Return to Gettysburg
Yesterday I took my wife, my sister and my niece to visit Gettysburg. It was, as some might call it, one of those dog-days of Summer. Clear, sunny sky. Temps in the low 90s, It was also Juneteenth – so this trip had special significance for me (Don’t know about Juneteenth? Look it up).
We began our sightseeing at Monterey Gap where I occasionally docent. The battlefield is located less than five miles east of Waynesboro, PA where my wife and I live. As we perused the compact museum, I regaled my tiny audience on the significance of the site. On July 4th, following the titanic battle of Gettysburg, Lee quit the field sending his extensive wagon trains to his Williamsport debarkation point on the Potomac.
He had to move so many wagons he split them in two, sending 40 miles of wagons west and south – these arrived virtually unscathed. The remaining 20 miles of wagons he sent south and west. These ran afoul of Federal cavalry at the aforementioned Monterey Pass. The ensuing battle happens to be the only Civil War battle that took place in both Pennsylvania and Maryland – on both sides of the Mason Dixon Line.
The battle took place on a proverbial dark and stormy night. Many participants describe the weather conditions as the worst they experienced during the war. I won’t go into details but I will say that General “Kill-cavalry” Kilpatrick and his sub-commander George Armstrong Custer pressed the Confederates hard. Having broken through their meagre defenses, they managed to destroy nine miles of wagons and capture 1,360 prisoners, many of them rebels wounded at Gettysburg.
After locking up the museum, I took my family members on a golf cart ride up the adjoining hill over which the ferocious fighting took place. Thanks to federal grants, not only was the museum built and stocked but through the hard work of many local ACW patrons, paved trails were created and extensive signage placed along those trails. We traveled to the top of the hill where we climbed further atop an extensive wooden overlook. There, gazed nearly 30 miles into the valley beyond.
Of special interest at the overlook is a surprising view of Raven Rock Mountain Complex also known as Site R. This is the underground relocation and communications facility for the Pentagon. Guests are always amazed to have this pointed out. I only recently learned that special tours of the facility are available through the White House’s Weekend at Camp David Program.
Departing Monterey Pass we traveled 25 minutes north to the Gettysburg Battlefield, one of, if not the most visited historic park in the nation. I’ve been to the site numerous times and see something new every time. If you’ve not been, I strongly urge you to visit.
Lee’s second invasion of the North led to the Civil War’s bloodiest battle. On July 4th, Lee quit the field at Gettysburg, alongside the surrender of Vicksburg which ironically occurred on the very same day, This was indisputably the turning point in the war. From then on, the Confederacy had no real hope of winning the war. The following two and half years were nothing but a grisly, tedious stalling action, ending in a courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia.
The first few time I visited the battlefield, I visited the original Gettysburg Visitor’s Center, located between Emmittsburg Road and Taneytown Road.
The new Visitor’s Center is considerably larger than it’s predecessor. It is located on Baltimore Park near the center of the battlefield. Where the previous Visitor’s Center immersed the visitor in the actions of the generals and the weaponry their armies carried. As a kid I remember being overwhelmed by the hundreds of glass encased rifles surrounded me upon entering. The impact of that marshal display is missing in the new building. I miss it, but I like the new focus. It somehow seems more fitting.
The new Gettysburg Visitor’s Center, completed in April of 2008, focuses on the underlying grounds for the war and its ultimate result. “A New Birth of Freedom.”
The new center is huge, almost cavernous. It houses one of the largest gift shops I’ve seen at a military park, two snack bars. A well-staffed information booth, an extensive ticket station where professional Battlefield Guides can be hired for private tours. It also houses seemingly endless multimedia museum displays in spacious quarters that allow visitors their own paths of observation. On top of this it houses the much acclaimed Gettysburg Cyclorama, and a comfortable theater that presents the amazing film “A New Birth of Freedom” starring Morgan Freeman and made especially for the Park.
Exhibits take visitors along the historical path that led to the grim struggle at Gettysburg and from there to its bloody climax. Between the wonderful artifact displays and concise signage are short dramatic films in self-contained mini-theaters: Day One; Day Two; Day Three; The Aftermath. These film shorts tie together the horrific events and leave visitors stunned by the gravity of the event and somewhat humbled that they are allowed to share in some of the more esoteric details.
After leaving the museum we drove to Flanks of the Union Line where we saw Culp’s Hill and Little Round Top. I had an ulterior reason to do so. (My latest wargame, FLANKS OF GETTYSBURG was just released this month).The rugged terrain around both positions impressed our party and well it should. I would not have wanted to have been a Confederate infantryman assaulting either position. Special note – the Little Round Top Site closed for rehabilitation since July of 2022, will not reopen for another month or two.
I came away from the battlefield yesterday in a solemn mood.
Where the museum displays begin with the South’s knee-jerk reaction to Lincoln’s election, it ends with Lincoln’s pithy and long remembered Gettysburg Address. Particularly striking are newspaper quotes describing negative responses to his speech. Here is one such editorial critique.
“We pass over the silly remarks of the President. For the credit of the nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they shall be no more repeated or thought of.”
Little did he know.
The next display dealt with Lincoln’s passing and the rapid end to hostilities. However where many museums end with those past events, this museum goes further. Visitors are asked to reflect on what the chaos was all about. Once the victory was won … was the victory truly one? Visitors have no choice but see that despite the stilling of the muskets, we continued to struggle for a new birth of freedom. We struggle still.
Having experienced all this on the auspicious holiday of Juneteenth, I felt obligated to share my thoughts. I do hope they cause you too, to reflect on what has gone on since the guns went silent 159 years ago. Honestly, reflection is the very reason I wrote my Civil War Series, SNAKEBIT.
The polarized mess we find ourselves in, has deep, deep roots in our fratricidal conflict.