OT: Gettysburg visit

[bmayuc]

Read up on and then walk Pickett's charge. Start at the ranger tower behind the tree line. I think they have audio/car tours?

Have to agree with this. The whole site is a treasure, and they have done a good job commemorating. But first stand on the road where Pickett's Charge ended, and then walk the entire length. The South might have been filled with s trying to preserve slavery, but they were brave as hell. goosebumps bigtime.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickett's_Charge

 

[cordeodato]

If you have a cursory interest in Civil War history you will enjoy the place. If you have a real interest in the war that's when the place becomes 3D for for you.
It's funny, I never read anything about the Civil War until I was almost 50. I read Killer Angels, and for the next two
years I only read about the War. Killer Angels is supposed to be historical fiction, as I remember it. However
it is extremely faithful to the actual battle details. I was told by a guy who worked at GE that Killer Angels was required reading for those in the executive training program. Classic case of how hubris (Lee) will ultimately do you in.. " Those the gods would destroy, they first make proud,"according to the Greeks.
Somebody above mentioned the movie Gettysburg. That is Ted Turner's rendition of Killer Angles. I think the movie is great, It is the most accurate rendition of a book I have ever seen. Turner basically used the book Killer Angels as a screen play.
I have read at least 3 books on the battle. My pick is Gettysburg by Stephen Sears. It is not the dreaded litany of events. He weaves in a true narrative. You will learn why the Union owes everything to Major John Buford and whoever the rebel was who shot Stonewall Jackson by mistake. If Lee had marched to DC instead, things would have been a whole lot different.
BTW--I was last there a long time ago. I think I drove there with my kids from Hershey Park. Always a favorite.

 

[Splatter]

take a guided bus tour. The guides are great, full of knowledge. You'll get much more out of the trip with the tour

 

[Palatine]

Stand on Little Round Top.

From there it's plain to see why it's the most important territory in battle. To the left is where Chamberlain's bayonet charge took place. Below and to your left is the Hornets Nest which was one awful place to be. Straight ahead is the corn field, another terrible fight. To your right you can see all the way to Seminary Ridge, the Angle and the Copse of Trees.

Amazing to think, it was secured just minutes before the Confederates would have taken control. That would have changed the battle and probably the entire war.

 

[nomar]

I went with my father, who's a civil war buff. We took a guided bus tour, which my father "supplemented" with a running commentary.

In any kind of tour, they'll show you everything that people are telling you to see.

I probably should have read more about the battles there before I went; it probably would have made it more enriching. But you get the point pretty quickly. It was an important turn in the war, obviously. It's difficult to grasp just how many people lost their lives in those fields.

 

[Dove]

Somewhere I have to find a picture of me on Little Round Top as I reenacted one of my ancestors. The crowd there was awed by my performance.

He served in the 20th Maine Regiment under Joshua Chamberlain. He was the only paid soldier in the group as he thought volunteering was insane. His claim to anonymity was him yelling at his commander, who saw that the guys were out of bullets, to form a wheel pattern and charge downhill hill "with those pointy things on our guns!!!".

Anyway, don't be afraid to research any family members who were there and reenact at will.

 

[nomar]

Somewhere I have to find a picture of me on Little Round Top as I reenacted one of my ancestors. The crowd there was awed by my performance.

He served in the 20th Maine Regiment under Joshua Chamberlain. He was the only paid soldier in the group as he thought volunteering was insane. His claim to anonymity was him yelling at his commander, who saw that the guys were out of bullets, to form a wheel pattern and charge downhill hill "with those pointy things on our guns!!!".

Anyway, don't be afraid to research any family members who were there and reenact at will.

Legend has it, the entire company responded by shouting: "Shut up, Dove's great-great grandfather!"

 

[Dove]

Legend has it, the entire company responded by shouting: "Shut up, Dove's great-great grandfather!"

Its legend, yeah. But not written anywhere.


:good one:

 

[8893]

Legend has it, the entire company responded by shouting: "Shut up, Dove's great-great grandfather!"

"And no satin uniforms, either!"

 

[Dove]

"And no satin uniforms, either!"

Oh, he wore satin. A sashay or something. He was known as the Flame of Presque Isle.

 

[Dove]

 

[sledog]

Be sure to tell us how many ghosts you see.

 

[Fishy]

1) The car tour is a must. You don't want to ride a bus like some sort of savage. Car guide was perfect.

2) Battlefield is amazing. The cyclorama is amazing.

3) Took a ghost tour tonight. Didn't see any ghosts.

4) The town of Gettysburg is basically Lake George if Lake George just completely gave up.

5) As I defended Little Big Top in the rear, Bob Diaco forced a southern surrender in the Civil ConFLiCT.

 

[JMick]

has no one mentioned how bad it smells? The whole area smells absolutely terrible

 

[Fishy]

I don't know if it's terrible, but it's definitely odd.

I noticed it all day.

 

[JMick]

I honestly got stick from the smell. I went there on an unofficial visit to play baseball and it kept me from even applying to the school.

 

[The Funster]

Are you still there? If you lay on the battlefield, realllll quietlike for a couple of minutes, you start hearing the screams of the wounded and dying. It would be a great experience for the little one, too, once he/she gets past the nightmares...