The Downtown Gettysburg Walking Tour

Author : C. W. Buff
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781549950568
Total Pages : 53 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (55 download)

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Download or read book Gettysburg Walking Tour written by C. W. Buff and published by . This book was released on 2018-05-15 with total page 53 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does a self-guided walking tour of Downtown Gettysburg sound to you? YOU decide the pace. YOU skip what doesn't interest you. YOU stop and start when you wish, and you can spread it out over several days if you prefer. You can even incorporate meals, wine tasting, museums, shopping and exploring historic homes along the way if you like. That is the premise of this self-guided tour.I happen to live less than an hour's drive from the Lincoln Statue in the Square and have personally visited Gettysburg as a tourist/Civil War buff more times than I can count going all the way back to the 1970s. I have eaten at many of the restaurants, stayed at local hotels, campgrounds and bed and breakfasts and spent hours and hours in the museums, on the battlefields, the guided tours and even the ghost tours. I wrote this handbook to help visitors gain a sense of where to stay, where to eat and what to see before they ever arrive.If you don't know it already, there are thousands of acres of battlefield to explore in the outskirts of Gettysburg, but did you know there were significant skirmishes downtown? In July 1863, nearly 170,000 Union and Confederate soldiers fought there both around and within the sleepy little town of only 2400 citizens. Nearly 70 soldiers for every single civilian! The result was the largest military battle that has ever occurred in North America. Only three days later, there were an estimated 50,000 soldiers that were missing, wounded or killed. As a Civil War buff, these facts give me goose bumps and while the massive battlefields in the outskirts are certainly something to behold, the aspect that I personally find to be the most interesting is the part that occurred in the town itself. Fighting raged street to street and house to house; all while the locals hid in their homes and watched helplessly as the soldiers fell all around them. Families were forced to accept the enemy into their homes and in some cases; sharpshooters exchanged gunfire from their roofs, windows and attics. Wounded soldiers from both sides were dragged or carried to whatever shelter was available and many of the private residences, churches and public buildings became grisly scenes of primitive surgery. Amputated limbs piled up outside of windows like stacks of firewood.Amazingly, many of these buildings present during the battle are still there today, and some still display battle damage from bullets and cannon fire. Fortunately, many of the soldiers and citizens there immediately documented in books, journals and letters what they witnessed, and the firsthand accounts are fascinating! My favorite way of experiencing the Battle of Gettysburg is exploring in town on my own. During my many trips there, I have become familiar with a walking route downtown that showcases many of these buildings and personal accounts. It is a 2 mile walk that many would find to be both fun and interesting. While none of this information is a secret, I think you will like this particular presentation because it has a beginning, a middle and an end that flows nicely and is easy to digest, even for children. This includes a brief overview of the war and this battle. I am not claiming to be an expert, and there are undoubtedly countless people that are far more knowledgeable on these subjects than I am. I'm merely a lifelong Civil War buff and frequent tourist of Gettysburg. If you crave extreme depth or thrive on the tiniest of intricacies of this conflict, this tour is probably not for you. But if you would enjoy a beautiful stroll through town, featuring battle-damaged buildings and firsthand accounts, and a nudge towards some of the best Civil War Exhibits, Museums, Restaurants and Accommodations; then this handbook could be just what you are looking for. From a tourist insider who has "been there and done that." So grab that camera, put on those comfortable walking shoes and come to Gettysburg!