Reenactors
by wolfiepittsburgh
If you visit Gettysburg in the summer with young kids, try to come on a weekend. The Park invites carefully selected reenactors to stay and set up camp. These "living historians" will put on drill and firing demonstrations in period costume using authentic weapons. What is even better is these guys love to talk! Sometimes young children can be overwhelmed by the idea of a battle, but talking to a soldier, touching a hardtack biscuit, and smelling the black powder can make history very real.
Best of all, these demonstrations are free!
The exibit
by GUYON
Have a look at the exibit in the visitor center to see the weapons of both armies. Visit also the CYCLORAMA CENTER (adjacent to the visitor center), which contains a 360 degrees huge painting of the Pickett's charge. You will see an assault by foot by infantry (no cavalry !).
Open : 9:00AM to 5:00PM. Prive : 3$.
I Wish I'd Known First Time 'Round!
by ckeller
A backpack is a must for a day or evening in the military park - try walking too far from your car carrying your water bottle, camera, sunglasses, flashlight, cell phone,...I made that mistake only once! If you plan to do a lot of exploring off the beaten paths, good hiking boots are a must - lots of hilly, rocky terraine through the wooded areas of the park. Also, a rain parka is a good idea, but the plastic ones are sold almost everywhere for just a few bucks. Sunscreen! Sunscreen! Sunscreen! Also, antibacterial hand wipes and bug repellent in warmer weather. Be warned - camera equipment is known to malfunction and batteries drain at certain areas of the battlefield. Some claim it's the doing of the ghosts of soldiers...oooooooh........ Make sure to bring plenty of water with you. No concessions are sold within the park and while stores & fast food restaurants lie just outside the park's entrances, who wants to pack up and leave for a beverage run? Also, although public restrooms can be found at several locations within the park, they are closed for part of the year - something parents with youngsters will want to keep in mind.
Evergreen Cemetery
by AlbuqRay
The Evergreen Cemetery is a private cemetery that was located on Cemetery Hill before the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. It was established in 1854 when a group of local residents headed by attorney David McConaughy bought land on Raffensperger's Hill south of Gettysburg along the Baltimore Pike for a community cemetery. The large brick gatehouse was constructed in the late 1850's. During the Battle of Gettysburg, the hill was a key position for the Union Army. As a consequence, the cemetery and its gatehouse suffered damage from incoming artillery shells, as well as from the thousands of men and horses who tramped through it during and after the fighting. The Soldiers' National Cemetery was established immediately west of it after the battle. Although today the Soldiers' National Cemetery is closed to new burials, the Evergreen Cemetery is still active and plots may be purchased.
The only 2 Confederate soldiers buried in..
by Wanderer001
the Evergreen Cemetery. Something else that I over heard was that there were only two CSA soldiers buried in the cemetery right next to rows of Union soldiers. As to why these two CSA were buried here and no others were I am not sure. A bus went by and I could not hear. However all the time we spent in the Evergreen Cemetery these were the only two that had CSA on the head stones.
To find walk through the brick arch building and take the path to the left walk along it till you come to a some what large tree by a small mausoleum. The two graves are close to the mausoleum and are marked with two rebel flags.
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Jennie Wade Birthplace
Devil's Den Summit Looking South
Information Board by Entrance
Dessert Case
