Visiting Gettysburg In A Few Weeks

[E_just_E]

I do have a driving tour CD made by Travel Brains to use for Gettysburg, and we may even do a tour bus just to get a "lay of the land" first.

I'm not too keen on how podcasts work. Can they be downloaded and burned to a CD?

Yes they can, if your car stereo (or entertainment system) can read audio CD formats (they are different than commercial music CDs)

Re: Gettysburg tour: There is an excellend audio guided tour of the battlefield that has marked numbered points throughout the battlefield and is very easy to follow (they are refering to the markers in the tour, as in: you see marker number 3 in front of you, park in the next spot you can and restart the audio.) You can buy it at the bookstore for $10-15 or so. About 3 hrs and good overall tour. The markers make it the audio tour. Highly recommended. I cannot imagine going to the battlefield with a tour that is not refering the numbered markers for the first time in Gettysburg.

One issue with any "whole battlefield" tour at Gettysburg: In the main battlefield (ie. South of the town) the same place was part of the action at Day 2 & at Day 3. It is really hard in those tours to keep what happened at day 2 separate from what happened at day 3. There is a solution, but there is not a commercially available product that does that: Circle the battlefield twice, focusing on day 2 on the first circle and on day 3 on the second. That way one would actually learn about the events of the night between Day 2 and Day 3 that are obscure and archane to most

 

[MRB1863]

Even when LRT is crowded, there are spots like one of my favorites shown below that do not see as much traffic. This particular spot also offers a wonderful vista. The chasm between the large rocks along the entry path to this small plateau undoubtedly offered a safe haven for troops not on sentinel.

Anxious to re-visit this favorite spot. May have an opportunity next weekend, as the overtime at work is rumored to subside for the next few weekends. Hurrah!

 

[Moonshiner]

I do have a smart phone and have downloaded several apps for the battlefield tours

 

[Buckeye Bill]

Pick up a copy of this outstanding book!

 

[Buckeye Bill]

I do have a smart phone and have downloaded several apps for the battlefield tours

stonesentinels.com is a great web site!

Make sure to walk the Rose Farm....

 

[rhettbutler1865]

I was there last November. No tourists. If you can, get a personal guide (I recommend). That way you 2 can avoid the crowds, and go back to the places that were too crowded, or the ones that are your favorites. I toured for 3 days with the guide, then the 4th on my own, to my favorite spots. Have a great time! Such a 'spritual' place.

 

[James N.]

In a few short weeks I'll be making my first visit to Gettysburg plus the surrounding battlefields at Antietam, Bull Run, South Mountain and Monocacy plus what ever else I can fit in.

I had a question about Gettysburg - Is the park open after dark?

I would think finding a nice place to sit and reflect in the shade of darkness would be good for the soul.

If it is, where would you suggest I do this?

I made a circuit last August from Gettysburg - Harpers Ferry - South Mountain - Antietam - Monocacy ( using Harpers Ferry as the central base ) and recommend you omit Manassas because of distance, unless you're flying into Dulles since it's right there. We flew into Baltimore and made the circuit in a week, going first to Lancaster and then Gettysburg where we spent 3 nights. Maybe these will give you some ideas:

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/my-semicentennial-return-to-gettysburg.104717/

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/jubal-earlys-1864-raid-on-washington-d-c.103669/

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/prelude-to-antietam-the-battles-for-south-mountain.104116/

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/antietam-scenes.104230/

 

[Moonshiner]

I made a circuit last August from Gettysburg - Harpers Ferry - South Mountain - Antietam - Monocacy ( using Harpers Ferry as the central base ) and recommend you omit Manassas because of distance, unless you're flying into Dulles since it's right there. We flew into Baltimore and made the circuit in a week, going first to Lancaster and then Gettysburg where we spent 3 nights. Maybe these will give you some ideas:

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/my-semicentennial-return-to-gettysburg.104717/

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/jubal-earlys-1864-raid-on-washington-d-c.103669/

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/prelude-to-antietam-the-battles-for-south-mountain.104116/

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/antietam-scenes.104230/

Yikes. I didn't realize Manassas was almost 2 hours from Frederick. May have to scratch that one depending on time. I'll ckeck out the links you supplied... Thanks!

 

[Canadian_Cavalry]

you can't beat the view from LRT, but the more you know the battle etc the more any location has a certain kind of magic too it - as far as your imagination goes anyway. Either direction of the angle etc..you get to see both sides of the story. There's a tower to climb on Culp's Hill that gives a nice panorama of the town.

We stayed in Frederick, and bookended the week with Gettysburg. We loved the town anyway, like a home away from home. We may go again at the end of July, first week of July we couldn't make work.

The relic stores are loaded with great stuff...I spent a lot in those. Union Drummer Boy is a great one, and be sure to hit the image museum on the main drag...they have a LOT in there - a place I need more time in next time. Gettysburg museum of History is a great stop too.

If you're that close to Manassas, you're not far from Fredricksburg...which means you have Spotsylvania, Wilderness, and Chancellorsville closeby too if you have time - but rush hour is a bad time...took us three hours to get from Fredricksburg back to Gettysburg...it was only two on the way down.

You're going at a good time....not too cold but shouldn't bee too busy.

In our week, we hit:

Gettysburg, Monocacy, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, Wilderness, Antietam...might be missing something.

Not sure if you mentioned Antietam, but it's close and I'd book a day for it if you can.

 

[James N.]

Yikes. I didn't realize Manassas was almost 2 hours from Frederick. May have to scratch that one depending on time. I'll ckeck out the links you supplied... Thanks!

The others are "doable" in one trip due to their relative closeness, but I'd recommend linking Manassas with Balls Bluff and Jackson's battles in the Shenandoah Valley; another possibility would be Manassas - Fredericksburg ( including Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania ) and if time's no problem, then on to North Anna, Richmond, and Petersburg.

 

[Moonshiner]

you can't beat the view from LRT, but the more you know the battle etc the more any location has a certain kind of magic too it - as far as your imagination goes anyway. Either direction of the angle etc..you get to see both sides of the story. There's a tower to climb on Culp's Hill that gives a nice panorama of the town.

We stayed in Frederick, and bookended the week with Gettysburg. We loved the town anyway, like a home away from home. We may go again at the end of July, first week of July we couldn't make work.

The relic stores are loaded with great stuff...I spent a lot in those. Union Drummer Boy is a great one, and be sure to hit the image museum on the main drag...they have a LOT in there - a place I need more time in next time. Gettysburg museum of History is a great stop too.

If you're that close to Manassas, you're not far from Fredricksburg...which means you have Spotsylvania, Wilderness, and Chancellorsville closeby too if you have time - but rush hour is a bad time...took us three hours to get from Fredricksburg back to Gettysburg...it was only two on the way down.

You're going at a good time....not too cold but shouldn't bee too busy.

We thought about heading further South to Fredricksburg and Spotsylvania, but will probably go to Washington DC for a few days instead. I think a full week of battlefield tours is asking way too much from my wife.

 

[Canadian_Cavalry]

Mine miss was actually quite intrigued (or pretended very well) ...but we might do a Washington/Gettysburg split this time. To be honest...I'd like to take a month by myself and hit the old south....Richmond to appomattox..to vicksburg

 

[Canadian_Cavalry]

And before I forget...the four fields in fredrickburg aren't preserved the same as the northern ones and Manassas..in the sense that there's a lot more open fields there that may not appeal to someone not that interested.

 

[Moonshiner]

Yes they can, if your car stereo (or entertainment system) can read audio CD formats (they are different than commercial music CDs)

Re: Gettysburg tour: There is an excellend audio guided tour of the battlefield that has marked numbered points throughout the battlefield and is very easy to follow (they are refering to the markers in the tour, as in: you see marker number 3 in front of you, park in the next spot you can and restart the audio.) You can buy it at the bookstore for $10-15 or so. About 3 hrs and good overall tour. The markers make it the audio tour. Highly recommended. I cannot imagine going to the battlefield with a tour that is not refering the numbered markers for the first time in Gettysburg.

One issue with any "whole battlefield" tour at Gettysburg: In the main battlefield (ie. South of the town) the same place was part of the action at Day 2 & at Day 3. It is really hard in those tours to keep what happened at day 2 separate from what happened at day 3. There is a solution, but there is not a commercially available product that does that: Circle the battlefield twice, focusing on day 2 on the first circle and on day 3 on the second. That way one would actually learn about the events of the night between Day 2 and Day 3 that are obscure and archane to most

I am sure my car can play those tpe of files. I'll mess around with it this weekend. Thanks for the great tips!

 

[rhettbutler1865]

Don't know if your question was answered--you have until 10 p.m. at the Gettysburg National Military Park (the battlefield, in other words). I really recommend going over to see Burnside's Bridge at "Antietam"--it isn't far and very much worth it!

 

[pamc153PA]

Not much to add to all the good advice.

Definitely get a guide for at least one basic tour, and maybe another for a particular area or part of the battle, if you have one or an interest. They know their stuff, inside and out, and can tailor the tour to what you know or want. A book guide that I would recommend is Reardon and Vossler's A Field Guide to Gettysburg--it's full of basics, deeper info, and stories, and I haven't found many mistakes in it, and I use it all the time. The Stone Sentinels website is great (you can download the maps as photos to use even if you don't have wifi, which you won't, on the field).

As for where you want to go to find your zen, almost anywhere on the field is good around sunset or after, although LRT and the Angle are the busiest for sunset photos, so if you want solitude, they're not it. Another place that is good for sunsets is the two platforms of the PA monument, especially the top. You get a good view of the whole Pickett's Charge field, up to Ziegler's Grove and down to the Peach Orchard. If you do go up to the top, take a flashlight for the way down in the dark--there are no lights inside. Probably one of the coolest sunset things happened to me there last summer: a reenactor dressed in uniform and playing a vintage trumpet, stood on the first platform, faced the sunset, and played several CW songs, ending with Taps. It was very moving.

If you go soon, it won't be as crowded as it is in the summer, but I doubt you'll get LRT or almost anyplace to yourself. That only happens during the winter, or only for a split second at other times, unless you go off the beaten path, a.k.a. the auto tour. Still, during the week it's now the school field trip crush, through the end of May, so get ready for school buses and lots of uninterested kids. It's worth it, though, just do your own thing!

Have fun!

 

[rhettbutler1865]

Moonshiner, I'm planning to move out East to be amongst the History (ACW) I love so much. I think it's either the Gettysburg area (I hate crowds), Virginia, or (if I can stand the humidity), Charleston. You're probably in better shape than I, so do try to walk a bit from the beginning of Pickett's Charge...you'll realize what those poor souls had to traverse under heavy fire. And I sat at Devil's Den, staring up at Little Round Top until the guide said--"...ready to move on?"

 

[Moonshiner]

Not much to add to all the good advice.

Definitely get a guide for at least one basic tour, and maybe another for a particular area or part of the battle, if you have one or an interest. They know their stuff, inside and out, and can tailor the tour to what you know or want. A book guide that I would recommend is Reardon and Vossler's A Field Guide to Gettysburg--it's full of basics, deeper info, and stories, and I haven't found many mistakes in it, and I use it all the time. The Stone Sentinels website is great (you can download the maps as photos to use even if you don't have wifi, which you won't, on the field).

As for where you want to go to find your zen, almost anywhere on the field is good around sunset or after, although LRT and the Angle are the busiest for sunset photos, so if you want solitude, they're not it. Another place that is good for sunsets is the two platforms of the PA monument, especially the top. You get a good view of the whole Pickett's Charge field, up to Ziegler's Grove and down to the Peach Orchard. If you do go up to the top, take a flashlight for the way down in the dark--there are no lights inside. Probably one of the coolest sunset things happened to me there last summer: a reenactor dressed in uniform and playing a vintage trumpet, stood on the first platform, faced the sunset, and played several CW songs, ending with Taps. It was very moving.

If you go soon, it won't be as crowded as it is in the summer, but I doubt you'll get LRT or almost anyplace to yourself. That only happens during the winter, or only for a split second at other times, unless you go off the beaten path, a.k.a. the auto tour. Still, during the week it's now the school field trip crush, through the end of May, so get ready for school buses and lots of uninterested kids. It's worth it, though, just do your own thing!

Have fun!

Moonshiner, I'm planning to move out East to be amongst the History (ACW) I love so much. I think it's either the Gettysburg area (I hate crowds), Virginia, or (if I can stand the humidity), Charleston. You're probably in better shape than I, so do try to walk a bit from the beginning of Pickett's Charge...you'll realize what those poor souls had to traverse under heavy fire. And I sat at Devil's Den, staring up at Little Round Top until the guide said--"...ready to move on?"

Great advice and tips!! Thanks!

 

[Moonshiner]

Well, after careful consideration, my wife and I have decided to not stay in Frederick, Maryland and not do a few days in Washington DC. Instead we are going to stay in Gettysburg for the full week and travel to Antietam/South Mountain/Monocacy and Harpers Ferry from there..... Just didn't feel like dealing with the crowds, traffic and blow hard politicians of DC

 

[ole]

Got a few day trips in there, but you could do worse.