A statue of Confederate

Gen. Robert E. Lee crowns

the Virginia Memorial.

“What I personally

love the most is taking

a step back, finding

my favorite place on

the battlefield and just

setting back on a rock

and taking in the beauty

of the battlefield. Even

though so much death

and destruction took

place here, there is such

a peace that resonates

at Gettysburg.”

— A frequent traveler

to Gettysburg

This small Pennsylvaniatown with a big name in the history books prepares for the Civil Warsesquicentennial

LeisureGroupTravel.com April 2011 15

on location: northeast � randy mink

All Photos Courtesy of Gettysburg CVB

16 April 2011 LeisureGroupTravel.com

As the nation prepares to kick off afive-year commemoration of the 150thanniversary of the Civil War, this is aperfect time for Americans to reflect onthe epic conflict that pitted state againststate, friend against friend. Gettysburg,where the war’s greatest battle raged,will take center stage in that observance.

A visit to the battlefield and othersites brings home the tragedies enduredfrom 1861-1865 and puts into focus themonumental struggle between Northand South. Had it not been for theheroic feats on this Southern Pennsyl-vania farm land the first three days ofJuly in 1863, America would be a dif-ferent country. A Union victory thatmarked the beginning of the end forGen. Robert E. Lee’s ConfederateArmy, the Battle of Gettysburg is re-garded as the turning point of the CivilWar. The largest battle ever fought onAmerican soil saw more than 51,000soldiers killed, wounded or captured.

Geared for group travel, the town of8,100 annually welcomes three milliontourists and hosts 15,000 motorcoaches.Travel planners can choose from a widerange of tours, museums, and group-

friendly hotels and restaurants. Organ-izers also can arrange for living historyinterpreters, like Gen. Ulysses S. andMrs. Grant, to come on the coach orgive a presentation.

Gettysburg National Military ParkMuseum and Visitor Center, adjacentto the battlefield, is the focal point oftourism and obvious place to start.Opened in April of 2008, the state-of-the-art facility offers 21st centuryamenities for the nearly two millionwho visit Gettysburg National MilitaryPark every year.

In addition to 12 exhibit galleriesfilled with videos and interactive sta-tions, the Visitor Center presents “A

New Birth of Freedom,” a 22-minutefilm narrated by Morgan Freeman thatimmerses viewers in the sights, soundsand emotions of the battle and its after-math. Following the film, guests take anescalator to the Gettysburg Cyclorama,a colossal circular oil painting that givesthem the illusion of standing in themiddle of Pickett’s Charge, a battletableau complete with marching troops,men fighting with bayonets, cannonsmoke, and ground littered with can-teens, shoes, broken wheels, and deadsoldiers and horses. A sound-and-lightshow with narration enhances the 360-degree experience.

At 377 feet by 42 feet, the Gettys-burg Cyclorama, created by Frenchartists in 1883-1884 and fresh from afive-year, $12-million restoration com-pleted in 2008, is the largest painting in the U.S. The three-dimensional diorama and a sky that disappears intoan overhead canopy—features that hadbeen missing for more than 40 years—have been recreated.

Licensed battlefield guides at theVisitor Center can board a group’s mo-torcoach for a two-hour tour. The cen-ter has a dedicated group entrance andclassroom space. A bus drivers lounge isVisit the Eisenhower National Historic Site. | Visit the David Wills House in Downtown Gettysburg.

Shop in the Museum Bookstore. | Enjoy Civil War-era food in the Refreshment Saloon. Join the Friends of Gettysburg–help us preserve this hallowed ground.

Unl im i t e d In s p i r a t i o n

GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK MUSEUM AND VISITOR CENTERGG

Commemorate the C iv i l War 150th wi th us

P L A N BATTLEFIELD TOURS

1195 Baltimore Pike | Gettysburg, PA 17325 | Tickets: 877-874-2478reservations@gettysburgfoundation.org | www.gettysburgfoundation.org

g.

CYCLORAMA, FILM & MUSEUM EXPERIENCE.DON’T MISS THE

A rousing re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg takes place every July.

on location: northeast �

ONLINE EXCLUSIVESee Randy Mink’s article on

the National Civil War Museum in

Harrisburg, Pa., a 45-minute drive from

Gettysburg. Log on to http://leisuregroup-

travel.com/?p=22794.

located in the coach parking lot.With more than 1,300 monuments

and memorials, Gettysburg NationalMilitary Park boasts one of the world’slargest collections of outdoor sculptures.The towering Pennsylvania Monumentis the largest and most complex.

One memorial recalls the 272 wordsspoken by President Lincoln at the ded-ication of the Soldiers’ National Ceme-tery four months after the battle. Hiseloquent two-minute speech on Nov.19, 1863, is today known as the Gettys-burg Address (“that this nation, underGod, shall have a new birth of freedom;and that this government of the people,by the people, for the people shall not

perish from the earth.”) This cemeteryin Gettysburg National Military Park, afinal resting place for veterans throughthe Vietnam War, was officially closedin 1972, but plots remain for depend-ents of those interred.

For insight into Lincoln’s immortaladdress, tour the David Wills House, aNational Park Service-owned museumin downtown Gettysburg. Opened in2009, the attorney’s home is where Lin-

coln put the finishing touches on thespeech. Restored to its 1863 appearance,the house (privately owned for decades)showcases the bedroom where Lincolnslept on the night before the GettysburgAddress and Wills’ office. Exhibits in-terpret the battle’s aftermath and Wills’efforts to set aside battlefield land for acemetery for the Union dead. The homewas the center of the immense clean-upprocess after the July 1-3 battle and wasused to care for the wounded.

Downtown abounds with other mu-seums and historic houses, not to men-tion Civil War-themed shops andrestaurants. Steps from the David WillsHouse are the Cannon Ball Old Tyme

Malt Shop and McClellan’s Tavern, arestaurant in the historic GettysburgHotel. Named after Union Gen.George McClellan, the tavern servesthe Confederate Burger, Custer’s Meltand other sandwiches named for CivilWar generals. The Tavern in back of theFarnsworth House Inn remembers thewar with props and costumes from theHollywood movie Gettysburg and runsit continuously on the TV. Built in1810, the B&B inn bears 100 bulletholes from the battle. Group dinnerbuffets are available.

Wait staff in colonial garb and can-dlelit rooms lend charm to the 1776Dobbin House Tavern, the oldest build-

LeisureGroupTravel.com

Groups can hire a guide for a two-hour tour of the Gettysburg battlefield.

Obtain Pennsylvania

visitor guides

and itineraries –

and contact group-

friendly suppliers

directly – at

leisuregrouptravel.com/instant-info

ing in Gettysburg. Many of the rooms,including the casual Springhouse Tav-ern in the basement, have fireplaces. Thesame atmosphere pervades the attachedbanquet room where large groups (up to150) enjoy buffet meals.

Gettysburg antique shops deal inCivil War bullets, cannon balls, weapons,uniform buttons and other memorabilia,while gift shops sell everything from toyguns and swords to soldier caps, flags,

Lincoln throw pillows, stovepipe hats,and Blue and Gray teddy bears.

The American Civil War Wax Mu-seum presents the North vs. South ri-valry through life-size dioramas. Scenesspotlight events like the Lincoln-Dou-glas Debates, Lincoln assassination andLee’s surrender at Appomattox Court-house. Visitors also learn about the Un-derground Railroad, black troops in the54th Massachusetts Infantry and ClaraBarton, the “Angel of the Battlefields,”whose efforts led to the founding of the

American Red Cross. A visit con-cludes in the Battle Room, whereflashing lights, sound effects and nar-ration enhance a film and large dio-rama. After the battle, an animatronicAbraham Lincoln rises from the floorto deliver the Gettysburg Address anda choir sings the “Battle Hymn of theRepublic.” Weekly living history en-campments take place from Aprilthrough October.

Several Gettysburg sites providetownspeople’s perspectives on the war.The Jennie Wade House Museum,for example, tells the story of a 20-year-old woman hit by a stray bullet,the only civilian killed during the bat-tle. Other attractions include ShriverHouse Museum, Gettysburg Dio-rama, Lincoln Train Station Museum,Soldiers National Museum, and Hallof Presidents & First Ladies.

For visitors, “night life” in Gettys-burg often means a ghost tour. Severalcompanies offer candlelight walks

that offer glimpses into the past throughthe spirits that are said to linger here.Many TV documentaries have featuredGettysburg, reputed to be one of themost haunted towns in the world.

The town’s Civil War 150th anniver-sary celebration will include special ob-servances, expanded programs and tours,and large battle re-enactments. The an-nual July 1-3 re-enactment, an ABA Top100 Event this year, presents continuousliving history each day, including mili-tary camps, medical demonstrations,ladies fashions, a period worship serviceand live Civil War music.

One highlight of the five-year com-memoration will be the 2013 openingof the Gettysburg Lutheran TheologicalSeminary’s Schmucker Hall, a buildingthat served as a Union lookout on July 1and a field hospital. The new museumwill tell the story of the battle’s first dayand faith and medicine in the Civil War.

This year and the next few will bethe ideal time to bring your troops toGettysburg, hallowed ground that notonly saw unimaginable horrors but actsof compassion and words of hope forhealing a divided nation.

For information on group travel, con-tact Jenny McConnell, Gettysburg CVB,800-337-5015, jenny@gettysburg.travel;gettysburggrouptours.travel. LGT

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18 April 2011 LeisureGroupTravel.com

on location: northeast �

The superb museum at Gettysburg

National Military Park is a must.