The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War, the Union victory in the summer of 1863 that ended General Robert E. Lee's second and most ambitious invasion of the North. Often referred to as the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy", it was the war's bloodiest battle with 51,000 casualties. It also provided President Abraham Lincoln with the setting for his most famous address. The Gettysburg Battlefield was the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, fought July 1 to July 3, 1863, in and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the county seat of Adams County, which had approximately 2,400 residents at the time. It is now the site of two historic landmarks: Gettysburg National Military Park and the Gettysburg National Cemetery. Gettysburg National Cemetery is located on Cemetery Hill in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, with the support of Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin, the site was purchased and Union dead were moved from shallow and inadequate burial sites on the battlefield to the cemetery. The removal of Confederate dead from the field burial plots was not undertaken until seven years after the battle. The cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863. The main speaker at the ceremony was Edward Everett, but it was here that Abraham Lincoln delivered his most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address. The night before, Lincoln slept in Wills's house on the main square in Gettysburg, which is now a landmark administered by the National Park Service. The cemetery was completed in March of 1864 with the last of 3,512 Union dead were reburied. It became a National Cemetery on May 1, 1872, when control was transferred to the War Department. It is currently administered by the National Park Service as part of Gettysburg National Military Park and contains the remains of over 6,000 individuals whom served in a number of American wars, from the Mexican-American War to the present day. |
| Gettysburg National Cemetery Cemetery Hill Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Dedicated on November 19, 1863. Completed in March of 1864. Contains over 6,000 individuals. |
| Memorial marker for the 27th Indiana Infantry. Regiment lost during service 10 Officers and 159 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 131 Enlisted men by disease. Total 302. Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3. |
| Our tour guide was "Charlie". |
| One of the many equestrian statues . A true Gettysburg myth states that a statue that has all four of the horse's hooves on the ground means that the rider survived the battle without a scratch. One foot raised means the person was wounded but survived, and both forelegs raised indicates that the man was killed at Gettysburg. |
| This canon is one of many that sits atop the hills of the Gettysburg National Battlefield located in Gettysburg, PA - USA. Civil War canons could fire as far as 1700 yards, deadly accurate within a range of 300 yards using 10 to 32-pound canon balls . |
| 7th Regiment Indiana Infantry Organized at Indianapolis, Ind., April 21-27, 1861. Regiment lost during service 8 Officers and 108 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 111 Enlisted men by disease. Total 229. Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3 |
| Indiana State Monument at Gettysburg. Located at Spangler Meadow. Erected in 1970. At Spangler's Meadow near Culp's Hill Johnson's men fought with the 2nd Mass. and the 27th Indiana, and they charged the Confederates on the morning of July 3 and suffered tremendous losses. |
| Almost all Civil War pistols were single action revolvers. Several hundred thousand were made by Colt, with half as many made by Remington, and the next most prolific manufacturer folded financially shortly after the Civil War after making about 25,000. |
| December 20, 1863 This snare drum was John Unger, Company B, 40th New York Infantry. Drums were used to beat out commands and provide a marching cadence to soldiers. Gettysburg National Military Park, GETT 32847 |
| Jacket of D.C. Myers Myers died Septemer 27, 1864 at Andersonville of illness caused by exposure, overcrowding,poor sanitation and inadequate diet. On display in the museum. |
| Brig. Gen. George S. Greene "Culp's Hill" summit The defense of Culps Hill was crucial to the outcome of the overall battle. Had the Confederates been able to maintain and exploit their hold on Culps Hill, the Union's Cemetery Hill position would have become untenable. |
| Watchtower at Gettysburg Park |
| More monuments at Gettysburg. |
| Map of Gettysburg Natinal Military Park and National Cemetery. Also includes Visitor's Center, Lincoln speech memorial and other areas of interest. (Click on photo to enlarge). |
| Monument at Gettysburg .Photo by National Military Park photo collection. |
| Monument on Gettysburg ridge at sunset .Photo by National Military Park photo collection. |
| Battle of Gettysburg Photo by National Military Park photo collection. |
| Awesome shot of a farmer's field near Gettysburg National Park Photo by unknown |
| Military tombstones in Gettysburg National Cemetery. Over 6,000 people are buried here, who served their country in the Civil War and other wars. |
| Monument marking the spot where Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address speech. He originally hated the speech and thought it wouldn't go over well with the public. |
| 20 foot tall statue of Abraham Lincoln in Presidents Park, WIlliamsburg, Virginia. We spent a few hours here on our tour. A great place for kids to enjoy learning about our Presidents. |
| President's Park entrance Williamsburg, Virginia |
| 20 foot tall Andrew Jackson statue at President's Park. Williamsburg, Virginia. |
| Jenny Wade (Mary Virginia "Ginnie" Wade) Burial site (flag marks the spot). A seamstress, was the only Gettysburg citizen killed during the Battle of Gettysburg. The house she was killed in is now a popular tourist attraction and museum. It one of the most well known supposed "legend" haunted houses in Gettysburg. |
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| Mary Virginia "Ginnie Wade" Only civilian casualty in Gettysburg. |
| The Battle of Gettysburg started on 1 July, 1863 and was one of the most important battles in the Civil War for the North. Had the South won there were many roads leading to the Northern States, and the South might possibly have won the war. The best estimates of combatants show that 85,000 - 88,000 Northern troops were engaged and 70,000 - 75,000 Southern troops. The North lost 3,155 killed and the South 3,903. The North had 14,529 wounded and the South 18,735. As far as missing in action the North had 5,365 and the South 5,425. Total losses were 23,049 for the North and 28,063 for the South. |
| Harper's Weekly, sent an artist to sketch the battle. This picture shows their artist, Alfred R. Waud. |
| Crowds at dedication of Gettysburg Cemetery in 1863. (Click the photo to enlarge view). |
| The Battle of Gettysburg was the costliest battle of the American Civil War based on number of casualties. Spanning over three days, from July 1-3, 1863, the Battle resulted in approximately 51,112 individuals being killed, wounded, missing or captured. Despite the fact that the South continued to fight for two more years, it was a decisive victory for the Union. The South's retreat and terrible losses were a turning point in the war. From that point on, the South had to abandon its attempt to take the war North. |
| John Burns was in the War of 1812 and near seventy years of age. He took an old State musket he had in his house, and started making bullets. When his wife wanted to know what he was going to do. 'Ah' said Burns, 'I thought some of the boys might want the old gun, and I am getting it ready for them. He found a Wisconsin regiment, and asked them if they would take him in. They told him they would, and gave him three rousing cheers.The old musket was soon thrown aside, and a first-rate rifle given him, and cartridges. He killed three rebels to his certain knowledge. When found by rebel forces they asked what he was doing there and he said he was going for help for his sick wife and was wounded and having pity on him they returned him home. |
| Gettysburg Trivia More than 3,000 horses were killed at Gettysburg There are over 830 monuments and 400 guns located at the Gettysburg Battlefield. The monument of the 20th Massachussetts Infantry consists of a huge boulder that stood in a playground in Mass. where many of the unit's soldiers played as children. During the bombardment atop Cemetery Ridge on the 3rd day of Gettysburg, Union Brig. Gen. John Gibbon could have received some satisfaction from knowing the enemy was using his The Artillerist's Manual as their guide. |