Visit the Historic Town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

On a sunny, warm Easter morning, my husband and I headed for Gettysburg, escaping one civil war battleground" (a holiday day family dinner) and visiting another.

Gettysburg Rail Station, David Wills House and "Mr. Lincoln's Trail" walking tour: We began our tour with a fortuitous wrong turn, that took us to the Gettysburg Rail Station at 35 Carlisle Street. The Historic Gettysburg Rail Station is free and open to the public, and offers special exhibits in the Head House throughout the year. Abraham Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg here on November 18, 1863, four months after the battle. Asked to deliver "a few appropriate remarks" at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery by David Wills, an attorney and superintendent of Adams County's schools, Lincoln walked around the corner from the station to Wills' home and spent the night there, where he wrote the Gettysburg Address. The David Wills House at 8 Lincoln Square is now a Museum.

Using the brochure, "Mr. Lincoln's Trail: A Walking Tour," which also includes the text of the Gettysburg address, visitors can walk in Lincoln's footsteps, beginning at the Rail Station and ending at the Soldier's National Cemetery. (Brochure) My husband and I followed the brochure up to No. 8, the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church.

Buildings with Battle Damage: There are many buildings in Gettysburg that sport a prestigious "Civil War House" bronze plaque, and are also pockmarked with bullet holes from the Battle. The Cannonball Old Tyme Malt Shop at 11 York Street is one of these. A cute little storefront ice cream parlor, a cannonball is actually lodged in the wall above the shop. Unfortunately, it was closed the day we were there, but the reviews I've seen are good and when the weather is pleasant you can sit outside at their little round tables and ice cream parlor chairs. The Jacob Stuch House at 401 Washington Street was a tavern called the Swan Inn during the battle. The walls of this building, now a private residence, are riddled with bullet holes. See this link for close up pictures of the building.

The Jennie Wade House (758 Baltimore Street): Our next stop was the "Jennie Wade House Museum," where the only Gettysburg civilian to be killed during the battle was cut down by a sniper's bullet. Twenty-year-old Mary Virginia (Jennie) Wade went to the home of her sister, Georgia Wade McClellan, who had just had a difficult birth one hour before the Rebels entered Gettysburg. Refusing to leave her sister when the battle started, Jennie was killed instantly while baking bread when a sniper's shot came through the door. The bullet hole is still in the door, and more bullet holes riddle the outside bricks. On July 2, an artillery shell hit the roof of the house and destroyed a brick wall that connected the house to another. Jennie's sister refused to repair the house after the battle, leaving it as a tribute to her sister, creating the first Civil War Museum in Gettysburg. The Jennie Wade house is also reputedly one of Gettysburg's most haunted houses. Guided tours are offered from the Jennie Wade Gift Shop next door. Brochure.

Gift Shops: We then wandered across the street to the Blue and Gray Gift Shop, where they offered a plethora of souvenirs, shirts and literature, at reasonable prices. The chatty cashier assured us that their sweatshirts and t-shirts were of a higher quality and cheaper than those offered at the official Gettysburg Visitor Center, and we discovered she was correct. We purchased a large map with a driving tour of the battlefield here for $1.50, a few souvenirs, and some books on "Haunted Gettysburg," although the cashier pooh-poohed all the haunting stories.

After our tour of the town, we headed off for the Battlefield. See my slideshow of the town of Gettysburgand upcoming article, "Visiting the Gettysburg Battlefield."

SLIDESHOW
Sources and Informational Sites: Historic Gettysburg Rail Station; David Wills House; Walking Tour Brochure; Jacob Stuch House; Jennie Wade House; The Story of Jennie Wade with Photos; Blue and Gray Gift Shop; Things to do in Gettysburg