Battlefield Bed & Breakfast - Gettysburg

[1stMN]

Hey all! I'm finally getting the chance to stay overnight at the Battlefield B & B in Gettysburg! Has anyone else stayed there? Any recommendations/things we should know? Thrilled to bits that they take dogs, our springer is coming along too

Thanks!

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

I've stayed there a number of times, as it's on a portion of the battlefield that I have studied extensively.

Part of the house is historic, and was there at the time of the battle. There's also a large addition put on in the early 1990's. Once upon a time, the innkeepers--Charlie and Florence Tarbox--put on regular demonstrations of cavalry tactics as well as artillery, as they had their own reproduction Parrott gun. The couple has since divorced, and I have no idea whether Florence, whom I believe now owns the place alone (it's possible that she has sold it--I don't know), still does the demonstrations. Since she and Charlie got divorced, I haven't stayed there, largely because Charlie is a friend of mine. Charlie was enormously helpful to me when I was researching my first book, and I feel a sense of loyalty to him, which is why I no longer stay there. My decision not to stay there any more has nothing to do with the place itself, which always was delightful.

I think that you will enjoy the place. The fact that it sits right on the park boundary means that it's very quiet, and it's hard to beat the historic milieu.

EDIT: from the website, it appears that there has been another addition to the inn, and that it's now quite a bit larger.

 

[1stMN]

From what I've been reading, the barn was used as a hospital at the time of the battle? If so, I guess my husband and I will be staying in that building. We booked the Tack Room, people speak very highly of that room and the B and B itself, very much looking forward to staying there! We've heard only wonderful things thus far.

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

From what I've been reading, the barn was used as a hospital at the time of the battle? If so, I guess my husband and I will be staying in that building. We booked the Tack Room, people speak very highly of that room and the B and B itself, very much looking forward to staying there! We've heard only wonderful things thus far.

It was used as a hospital. Also, Kilpatrick's division camped on the property on the night of July 3.

 

[1stMN]

It was used as a hospital. Also, Kilpatrick's division camped on the property on the night of July 3.

I'm embarrassed to admit I know the least about that part of the battlefield.

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

I'm embarrassed to admit I know the least about that part of the battlefield.

That's easily remedied. Read my Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions, and you will know all that you need to know about it.

 

[1stMN]

That's easily remedied. Read my Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions, and you will know all that you need to know about it.

I may have to!

 

[1stMN]

I may have to!

Actually I bought it yesterday, it's coming tomorrow!

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

Actually I bought it yesterday, it's coming tomorrow!

I hope you enjoy it!

 

[1stMN]

I'm very excited, it should fill in some of my knowledge gaps in that part of the battlefield very nicely

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

I'm very excited, it should fill in some of my knowledge gaps in that part of the battlefield very nicely

And there are good maps in there so you can take it out in the field with you.

 

[1stMN]

And there are good maps in there so you can take it out in the field with you.

Oh good, as the forums know, I love my maps!

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

Oh good, as the forums know, I love my maps!

Those maps were done by my friend John Heiser, who is one of the rangers at GNMP. John is my all-time favorite cartographer, in part because all of his maps are hand-drawn, which is a lost art in this day and age.

 

[1stMN]

Those maps were done by my friend John Heiser, who is one of the rangers at GNMP. John is my all-time favorite cartographer, in part because all of his maps are hand-drawn, which is a lost art in this day and age.

That is so cool! I'm a geography major with an emphasis in cartography but sadly mine are all computerized. Hand drawn is awesome!

 

[John Winn]

That is so cool! I'm a geography major with an emphasis in cartography but sadly mine are all computerized. Hand drawn is awesome!

Didn't know that about you. I was a GIS specialist and also love mapping (got into GIS at it's very early stages). Hand drawn is, indeed, a lost art.

OK, back to your originally scheduled broadcast. Oh, and enjoy your visit.

 

[1stMN]

Didn't know that about you. I was a GIS specialist and also love mapping (got into GIS at it's very early stages). Hand drawn is, indeed, a lost art.

OK, back to your originally scheduled broadcast. Oh, and enjoy your visit.

That is so cool! Sadly I'm not still in GIS myself but my brother is for a city here in MN. I learned on ArcMap and ArcGIS 9.2

 

[John Winn]

That is so cool! Sadly I'm not still in GIS myself but my brother is for a city here in MN. I learned on ArcMap and ArcGIS 9.2

I started with MOSS (map overlay statistical system) which was one of the first GIS applications and the first one to be used outside of an academic setting. Eventually, we switched to ESRI's ARC/INFO which ran on a mini-mainframe using UNIX and used a macro language called AML. ArcGIS 9.2 was the version just released when I retired and by then we had it on lots of PCs in the office and there was a whole staff of GIS folks. When I got into it there were two of us. I sometimes wonder what the current versions look like and what can be done that we couldn't do.

 

[1stMN]

@John Winn I'll ask my brother what he uses for his GIS work now. I know they're on 10. something now for ArcGIS. There are some interesting "civilian" GIS programs out there that don't cost what ESRI does.

A couple of the maps I've made here was using a freebie program called QGIS. It was a little clunky to use but the price was right. I used it to make some buffer maps of monuments at least 100m off the auto tour, sort of an off the beaten path approach. It was a series of seven maps of the battlefield, here is the thread: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/ge...s-map-100m-or-more.121587/page-2#post-1281503

 

[John Winn]

@John Winn I'll ask my brother what he uses for his GIS work now. I know they're on 10. something now for ArcGIS. There are some interesting "civilian" GIS programs out there that don't cost what ESRI does.

A couple of the maps I've made here was using a freebie program called QGIS. It was a little clunky to use but the price was right. I used it to make some buffer maps of monuments at least 100m off the auto tour, sort of an off the beaten path approach. It was a series of seven maps of the battlefield, here is the thread: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/ge...s-map-100m-or-more.121587/page-2#post-1281503

I somehow missed that thread - nice project. I'm sure one can get home GIS tools now but, while I still am interested in maps and data, I'm also retired and have moved on and don't really have an application for mapping programs or databases. So, I just admire a good map when I see one (and am a savage critic of bad ones) but sometimes, on a dark and cloudy night when the wind howls, I wonder ....

 

[1stMN]

I somehow missed that thread - nice project. I'm sure one can get home GIS tools now but, while I still am interested in maps and data, I'm also retired and have moved on and don't really have an application for mapping programs or databases. So, I just admire a good map when I see one (and am a savage critic of bad ones) but sometimes, on a dark and cloudy night when the wind howls, I wonder ....

Maps are a hobby for me now that I'm a real estate agent. I'm always on the look out for a nice map to study or to put on my wall I'm very excited to get into the area of the B and B after looking at maps to see it for myself. Love getting to go stand in person in areas I've only seen on maps.