Gettysburg Visit

[MrFun]

I used a vacation day today (Friday) to make a trip up to Gettysburg, PA. I thoroughly enjoyed my entire visit up there, including seeing the dramatic, huge cyclorama of the battle at Gettysburg - apparently, some French artists were actually great with their work!

After seeing the cyclorama exhibit and the museum's more traditional exhibit gallery I spent the rest of my day outdoors. I only had time to enjoy two parts of the huge battlefield - Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill from Union perspective and then Seminary Ridge from Confederate perspective.

Walking to bottom of Cemetery Ridge and then turning around to see what it must have looked like for advancing Confederate soldiers was eye-opening. No matter how often I have read about this great battle, seeing the sites first-hand REALLY shows the audacity of General Lee's order to attack Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill.

When I reached Seminary Ridge I took at piss on the Virginian memorial/monument there - okay, no I didn't really do that since I didn't want to be arrested and then fined $500.

Next time I visit Gettysburg I need to make for more time to see the other parts of this battlefield that I have yet to see.

[Velociryx]

It's a remarkable site (and that map is really cool!).

You can truly feel the history of the place.

-=Vel=-

[SlowwHand]

You really did a good job of turning an interesting outing into bull**** with as little time as you could. Congratulations on being succinct.

[SlowwHand]

dp

[Wezil]

Gettysburg was next up on my list of travel destinations before you guys went absolutely insane. Maybe some time in the future but my US travel is indefinitely on hold.

Amsterdam is now next up.

[MrFun]

You really did a good job of turning an interesting outing into bull**** with as little time as you could. Congratulations on being succinct.

How did I do that if I never actually DID anything to show disrespect for Confederate side while I was there?

If you want to correct, you should have said, "You really did a good job of turning a thread about an interesting outing into bull****. Congratulations on being succinct."

[Wezil]

Have you seen other Civil War sites Mr. Fun?

I've heard Gettysburg suffers some neglect with regard to site preservation. Any thoughts?

[MrFun]

I did not notice any serious site preservation problems. And Gettysburg has been my very first Civil War site so no, I have not been to others. I want to go to Gettysburg again sometime, and also see what Antietam is like.

[chequita guevara]

The thing is, Gettysburg has been turned into a manicured park. It doesn't look like hell that the soldiers actually fought in. It's the Disneyfied version of the Civil War.

[MrFun]

I don't think there was anything manicured about the field I walked through that Confederates marched through to Cemetery Hill. It was uncut, with uneven ground.

[Wiglaf]

Gay people manicure enough without touching our Civil War battlefields, I move to strike.

[MrFun]

Any impressions of Gettysburg from other Polytoners?

[Wezil]

I did not notice any serious site preservation problems.

This group claims many sites at Gettysburg aren't protected.

http://www.civilwar.org/historyundersiege/

Threat

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Photo: Gettytsburg, by Bobby Housch (Gettysburg Daily).
See photos of the Most Engangered Battlefields

Although Gettysburg is the best-known of all Civil War battlefields, it nonetheless faces threats to its preservation and interpretation. Many historically significant locations on the battlefield lie outside the boundaries of Gettysburg National Military Park and are vulnerable to residential or commercial development. Currently, a Comfort Suites hotel is under construction on Cemetery Hill, immediately adjacent to Evergreen Cemetery on Baltimore Pike, the road to the newly built visitor center. Preservationists are following all construction along this corridor carefully, hoping to thwart the type of development that marred the previous visitor center’s location.

Another threatened property lies northwest of town along Route 30, the Chambersburg Pike. The Gettysburg Country Club, scene of Confederate attacks on McPherson Ridge, went bankrupt in the summer of 2008. Although the National Park Service and other conservation groups pursued the land, the astronomical asking price has thus far prevented a preservation-based solution. A January 2009 sheriff’s auction failed to sell the property and the fate of the land remains uncertain.

[MrFun]

Ah yes, well I did see the construction site of Comfort Suites near the cemetery. I didn't like what I saw there.

[Lord Avalon]

Walking to bottom of Cemetery Ridge and then turning around to see what it must have looked like for advancing Confederate soldiers was eye-opening. No matter how often I have read about this great battle, seeing the sites first-hand REALLY shows the audacity of General Lee's order to attack Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill.

I was there as a kid, many, many moons ago. Seeing how far the confederates had to go to attack, crossing a long distance over open fields against prepared Union positions, "audacity" is not the word I would use. More like stupidity.