I have some time off mid September and was thinking about visiting Gettysburg. Its about a seven hour drive for me and i would be staying a couple of days. I'm looking for any advice from members who have visited there.

The place is huge, first time I was there petty much looked at battle locations.
It was hard for me to piece the battle together as one.
I would get a 2 hour car guide for things you are interested in.
Well worth seeing, you might see most of it in two days.

You can feel the spirits of the combatants.

If you haven’t, read the book ‘The Killer Angels’ before going. If pressed for time & can’t do that, watch ‘Gettysburg’ with Jeff Daniels before going. That’s if you haven’t already, or watch it again to refresh.

They are a multitude levels of details some know about the battle, depending on interest.

You can rent audio guides to play while going through the area, very good. You could also go on an organized tour with a guide, up to you. They have an info center, or museum, could start there, get your bearings.

I haven’t been in a good while, wouldn’t mind going again.

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
You can feel the spirits of the combatants.

Yep...pick a site on the battlefield, sit quietly approaching dusk, and you can hear them too.

Take lots of photos. You'll probably get an orb or 2 in them if you take enough. Especially around McPherson's barn and the cemetery. Mid Sept is a good time if you're going during the week. Not so many people since the kids are back in school. I've been to a lot of Civil War battlefields and Gettysburg is definitely the most spiritually active with Manassas a close second.

If possible, do the walking ghost tour in the evening. It is very enjoyable and you will learn quite a bit about the battles.

Hello. We live about 30 mins from Gettysburg and visit regularly. It's a very special place. The comment about feeling the spirit of the combatants is true.

There are several different ways to explore and appreciate the battlefield. I'd suggest starting at the Museum & Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park. Take that in and talk with some of the guides on how best to explore.

You can hire a guide to take you around the give you a personal tour of the battlefield. There are also group-based tours you can purchase. You can tour on horseback and even those motorized Segways. There's also an audio-based driving tour you can do yourself. That may be a good way to do it as well, where you can park and walk anywhere along the way you wish.

Key places to visit, to me, include:

- Virginia Monument - Look across the field and image what the Confederates saw and anticipated before Pickett's charge. Get out and WALK the charge!

- The Pennsylvania Monument - Great views of the battlefield

- The Copse of Trees - The "high water mark" of the Confederacy. This is where the Union army stood during the final day and fought off Pickett's charge.

- Little Round Top - See where the 30th Maine and Joshua Chamberlain held the flank of the Union against repeated attacks. Imagine Chamberlain ordering a bayonet charge. Walk up the hill to Little Round Top and imagine being a Confederate fighting on the "worst ground ever seen" in the Slaughter Pen.

- Devil's Den - Imagine being a rebel sharpshooter stationed there trying to pick off officers

- The Wheatfield
- The Peach Orchard
- Seminary Ridge

- The National Cemetery - See where Lincoln gave his historic address.

Learn about all of these locations and what happened there. Talk with historians who will likely be standing at various locations giving free stories and history lessons.

Eat a great meal at the historic Dobbin House tavern (downstairs). Be SURE to get the pecan pie! And also go to Garry Owen irish pub. Explore the cool downtown as well. Lots of shops and restaurants.

I'd also suggest watching the movie Gettysburg before you go. It was filmed on site and provides a good overview of the 3-day battle. Additionally, watch a few YouTube videos on the battle to get a good idea of how all 3 days went. The American Battlefield Trust is a good source. Here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUXpCfcJ7Ng

I hope this helps you.

It was not one battle, but 3 differrent battles over 3 days. To understand what really happened there, you need to take it day by day, and know what transpired on each of them.

Two Gettysburg factoids: 1) Lee's wagon train of wounded as he fled Gettysbury was 17 miles long. 2) Residents in far away Pittsburg could hear the din of the battle, but could not at the time know what it was.

The National Park Service has an app you can download. It has guided tours of many sites with a brief video by a park ranger at each marked spot.
Your cell service will dictate the quality of the experience, but my android/verizon worked pretty well.

I'm going to second everything Chriss17404 said, from a former 17022. Spent many hours and days touring Gettysburg and, yes, you can feel the presence there, for me, two places: the High-water mark near Cemetery Ridge and Devils Den area.

Second on getting the two-hour car tour with a guide. You can “customize” the tour to focus on the spots that most interest you. For example, we ignored some of the more popular spots and instead had our guide focus on the locations where our ancestors fought. I had chills as I walked the ground my 4g-grandfather attacked on.

Get the guided tour if you can

You'll get brownie points if you pronounce it like a local: "Gettiss-Burg"

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
You'll get brownie points if you pronounce it like a local: "Gettiss-Burg"

SHHHHHHHH...You're not supposed to tell him.

Check out this diorama. It gives a pretty good overview of the battle.

http://www.gettysburgdiorama.com/

If you are the brewpub type and need lunch or dinner ideas, this PA craft brewer is pretty decent:

Appalachian Brewing Company - Gettysburg

And if you aren't a beer drinker, they even make their own root beer, birch beer, ginger beer etc which I've had and were really good.

Yeah, but in less than 2 hours you could tour a brewery where they brew REAL beer... Yuengling in Pottsville. They have an excellent museum too.

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
You can feel the spirits of the combatants.

I've been to Gettysburg several times and very much agree with this. I've felt the same on my trips to Antietam.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
Get the guided tour if you can

You'll get brownie points if you pronounce it like a local: "Gettiss-Burg"

Take special care to sign up for one of Ranger Matt Atkinson’s tours.

https://youtube.com/playlist?l...&si=SBAgdJr76vdXv0m5

quote:

Look across the field and image what the Confederates saw and anticipated before Pickett's charge. Get out and WALK the charge!

Little Round Top - See where the 30th Maine and Joshua Chamberlain held the flank of the Union against repeated attacks.

Yes, walk Pickett's charge; all the way to the Union line and back. Feel what it might be like.

Watch the sunrise at Little Round Top. I can't describe the feeling.

If you have time, plan to take in Antietam as well.

I haven't been back for many years but on our second trip we hired a guide. He was excellent and had detailed stories and information about the surroundings and the battles. He mentioned his family had been in the area for many years prior to the battle. Some years later I saw him in the "Civil War" by Ken Burns on PBS. As soon as I heard that distinctive voice I looked up to see our guide. It was just luck of the draw that we had hired "that guy". Sometimes the stars just align.