Rick and I have visited Gettysburg many times, both together and before we met. We each have a keen interest in civil war history, and Gettysburg is a short drive from Baltimore, our previous hometown. So when we found ourselves with a couple of unplanned nights until we were due in Baltimore, we decided to go to Gettysburg.
We like a campground in Gettysburg called Artillery Ridge. Like much of Gettysburg, it is on the actual battlefield. It has stables, and allows campers to bring their horses with them. It offers guided battlefield tours, on horseback, directly from the campground. We didn't do this on this trip, but we have done it in the past, and highly recommend it.
The campground also has a pretty amazing diorama of the battle with thousands of handpainted toy soldiers, and an excellent depiction of the town and countryside in 1863. During our last visit, the diorama was actually located in a buliding at the campground. Since then, it has been moved to an in-town location which gives it much more exposure. Campground guests receive free tickets.
After spectacular victories for the South at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, many Northerners were tiring of the war's cost in blood and treasure. There was much talk about treaties and letting the South go. Robert E. Lee decided to capitalize on this, and attack the North on Northern soil. He hoped that this would further demoralize the North. He also wanted a crack at Pennsylvania's fertile fields. The North had done a good job of cutting off the supply lines for the South, and the Confederate troops were hungry.
Lee spent the early summer moving his army into Pennsylvania. They successfully hid behind the Blue Ridge, and the Federals had no idea where they were or what they were up to. When they finally found Lee's army, it was already in Pennsylvania. Federal troops were quickly moved up from Washington to engage them, and from July 1st through 3rd of 1863, the tiny town of Gettysburg became, by chance, the site of what was probably the decisive battle of the civil war.
The first two days saw victories for the South, though they were never able to gain control of the high ground. But on the third day, Lee took a huge gamble. He decided to attack the center of the union line in order to divide the Federal forces. Named for the Confederate general that led the charge, Picket's charge was a colossal failure for Lee, costing many lives and causing Lee's army to beat feet back to Virginia. And with the fall of Vicksburg the next day, the tide had turned for the Yankees. Although the war wasn't over for another two years, Gettysburg was the highwater mark for the Confederacy.
If you haven't visited Gettysburg since 2008, you really need to go back. The old visitor center which was smack in the middle of seminary ridge has been torn down, and a beautiful new visitor center has been built to replace it. The new museum was built completely with private funds which were raised by the Gettysburg Foundation. The Foundation is running the visitor's center for several more years, when it will, hopefully, have recouped its expenses in building the museum. At that time it will be turned over to the National Park Service.
One of the highlights of the new visitor's center (and there are many) is the cyclorama. Visitors to the old museum may remember the cyclorama which, while interesting, had been badly damaged with age and mistreatment. The Gettysburg Foundation spent five years and $17 million (!) to restore this beautiful and historic painting.
Before the age of motion pictures, cycloramas were all the rage. A huge battle or other scene would be painted "in the round" with the audience in the middle. Three dimensional objects would then be placed between the audience and the painting, making it seem to "come alive." A light show and narrated script then went along with it. They fell out of favor once movies began to be made, but it's an interesting genre.
The cyclorama at Gettysburg was originally displayed in Boston. The painting was cut up and moved several times, and damaged by water and fire. The Gettysburg Foundation had its work cut out for it, but they have done an amazing job. It's worth a trip to Gettysburg just to see this amazing painting.
(Oh, and PS, I forgot to metion that Artillery Ridge is a nice quiet campground...except for the nearby train! In fairness, the train was pretty far away and didn't disturb our sleep.)
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