gettysburg

chiquimonkey
chiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
edited March 2008 in All Encompassing Trip
anybody been? toying with the idea of stopping thru on a road trip
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  • norm
    norm Posts: 31,146
    never been but i'd love to do a drive across the south going to all the civil war "landmarks".....i love history...:)
  • chiquimonkey
    chiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    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...:)
    me too! i haven't experienced any civil war landmarks, and we're driving from NJ to DC, and maybe stopping in philly, so if we can sneak over to gettysburg, that'd be a nice history-filled trip :) just wondering if it's something that can be seen in a few hours, or if it's worth staying the night
  • Porchsitter
    Porchsitter Loganville, GA Posts: 1,092
    If history (and the Civil War) is your thing, then I would say it's worth it. I would recommend picking up the tour CD they offer at the souvenir shop inside the museum. Otherwise, you will be driving around looking at wide open fields without an idea of what the significance of the field may be. Also, look for Eisenhower's house with the 50 pine trees lining the driveway.
    We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.--Bill Hicks
  • chiquimonkey
    chiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    Porchsitter wrote:
    If history (and the Civil War) is your thing, then I would say it's worth it. I would recommend picking up the tour CD they offer at the souvenir shop inside the museum. Otherwise, you will be driving around looking at wide open fields without an idea of what the significance of the field may be. Also, look for Eisenhower's house with the 50 pine trees lining the driveway.
    thanks for the info! yeah i saw they have the audio tour, i'll pick that up for sure. are there more things to see around the area, besides the fields and ike's house?
  • Porchsitter
    Porchsitter Loganville, GA Posts: 1,092
    chiquimonkey wrote:
    thanks for the info! yeah i saw they have the audio tour, i'll pick that up for sure. are there more things to see around the area, besides the fields and ike's house?

    Yeah.....the Soldiers Cemetery outside the museum is massive and worth a walkthrough. Plus, the spot where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address is right outside of the cemetery. Beyond that there really isn't much that I saw, but then again I only had a few hours there with only enough time to do the drive. So there may be plenty of other stuff I missed. Give yourself plenty of time to drive around the battlefield. It's massive beyond belief. Also, if you would like a good book about Gettysburg, I recommend Thomas Desjardin's "These Honored Dead." It does a good job with the story while correcting some of the things we've come believe through legend.
    We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.--Bill Hicks
  • chiquimonkey
    chiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    Porchsitter wrote:
    Yeah.....the Soldiers Cemetery outside the museum is massive and worth a walkthrough. Plus, the spot where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address is right outside of the cemetery. Beyond that there really isn't much that I saw, but then again I only had a few hours there with only enough time to do the drive. So there may be plenty of other stuff I missed. Give yourself plenty of time to drive around the battlefield. It's massive beyond belief. Also, if you would like a good book about Gettysburg, I recommend Thomas Desjardin's "These Honored Dead." It does a good job with the story while correcting some of the things we've come believe through legend.
    thanks a lot, that's a big help. how long were you there? how long did it take to drive around the fields?
  • Porchsitter
    Porchsitter Loganville, GA Posts: 1,092
    chiquimonkey wrote:
    thanks a lot, that's a big help. how long were you there? how long did it take to drive around the fields?


    We arrived at the park around 9 in the morning. They say get an early start b/c it gets busier as the day goes on. We decided to wait to tour the museum until after the drive. The drive itself took a while. We started at 9:30 and didn't finish until 2 or 3PM. Since I am a history buff, I stopped probably more frequently and for a much longer time than some. Gettysburg is littered with statues and things to read about. While I didn't take a lot of time with many of the statues, there are some not to be missed. One in particular is the statue is the lighthouse-like memorial of the Irish Brigade that fought in the battle. The "Devil's Den" is an incredible stop just for the view as well as the site of Pickett's Charge. I stood on both sides of that battlefield trying to imagine what it must've been like to cross that field under heavy Union fire. Anyway, give yourself 3 hours and some change at the least. It's an 18-mile trek, but you can only drive so fast and you make many stops.

    The museum doesn't take as long, but there is still a few things to look at....most importantly the amount of weapons they have.
    We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.--Bill Hicks
  • chiquimonkey
    chiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    Porchsitter wrote:
    We arrived at the park around 9 in the morning. They say get an early start b/c it gets busier as the day goes on. We decided to wait to tour the museum until after the drive. The drive itself took a while. We started at 9:30 and didn't finish until 2 or 3PM. Since I am a history buff, I stopped probably more frequently and for a much longer time than some. Gettysburg is littered with statues and things to read about. While I didn't take a lot of time with many of the statues, there are some not to be missed. One in particular is the statue is the lighthouse-like memorial of the Irish Brigade that fought in the battle. The "Devil's Den" is an incredible stop just for the view as well as the site of Pickett's Charge. I stood on both sides of that battlefield trying to imagine what it must've been like to cross that field under heavy Union fire. Anyway, give yourself 3 hours and some change at the least. It's an 18-mile trek, but you can only drive so fast and you make many stops.

    The museum doesn't take as long, but there is still a few things to look at....most importantly the amount of weapons they have.
    that is some excellent information to have, i've made note of it all including the book, i'll look to see if it's in the library. thanks again! :)
  • Porchsitter
    Porchsitter Loganville, GA Posts: 1,092
    chiquimonkey wrote:
    that is some excellent information to have, i've made note of it all including the book, i'll look to see if it's in the library. thanks again! :)

    No problem. Glad I could help.
    We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.--Bill Hicks
  • in_hiding79
    in_hiding79 Posts: 4,315
    Isn't Gettysburg supposed to be haunted?? That is one spooky looking place at night I bet....I would love to visit!! :)
    And so the lion fell in love with the lamb...,"
    "What a stupid lamb."
    "What a sick, masochistic lion."
  • chiquimonkey
    chiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    in_hiding79 wrote:
    Isn't Gettysburg supposed to be haunted?? That is one spooky looking place at night I bet....I would love to visit!! :)
    it seems ripe for some ghost activity, which does intrigue me too :) not sure how brave i am to be there at nite though haha
  • QuarterToTen
    QuarterToTen Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 3,652
    gettysburg moved me. i would highly recommend visiting.
    Nice shirt.
  • spat
    spat Posts: 644
    gettysburg is one place everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime. trust me though, you will need more than just a stop through on a road trip! i was out there last october (beautiful time of year to go), we stayed for about 4 days and still wish we had more time.
    depending on your time schedule, you should take a bus tour of the battlefield with a guide that narrates along the way. the guy we had was very informative. or just drive through in your car, either with a cd you can rent, or a pamphlet type thing they hand out. words can't describe the scope of the battlefield, and just trying to imagine, something like 50,000 dead over three days. that said, its a very peaceful place to be at the same time.
    check out sach's bridge too, its a gorgeous covered bridge, very photogenic. its a hotspot for ghost hunters also, its rumored that civil war deserters were hung from there.
    if you plan on staying over night, speaking of ghosts, gettysburg has its fair share of haunted tours too! check out the jennie wade house, she was the only civillian killed in battle. the house is somewhat of a "hang out" for all the spirits of the dead soldiers, as well as the children from the orphanage across the street, which also gives haunted tours. children who were left without parents after the war were put in this orphanage, but the head mistress was evil and tortured them in the basement. sad sad story.
    they have walking tours around town also that takes you up around gettysburg college and all over, with the guide giving ghost stories along the way. theres probably a lot more i'm not telling you but i don't wanna bore you! here's some of my pictures if you wanna check it out http://www.flickr.com/photos/22037544@N00/sets/72157603952883530/detail/
    My favorite Pearl Jam song: "Corporate Greed Boat Asshole Behind a Counter in the Oval Office"
  • Riverrunner
    Riverrunner Posts: 2,419
    Nice photos Spat.

    I was at Gettysburg when I was in 7th grade, and that was many, many, many years ago. However, I still remember it and would like to go back as an adult. We were there only for a short time though and I only remember driving through the area with the monuments.

    What I remember most is going to the gift shop afterwards and buying a slug that was found on the battlefield. Apparently there were so many that they felt it was o.k. to sell them for like 50 cents each. I still have it somewhere. Everytime I run across it I think of my Great-great-grandfather who fought in the Civil War for an Illinois Infantry and was shot in the back at Vicksburg. He survived and my great aunt told me that for many years the slug that was dug out of his back was kept by the family. Somewhere down through the years it was misplaced. So anyway, I associate the slug from the Gettysburg battlefield with the one my g-g-grandfather was shot with.

    I wonder if the gift shop still sells those slugs.
    The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way it treats its animals. Ghandi
  • chiquimonkey
    chiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    spat thank you so much for sharing all that, and those pictures! some really moving shots. and no dont' stop sharing, it's not boring at all, i appreciate the info :)

    and i damn near freaked when i saw the pics of eastern state penitentiary :eek: i'm a huge ghost hunters fan and they did an investigation there that was out of control! so of course i look it up....it's right there in philly! i am so intrigued to go. now to convince my dad and sis...they'll think i'm on some death tour lol

    quarter yeah, i definitely want to make the effort to go visit. being on the west coast we aren't exposed to much civil war history, and it's something i'd like to learn more about. going to places like that makes one feel the history more, i dunno.

    riverrunner, thank you for sharing the story about your great-great-grandpa. makes you wonder how many stories like that are out there, considering how many people fought and died on that battlefield over 3 days!
  • Porchsitter
    Porchsitter Loganville, GA Posts: 1,092
    spat wrote:
    50,000 dead over three days.


    Common misconception about Gettysburg. Only 10,000 people actually died. 50,000 were wounded.
    We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.--Bill Hicks
  • spat
    spat Posts: 644
    Porchsitter wrote:
    Common misconception about Gettysburg. Only 10,000 people actually died. 50,000 were wounded.

    ahhh very good to know! still, ONLY 10,000 over three days is still sort of unfathomable
    My favorite Pearl Jam song: "Corporate Greed Boat Asshole Behind a Counter in the Oval Office"
  • Porchsitter
    Porchsitter Loganville, GA Posts: 1,092
    spat wrote:
    ahhh very good to know! still, ONLY 10,000 over three days is still sort of unfathomable


    Very much true....especially when you take into consideration the stories of the Bloody Wheatfield.
    We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.--Bill Hicks
  • chiquimonkey
    chiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    to think 60,000 people were fighting on those grounds for 3 days, damn.

    as i'm constructing our itinerary, i'm worried we might end up not having time to do it :( it sounds like something i don't want to rush. i'll have to see what i can figure out (and how fast i feel like driving lol)
  • QuarterToTen
    QuarterToTen Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 3,652
    chiquimonkey wrote:
    to think 60,000 people were fighting on those grounds for 3 days, damn.

    as i'm constructing our itinerary, i'm worried we might end up not having time to do it :( it sounds like something i don't want to rush. i'll have to see what i can figure out (and how fast i feel like driving lol)

    standing on those battlefields, in the little fenced spot signifying the
    furthest north that the south advanced, the cemetery...
    completely overwhelmed me.

    i hope you can find the time, it will stay with you forever.
    Nice shirt.

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