Going all the way down to Baltimore seemed strange but believe it or not there was not a more direct route.
Travelling in the East we have become super sensitive to low hanging bridges with our beast of an RV. It only took one close call and a big detour in New York state to make us believers.
Neither Mary or I had been to Gettysburg before but it seemed like a reasonable stop. Neither one of us are particularly Civil War buffs so our expectations were not so high.Big surprise - this place is really impressive.
Never realized or understood how pivotal this one engagement was to the entire future of our country.
We walked all through the Soldiers's National Cemetery and it really brings home the tremendous losses that occurred here
This is the Monument to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Kind of a moving experience to be standing right where it all happened.
The Soldier's National Monument is pretty impressive.
As is the Monument to General George Meade
The number of monuments to specific state units all over the battlefield is amazing.
And the area over which the battle was fought is incredible.
We took the 2 hour tour bus and learned way more than we ever expected.
The tour guide was great and really put it all into perspective.
The Films (about six) and the Cyclorama at the Visitor's Center are really impressive. The Cyclorama is a 360 degree oil painting that is 42 ft high by 377 ft around, painted by French artist Paul Philippoteaux completed in 1883 depicting Pickett's Charge, the climatic Confederate attack on Union forces on July 3, 1863. The attack failed and cost the Confederacy over 5,000 soldiers in one hour, effectively spelling the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. Robert E. Lee acknowledged afterwards that it was one of the biggest mistakes of the war.
A few shots of the Cyclorama are below.
It really puts you right in the middle of the battle and brings home the extent of the devastation that happened here.
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