 10 minutes from Gburg. There are plenty of haunted places to go. Some are B.S. some are true. The college has some good ghost places. The ghost tours in town aren't bad i've heard. Solomon's bridge is haunted, which is in between Littlestown, where I live, and Gburg. I'm a fairly cynical person but when you sit on that bridge you will be freaked out.

I kinda take it for granted because i've lived here my whole life, but if you have the chance to walk Pickett's charge I'd do it. While you're walking it remember that those thousands of men were marching directly into cannon fire across that field.

Devil's den is neat, so are Little and Big Round Top. If you walk around little and big round top enough you'll probably find some bullets on the ground.

You can take any number of guided tours which are free and informative.

It's about 1.5 hrs to DC and 1.25 hrs to Baltimore from Gburg depending on traffic.

thanks for all that. i have mixed feelings on haunted places - some places play it up for business, and some are really legit. i can imagine there is some serious activity in spots there...that much loss has to leave a mark.

and thanks tom for the foodies tip