Visiting Gettysburg

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Jul 13, 2018 9:46 pm

Due to a little this and a little that, I need to be in Gettysburg in a couple of weeks. I'll be there for one day and one night, and I'll be able to have the kids (14, 16) with me. The stuff I have to do won't take long, so I'll have most of the day free.

Can anyone suggest anything relatively affordable to do there? Obviously the historical elements are going to be the focus.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:18 pm

Read the book: “Killer Angels”, before you go.

Seeing the battlefield just after completing that book brought a great value to my brief visit there, years ago.

All I got.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 1:44 am

Just stay in your hotel room playing Ultimate General: Gettysburg.

DOS=HIGH · Post by **DOS=HIGH** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 7:16 am

It's been a while since I was there but I don't remember spending much money since there are no entrance fees. I bought the self guided driving tour and that was it. I second Unagi's suggestion, reading up on the battle beforehand would be a good idea, you can really get a feel for it when you're there since the battlefields are relatively unchanged. I went during the fall on a weekday so it was relatively empty, don't know about summer, could be busy but you should still be able to see everything in a day. Awesome place for history buffs.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 9:31 am

Gettysburg is an amazing experience! The battlefield has been beautifully preserved.

Make sure you know the story of the battle (including where the main lines were each day) and it will mean so much more. Really. The Killer Angels will give you the big picture and make specific locations very meaningful as well, plus it's simply a great novel.

Start at the big visitor's center. It's a cool little museum in its own right.

Last time we went, we arranged for a guided tour, and it was great. The guides know their stuff, and a family gets about 3 hours for $65 or so. Other than the hotel and food, that was the only money we spent on our trip.

This is a very useful site to check out before your visit as well. You could make your own tour itinerary from here if you know the battle.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 10:50 am

Thanks! I really wish I'd known about this a few weeks earlier so I could have done more reading. The next couple of weeks are likely to be busy, though, and I'd be lucky to finish a book in advance. I will see what I can find, though.

Holman wrote: ↑Sat Jul 14, 2018 9:31 am
Last time we went, we arranged for a guided tour, and it was great. The guides know their stuff, and a family gets about 3 hours for $65 or so. Other than the hotel and food, that was the only money we spent on our trip.

Damn, that looked really, really promising until I got to the part about them needing to ride in your vehicle. There will be four of us, so that won't work.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:11 am

They also had a bus tourwhen we went.

Killer angels is a must however.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:12 am

Our guide was great, but you don't need one to have a very meaningful experience at the park.

I think if you make the time to read the novel, you'll be a great position to walk the battlefield yourself and know how it all fits together. The battle was fought in clear stages, and the pivotal locations are inspiring and chilling to visit when you know what happened at each: Culp's Hill, The Peach Orchard, Devil's Den, The Angle, Little Round Top, the National Cemetery...

If you like history, you're in for something special.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:21 am

Kindling now.

I'm thinking that if I can fit three people into the back seat (my son and exish are both skinny), a guide could sit in the front...

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:29 am

IIRC, you can hire a geezer (probably veteran who was there!) at the visitor center/gift store. When I was there we didn't have much time, so we just did the self-guided driving tour.

While you're in the area, another interesting place (and one your kids would like) is the Hershey museum. You get there via the Hershey Highway (but of course!)

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:36 am

Jeff V wrote: ↑Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:29 am You get there via the Hershey Highway (but of course!)

Humor that confuses the kids shall abound.

/edit - about an hour away. I'll put that in the file, but we may not have that much time.

mori · Post by **mori** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 7:40 pm

Gettysburg, Little Big Horn, and The Alamo are all must visits for Americans. None are altruistic. But they are what forged this nation in the 19th century.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:00 pm

Well, I've been to the other two, so I'll have the full set. Sutter's Mill, too, just to balance out the diagram.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:59 pm

Not been to Little Bighorn due to remoteness from anything. I've been to Tippecanoe though, which is in BH's state and that visit yielded a couple of published articles, one being an AAR using Tiller's 1812 for demonstration.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 9:30 pm

I did get to Chickamauga a while ago - 12 years, maybe.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 10:27 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 14, 2018 10:50 am Thanks! I really wish I'd known about this a few weeks earlier so I could have done more reading. The next couple of weeks are likely to be busy, though, and I'd be lucky to finish a book in advance. I will see what I can find, though.

Perhaps even the audio book .... it's not too late!

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 10:28 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:36 am /edit - about an hour away. I'll put that in the file, but we may not have that much time.

just catching up.... nevermind.

read it anyway,

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Sat Jul 14, 2018 10:31 pm

Unagi wrote: ↑Sat Jul 14, 2018 10:28 pm
Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:36 am /edit - about an hour away. I'll put that in the file, but we may not have that much time.
just catching up.... nevermind.

But, yeah - Killer Angels... read it anyway And Soon (as have DOS=HIGH , Holman, Pyperkub have said.), You are a great GREAT person in this forum, and I can't wait for you to ingest this and make it part of your experience. Sorry if I come across as over hyping it. (or on re-read... to into "you") bleh

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 11:33 am

My Dad visited Gettysburg last year and loved it. I don't think he did much in the way of guided tours though. I think he just checked out the visitor center and the self-guided tour.

I would love to get up there some day to check it out for myself. In the meantime, I guess I should add Killer Angels to the reading list.

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 1:56 pm

If you don't feel like reading The Killer Angels, you could spend four hours watching the movie Gettysburg instead...it's based on the book, and a good representation of events and the people involved.

My dad used to be a civil war reenactor and participated in making the movie...actually got chosen as a stand-in for Jeff Daniels in a few scenes, and has several close-up shots during Chamberlain's speech to the deserters of the 2nd Maine. Other than the major characters (portrayed by an impressive list of actors), most of the soldiers were reenactors who volunteered to help make the film. Thousands of guys traveled to Gettysburg, set up period-accurate camps, and lived like soldiers for the weeks that the film was made...staying in uniform, eating dried food and hardtack, and singing around the campfires at night. I think my dad spent a little over a week there and said it was an amazing experience being surrounded by so many people that respected what happened there, including those who made the film.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 3:56 pm

My Dad and I made the mistake once of thinking we could do it in an hour. Nope. The place is just too condensed. I think we ended up visiting the visitor's center and drove around to find the way out and that was it. We sadly simply couldn't do it justice. Hope to go back one day. We were visiting my sister in D.C and seeing as it's such a long way back home, we would have had to dedicate an extra two days to get home if we were going to give Gettysburg the time it needed.

moghedian · Post by **moghedian** » Sun Jul 15, 2018 7:42 pm

Here are some pictures from our visit way back in 2010. Your post reminded me of our time here... Just wanted to share to give you an idea of what it is like....

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/Oao ... t1CjGvZYZw

The Wife and I decided to take a day trip there since we were visiting relatives. We went to the visitor center/museum. A self drive with a CD I think through the park.

Even the Wife liked the museum. Lot's of stuff there. At the time they had a neat diorama thing about the battle as well. It was a presentation, lighting up the sections as the battle unfolded.

It was quite a long drive around but with the CD I think we had, talking about what was coming up or what happened up just ahead was neat. It's horrible at times but that's how it was. There are a lot of monuments.

So with one day, I would visit the museum and get a guided tour if you could. I didn't have a cell phone back then but maybe there is an app now or something. After we did what we did, we wished we would have had a guided tour as at several stops we came across groups of people who did and after sneaking a listen it looked worth it.

Seeing this post, I want to go back again.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Mon Jul 16, 2018 12:14 pm

I did Gettysburg back in the 80's. In a way it was disappointing, as it is like visiting Disneyland and you see the mess that is hotels and coffee shops just off the property. Gettysburg proper was very interesting, but it is a large site and will take some time. Also getting some background for it is a must.

I preferred Antietam. It is much easier to visualize the battle and it is a much more compact a battlefield. Also the visitors center was very helpful. There is also much fewer people and virtually no commercialization, at least there wasn't in the 80's.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:49 pm

Scuzz wrote: ↑Mon Jul 16, 2018 12:14 pm I did Gettysburg back in the 80's. In a way it was disappointing, as it is like visiting Disneyland and you see the mess that is hotels and coffee shops just off the property. Gettysburg proper was very interesting, but it is a large site and will take some time. Also getting some background for it is a must.

I preferred Antietam. It is much easier to visualize the battle and it is a much more compact a battlefield. Also the visitors center was very helpful. There is also much fewer people and virtually no commercialization, at least there wasn't in the 80's.

Gettysburg today is a college town whose only other industry is tourism. But the National Park Service has done an incredible job of pruning back commercial encroachment, even to the point that there are very few signs of modern development (including telephone poles or a modern building skyline) visible from the heart of the battlefield.

I believe I've read that the greatest effort to prune back commercialization around the battlefield began in the 1980s, when it had reached a nadir. The NPS bought (and demolished) commercial properties too close to the battlefield, and they planted dense tree lines on the borders to hide more. Nowadays the Park Service even pays local farmers to grow the correct crops in the correct fields of July 1863.

The one exception is probably the site of much of the "first-day" activity of the battle (e.g. McPherson Ridge), which was too close to too much modern commercial activity already. Focusing on the second- and third-day actions will give you a more authentic view (and it's the truly important period anyway).

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 4:43 pm

My dad goes to Gettysburg at the end of June every year for the antique gun show. I still haven't been able to go with him yet. Going to try next year. He said he likes to get up at sunrise and walk the battlefields while the mist is still low in the grass.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 4:48 pm

Thanks to the advice here, I've booked a tour guide for the family. I'm working my way through Killer Angels, although I'll be surprised if I can finish it by this weekend (not much reading time.) The kids and I will be watching Gettysburg so that they'll have some perspective on it as well (and we've already done a couple of documentaries on it.)

Couple of quick questions:

~We're going to be there all day, and have the reservation at 1. We'll have a few hours free, either before or after the tour (expecting that we'll spend some time wandering on our own and going through the center.) Is there anything else in Gettysburg that's worth doing?

~The guide will be with us for two hours for $65. Is it appropriate to give him/her a tip? And how much? I'm surprisingly naive about such things.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 4:56 pm

TripAdvisor

Battlefield guides are paid a flat rate by the park. They accept tips, and I've seen them get between $10 and $20. The licensed battlefield guides do not openly ask for tips, but they do accept them. Ghost tour guides make it clear that tipping is expected, and they carry little satchels or baskets for that purpose. They are more overt about it.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 5:59 pm

I am glad to hear they have cleaned up some of the commercial aspect of the area. It was pretty ugly, although I don't remember being able to see much of it from the battlefield proper. We didn't use a guide, I had a pretty good knowledge of the battle.

We did dinner that night in an old house that dated back almost to the battle. Very nice, a little expensive though but sometimes you pay for the location.

I remember tipping a tour guide we had in New York. We were on the tour for 4-5 hours, it wasn't cheap, but he went out of his way to help us at the end of the tour and so i had my youngest daughter slip him $20.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:15 pm

Just discovered that Pennsylvania is packed with toll roads. I'm going to research if there is a way around them. Anybody have any experience.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:34 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:15 pm Just discovered that Pennsylvania is packed with toll roads. I'm going to research if there is a way around them. Anybody have any experience.

Waze can do routes which include or exclude toll roads.

Fitzy · Post by **Fitzy** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 6:37 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:15 pm Just discovered that Pennsylvania is packed with toll roads. I'm going to research if there is a way around them. Anybody have any experience.

I-80 in the north, though I think the Ohio part is tolled.

I-70 to I-79 to i-68 (West Virginia) back to i-70 in the south.

Those were our main options 2 years ago. But i missed the turn in a u-haul pulling a car at i-79 so ended up on it anyway. Also we were going to DC metro, but Gettysburg is just an exit off i-70 around Hagerstown in MD.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:49 pm

The actual drive is Indiana to Baltimore. We'll be getting on 70 in Terre Haute.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:56 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:15 pm Just discovered that Pennsylvania is packed with toll roads. I'm going to research if there is a way around them. Anybody have any experience.

Obviously set up to deter another Southern invasion.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 9:14 pm

Grifman wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:56 pm
Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:15 pm Just discovered that Pennsylvania is packed with toll roads. I'm going to research if there is a way around them. Anybody have any experience.
Obviously set up to deter another Southern invasion.

Somebody's gotta go back to Virginia and get a shitload of dimes!

Fitzy · Post by **Fitzy** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 7:31 am

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:49 pm The actual drive is Indiana to Baltimore. We'll be getting on 70 in Terre Haute.

Ah, 70 to 79 to 68 back to 70, then the third star on the right straight to Baltimore should bypass Pennsylvania’s tolls. Good luck! Beware of buggies!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 8:04 am

Blackhawk wrote:
Grifman wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:56 pm
Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:15 pm Just discovered that Pennsylvania is packed with toll roads. I'm going to research if there is a way around them. Anybody have any experience.
Obviously set up to deter another Southern invasion.

Somebody's gotta go back to Virginia and get a shitload of dimes!

What in the wide wide world of sports is a-goin' on here?!

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 10:13 am

Grifman wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:56 pm
Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Jul 19, 2018 1:15 pm Just discovered that Pennsylvania is packed with toll roads. I'm going to research if there is a way around them. Anybody have any experience.
Obviously set up to deter another Southern invasion.

The south will tithe again!

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 1:57 pm

Well, back in about 1985 when we visited Gettysburg we never hit a toll road. So at least some things were better in the old days.

We went from Gettysbrug into Baltimore, where we grabbed a hotel room and saw a baseball game in the old pre-Camden days baseball park. That was not a pretty part of Baltimore.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon Jul 23, 2018 9:24 am

I'm sitting here in Baltimore. I was a last-minute substitute on this trip, which is how I ended up here. I'm not complaining! Gettysburg is tomorrow.

The whole family watched Gettysburg. We watched several documentaries on it.

I finished Killer Angels last night. It was really, really good book. Thanks for the recommendation. I read it with my laptop on my lap... top. One tab was open to a map of the battlefield, another was open to Google Maps. It was great way to read the book, being able to check the maps, and then drop into street view to gain a ground's-eye perspective of whatever location was being discussed, seeing it through the eyes of the characters I was reading about. I'm going in tomorrow with a really solid idea of how events unfolded. Thank you.

I'm going to have to go back and read some other historical books (Ambrose, etc) using this method.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Mon Jul 23, 2018 9:35 am

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Mon Jul 23, 2018 9:24 am I finished Killer Angels last night. It was really, really good book. Thanks for the recommendation. I read it with my laptop on my lap... top. One tab was open to a map of the battlefield, another was open to Google Maps. It was great way to read the book, being able to check the maps, and then drop into street view to gain a ground's-eye perspective of whatever location was being discussed, seeing it through the eyes of the characters I was reading about. I'm going in tomorrow with a really solid idea of how events unfolded. Thank you.

I'm going to have to go back and read some other historical books (Ambrose, etc) using this method.

That does really sound like a great way to read a book like this.
Have fun at the battlefield!