You Must Visit Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

In July of 2006, I had to opportunity to visit Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I have always been a lover of history and after immersing myself in the Little House on the Prairie books as a little girl, the Civil War has interested me, but I had never taken the time to specifically learn more than a rudimentary smattering of information about this particular battle. This time, I grabbed the opportunity as it came along and was able to learn much about this three day skirmish near the southern border of Pennsylvania, on the famous Mason-Dixon line.

We were there a mere two nights, but then that was almost as long as the battle lasted. Were you aware that one of the, if not the, most important battles of the Civil War lasted only three days? It's true. July 1, 2, and 3 of 1863 were significant in the outcome of the war.

In an effort to recover from recent battle losses, General Robert E. Lee decided that a victory in the northern territory would shake loose some of the northerners who were straddling the fence over the ideals of the Yankees and the Confederates, perhaps turning them to support the South. Three days of fighting ended with approximately 51,000 casualties. In the "Wheat Field," about twenty acres in size, was a battle lasting only hours, resulting in approximately 6,000 casualties. It is said that you could walk from one side of the battlefield to the other without your feet ever touching the ground, there were so many bodies.

On November 19, 1863, after receiving a second letter of invite, President Abraham Lincoln agreed to say a few words at the dedication of the Cemetery to pay homage to the fallen soldiers of both sides. Unsure of what to say, he jotted a few notes in a second story room the night before he was to deliver the speech. A line from the famous oration reads: "The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." His eloquent dedication lasted but two minutes, but is far more remembered than the two hour speech given by Edward Everett the same day.

In touring Gettysburg, you have choices galore of things to do. Let's begin with the Military side of things, since that is the most well known reason to visit. There are ten military related museums, although a trip into any one of their Civil War shops is almost as informative. In the shops, you can chat with very knowledgeable locals and visitors alike. There are encampments around town with people in Civil War era costumes who can talk to you about the life of a soldier or civilian of 140 years ago.

You can take a bus tour lasting two hours with an audio tape presentation of the events of those infamous three days. Some of the busses are double decker - lots of fun for the kids. You can drive in your own car with an audio tour or hire a licensed tour guide to ride with you. You can take a walking tour of the battlefields with a park ranger tour guide.

Visiting Gettysburg is about more than just tours. You can time your visit to coincide with a Battle Reenactment. You might be able to take in a Civil War wedding. Your child can enlist into the Union Army for free on Sunday mornings at the Cyclorama near the Visitor's Center. It is a one hour enlistment and our son had a blast "reenacting" a small skirmish.

At night, you can take any of a number of Haunted Ghost Tour. Other than those, they roll up the sidewalks around town pretty early, but they get going early, too.

There are some absolutely fabulous restaurants in this little town. Dobbin House was built by Reverend Alexander Dobbin in 1776 to house his family of 19 children. Today, it is a tavern and restaurant. The servers dress in period costumes. We visited the tavern for a late dinner one evening, hesitantly taking along our six year old son and found it was not inappropriate. The meals were worth the price. We ate lunch at Spiritfield's Pub and Fare. They had the absolute best crab cakes I have ever eaten. They boast a frequently changing menu in a Celtic atmosphere. There are, of course, your standard chain eateries, but I recommend taking in the local fare.

The shopping is plentiful and varied: from miniature toy soldiers to hats and leather goods to authentic civil war relics to commemorative souvenirs of all kinds. I did not go into a shop that did not have friendly people to help.

There are large hotel chains, like the Holiday Inn where our tour group stayed and many small bed and breakfast inns around town. I would have really loved the B&Bs, but our group could not have fit into any of them!

Gettysburg is a quaint town that is over 200 years old. The battle that took place there is just one part of the story. Founded in 1786, the area is beautiful, has four seasons a year (I'm from the south and we really only have two seasons: hot and cold), a thriving agricultural industry - their economical mainstay, even above tourism - and is close to many other attractions, such as the Society of Friends (Amish) in Lancaster County.

I highly recommend a trip to this fascinating town whether you are a history buff, homeschooler or just out to find something new to do. Roll the dice and visit Gettysburg. You just can't lose.