A Visit To Gettysburg National Battlefield

For four weeks in September and October I was in Pennsylvania doing disaster inspections for FEMA after severe flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee. (Before that I was on Long Island for 10 days inspecting damage caused by Hurricane Irene.) When I was finished with my work I decided to tour the area for a few days. So I drove down to Gettysburg and Antietam National Battlefield Parks. Even though the rain was incessant I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to each of these historic sites.

The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War. For three days in early July 1863 the Union and the Confederate armies fought the battle that would determine the outcome of the war. Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War with over 46,000 casualties on both sides (double that of the almost 23,000 casualties in a single day at Antietam). The Battle of Gettysburg is known for pitched battles at the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard, Devil's Den and Little Round Top but it is probably best known for Pickett's Charge on the third day of battle where 12,500 Confederates charged across open fields in an attempt to break through the Union's center. The fighting was fiercest at The Angle (a 90-degree bend in a stone wall Union soldiers were defending). The Confederates did manage to break through the Union's lines at The Angle but the Confederates were eventually beaten back. Less than half of the 12,500 Confederates who made the charge returned. The area around The Angle is known as the High Water Mark because it is the closest the Confederates came to defeating the Union. After Pickett's Charge failed Lee withdrew his troops from Northern soil and continued to wage a defensive war on Southern soil for almost another two years.

There is a numismatic connection to both Gettysburg and Antietam. The Gettysburg National Park Quarter is based on the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry monument located near The Angle.

Below are some photos from my visit to Gettysburg and The Angle.

 

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Below are a few photos of the stone wall at The Angle.

 

There are other ways to look at this site and I know it's NOT PC.

This is also the end of the concept of self governance. It is where the myth of Constitutional Governance fell. The Tyrants won the day and we have replaced the evil of racial slavery with the evil of governmental slavery.

The North imposed governance due to pragmatism because the Constitution was silent on the issue of secession. The tenth Amendment spoke of the absence of rights not delegated under the Constitution leaving them with the States or TO THE PEOPLE. The "Courts" essentially rubber stamped UNCONSTITUTIONAL acts by stating it wasn't a suicide pact and let the Federal Government do whatever it's chief Tyrant chose to do in the name of pragmatism.

Since then, the Oath of loyalty to the Constitution has been a farce since it's actual use is scoffed at as naive because our modern "thinkers" choose to follow a Living Constitution which changes with the whims of the powerful. It follows the path of "Animal Farm" more than the tenets of a foundation document.

I know it's not PC to bring up the solemn times I spent at Gettysburg mourning for the tragic end of the noble experiment of self governance. But there are still a few of us around who haven't been brainwashed by the "winners." But before you start assuming I longed for the days of Slavery, go back and look at what I wrote.

The great sin of the 19th century was Slavery. The Great sin of the 20th Century was Abandoning God (Darwinism). The Great Sin of the 21st Century is INFANTICIDE.

OK. This is probably too political, and I understand if it is removed. But some of us cringe when we hear about the "NOBLE" north patting itself on the back for destroying the concept of SELF governance.

 

Glad I read it before it gets removed Marshall. An interesting analysis, and one worthy of debate, but not here.......

 

Good post, Marshall. There are a lot of things people are no longer taught about our nation's history and why things happened rather than just what happened. For many it is easier to forget the truth than to face it.

 

Nice pics, Hobo. I've been through the area many times but never had the time to stop and look around. It's on my list of places to visit, though. Maybe next summer.
Guy

 

Not that I’m into astrology, but the other day I was talking to a young lady who claimed to be an astrologist. When she found out I was into coin collecting, she mentioned collectors of old things are stuck in the past. Based on some, she appears to be correct.

 

We went to Gettysburg last year, went to the Visitor Center and toured the battlefield. Quite moving, also for me (being European and, umm, not all that familiar with US history), and seeing all those monuments also from states that were on the side of the Confederates made me wonder how the reconciliation worked. Well, judging from this topic ... but I digress.

The visitor center is not only an interesting museum, by the way. It also has a great "cyclorama", a nicely restored and reactivated panoramic scenery, partly painted, partly sculpted. We got maps there too, for our self guided car tour across the battlefield area. And in order to make my comment at least a little numismatic, the visitor center was also where I bought some confederate coin replicas. Call them cheap trinkets, but I find them interesting.

Christian

 

Here's something I'll be looking to add to my classic commemorative set. Just gotta find the right one.......





(photo courtesy CCF Numismatics)

 

The one thing that always disturbs me about this battle is the Sickles controversy.
Gen. Sickles moved his men forward without orders from Meade and broke the Union line.
He was the only one of Meade's corps commanders who wasn't a professional soldier. His background was a New York politician
Also earlier, Sickles shot and killed Philip Barton Key son of Francis Scott Key for allegedly flirting with Sickles wife. He was acquitted of murder with Stanton as his defense lawyer. Stanton later became Sec. of War.

 

Nice post Hobo. Are you visitng all the ATB sites?

 

I did not mean to imply that I was visiting all the ATB sites (although I have probably been to most of them already). I am somewhat of a Civil War buff and I took advantage of being nearby and having some spare time. The companion thread to this thread is 'A Visit To Antietam National Battlefield' which is in Maryland. The ATB site for Maryland is Fort McHenry, not Antietam.

 

That's a nice coin. I have the Stone Mountain commemorative and I might add that one also.

 

This was my first visit to Gettysburg so I never saw the old Visitor Center. On my visit I learned that a new Visitor Center (which includes a museum and cyclorama) was built in a new location on land that was not historically significant and in a location that does not detract from a visitor's battlefield experience. The exterior of the new Visitor Center was designed to blend into the landscape by using materials similar to those that were used by other buildings at the time of the battle. The new Visitor Center opened in 2009 and was built at a cost of over $100 million.

The cyclorama is very nice but they don't give you much time to enjoy it.

 

We are coming on the 150th aniversaries of these battles. It would have been nice if the release dates on some of these coins would have coinsided with their aniversary. Maybe even a first release at the park on that date. Thank you for the photos, I hope to visit someday.

 

I went with my son's scout troop to D.C. this past summer. We went up to Gettysburg late one day. I wish we had spent the whole day there!!! I am a history buff (it was my major in college) and it was a great side-trip. We got there as the visitor center was closing so we didn't get to go in there but we drove around the town and battlefield. Very, very interesting and highly recommended. I want to go back badly.

 

Since I live just down the road, I remember when you could just go into the cyclorama and spend all the time you wanted with it.. Though these days the restoration work has certainly made it so much more vivid..

 

You should allow a full day or more for a visit to Gettysburg so you can see everything and take it all in. I spent a little over a day at Gettysburg. I got to Gettysburg about 4:30 PM the first day and headed straight for the Visitor Center. There I found out some important information so I could plan the next day. I also hit the bookstore and bought some reading material to make my visit more educational.

The next morning I arrived at the Visitor Center at 8 AM and bought a ticket for the museum, cyclorama and a guided bus tour. I watched the free movie and went to the cyclorama. I don't think they give you enough time to fully take in everything at the cyclorama.

The two-hour bus tour was excellent. The guide knew everything one could know about the battle and he really made the tour interesting. I highly recommend taking the bus tour if you go to Gettysburg. Even better (or so I was told), you can hire the guides to give you a tour of the battlefield in your own car.

After the bus tour I bought a CD so I could do my own guided tour in my car. It was very similar to the guided bus tour but this time I got to stop and see things in more detail and at my own pace. Doing the tour twice (bus tour and on my own) really helped me understand the events much better. I didn't spend much time at all at the museum because I simply did not have enough time. Next time I will allow a few hours for the museum.

The next day I toured Antietam and returned to Gettysburg at the end of the day so I could tour the cemetary and see where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address.

 

I do plan on visiting one day. I've longed to go, but as of now, the only battlefield I've visited has been Saratoga.

 

I guess I have been fortunate. I don't know how many battlefields I have been to. Let's see. I grew up in Georgia and I have been to a number of battlefields there. Fort Yargo near Winder (very small battle but only a few miles from where I grew up), Peachtree Creek (the battlefield is mostly houses now), Kennesaw Mountain, Chickamauga, etc. In Tennessee I have been to Stones River and Lookout Mountain (near Chattanooga). I have been to Vicksburg (Mississippi) a couple of times. Just a few weeks ago I went to Gettysburg and Antietam. There may be a few other Civil War battlefields that I have visited but can't recall at the moment.

When I lived in Charlotte I visited the site of the Battle of Kings Mountain (Revolutionary War).

Next week I will be driving across Tennessee and I hope to visit Stones River Battlefield again. I will post a few photos if anyone is interested.