Gettysburg "Ranger Walks"

[heb]

I've been on a few and all have been wonderful experiences. But sometimes you get lucky and go on one that is on a different level of wonderful due to its rather obscure activity during the battle. I got lucky in 2014 and went on a Ranger Walk given by Ranger Troy Harmon called, "Onto the York Pike". It followed some of the routing General Williams' 1st Div, XII Corps took when they were ordered, "...to the right..." during the 1st Day's fighting.

The tour started over 2 miles from downtown; at the C.W. Williams Co. parking lot on Highland Ave, across the street from the 16 PA Cavalry monument. A homeowner would not give us permission to access one part of the old route taken by some of the troops so we had to back track down a long dirt driveway to the "Mrs. Rosensteel" home. Ranger Harmon read a portion of her diary describing Union troops marching through her back yard and he showed us the path where they came out into her yard. This would have been the path we would have taken if given permission. I mean come on! Who gets to see the Mrs. Rosensteel home? A group of us did that day.

General Williams did not reach the York Pike and neither did we. However, we did cross the Hanover Pike (PA 116) onto the Daniel Lady Farm and his surrounding corn fields. The importance of all this is that those troops MAY have been the ones east of Gettysburg that General Ewell was warned about and subsequently factored into his decision to call it quits late in the afternoon of 1 July 1863.

When they say "walk" they really mean it, I was beat. A pretty great day.
heb

 

[Andy Cardinal]

I've watched a video of that walk. Very interesting and informative. Wish I could have been there in person.

 

[Kurt G]

We took a walk with Troy Harmon about 10 or 12 years ago . He had gotten permission for us to park at the old miniature golf on Baltimore Pike . We hiked all the way to the base of LRT stopping at various places such as the site of the artillery reserve and the granite school house . We followed a trail behind Sedgewick Ave and came out near the base of LRT . He had detailed information on who owned the land we were walking on at the time of the battle , etc . Very informative and it gave you a new perspective on the battle , but we did go nearly an hour over .

 

[Tom Elmore]

It was a considerable Federal infantry force beyond the left flank of the Confederate army and Stuart's cavalry had not yet arrived. Ewell could not close on Culp's Hill without his left being vulnerable to this menacing potential enemy threat. I agree that it played a critical role in how things developed out on that flank, and yet the movements of the Union Twelfth Corps around Wolf Hill and toward the York pike have not been closely examined. An excellent topic for further research and discussion!

 

[rpkennedy]

Two years ago, my daughter and I took the Greene's Brigade tour which was excellent. We walked up and down Culp's Hill 3 different times that day so it was very tiring.

Last year, we took the Archer's Brigade tour and walked from McPherson's Farm to Herr's Ridge and back. We'd like to get to at least one this year but our summer schedule is rather up in the air at the moment.

Ryan

 

[Gettysburg Guide #154]

I like Troy Harman. His programs often focus on a less traditional view, and his work is backed up by good research. By way of example, Troy is one of those historians who are convinced that Ziegler's Grove, and not the now famous "copse of trees", was the focal point of the Confederate assault on the afternoon of July 3.

Let me echo Tom Elmore's comment above. The area east of Rock Creek, especially Wolf Hill and Brinkerhoff Ridge, and the role it played during the battle are worthy of more study, and certainly more attention.

To the comment by rpkennedy about Ranger Walks being "up in the air at the moment", let me add that the last I heard is that none are scheduled as of this time. Perhaps that will change if Adams County moves to what Pennsylvania calls the Green Phase. However, trying to understand what is and is not allowed in the Green Phase on the Pennsylvania websites is a bit like navigating the IRS Code. If you hit the right spot, it is more or less an accident.

Licensed Battlefield Guides are working again. We are giving personal tours by having the visitor follow the guide in the visitor's car, while the guide drives his or her own car. Several stops are make on the field to explain the action during the battle. If both the guide and the visitor have hands free cell phone capability, commentary may also be provide between stops. You can make a reservation by calling the Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides at 717-337-1709 at least 48 hours in advance. You might also be able to get a guide on a "walk up basis" at the Gettysburg Heritage Center located at 297 Steinwehr Ave., Gettysburg.

NOYE: If this kind of information violates any policy of this website about advertising, I sincerely apologize. If someone kindly informs me of that , I will certainly comply.

 

[NDR5thNY]

I like Troy Harman. His programs often focus on a less traditional view, and his work is backed up by good research. By way of example, Troy is one of those historians who are convinced that Ziegler's Grove, and not the now famous "copse of trees", was the focal point of the Confederate assault on the afternoon of July 3.

Let me echo Tom Elmore's comment above. The area east of Rock Creek, especially Wolf Hill and Brinkerhoff Ridge, and the role it played during the battle are worthy of more study, and certainly more attention.

To the comment by rpkennedy about Ranger Walks being "up in the air at the moment", let me add that the last I heard is that none are scheduled as of this time. Perhaps that will change if Adams County moves to what Pennsylvania calls the Green Phase. However, trying to understand what is and is not allowed in the Green Phase on the Pennsylvania websites is a bit like navigating the IRS Code. If you hit the right spot, it is more or less an accident.

Licensed Battlefield Guides are working again. We are giving personal tours by having the visitor follow the guide in the visitor's car, while the guide drives his or her own car. Several stops are make on the field to explain the action during the battle. If both the guide and the visitor have hands free cell phone capability, commentary may also be provide between stops. You can make a reservation by calling the Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides at 717-337-1709 at least 48 hours in advance. You might also be able to get a guide on a "walk up basis" at the Gettysburg Heritage Center located at 297 Steinwehr Ave., Gettysburg.

NOYE: If this kind of information violates any policy of this website about advertising, I sincerely apologize. If someone kindly informs me of that , I will certainly comply.

Thanks for the information. My wife and I have been communicating with one of your colleagues this spring concerning a trip this season. I will gladly contact him again.