Gettysburg

Gettysburg is famous for its battlefields and place in history. Those interested in the Civil War will want to include it in a trip in this part of Pennsylvania. To visit Gettysburg and to gain an understanding of the Civil War you will need to plan a minimum of one day in this area. Gettysburg was the site of the war’s worst battle and the greatest loss of men in just three days during the summer of 1863. With Robert E. Lee making a move toward capturing the capital of Harrisburg and Major General Joe Hooker moving north, the two armies, war-worn, tired, and discouraged as they were, met and fought in what history has recorded as the deciding battle of the Civil War. When it was over thousands were dead and more wounded. It was at the consecration of the Gettysburg cemetery for the war dead that President Lincoln made his famous address beginning, “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” In addition to a quaint and historic town, among the memorable sights here are the Gettysburg National Military Park with its Visitor Center, the Soldier’s National Cemetery, Cyclorama Center and the Eisenhower National Historic Site with the Eisenhower home complete with furnishings.