Gettysburg via Kentucky & West Virginia

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West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania

The song Country Roads typifies West Virginia - just beautiful - rugged - wild - gorgeous. On our way to Gettysburg from Kentucky, we have passed through great little towns like Cumberland, MD and Waynesboro PA. Waynesboro is especially sweet. The shrubs and fruit trees are beautiful, the grass is green, and the weather is very pleasant (April 9-11) and springy.

It’s a return trip to Gettysburg for Wes and I AND The Schooner. Our timing is a bit off as the NEW Visitors Center, with all sorts of interpretive technology, will open the Monday after our visit. We could see the workers putting sod down at the new center. The new facility gives us another reason to return. We really like Gettysburg and always learn more about the Civil War here!

Highlights - Gettysburg RV Park - very nice site alongside a little stream (stocked for fishing). Dobbin House and Tavern - we ate here twice, once upstairs, and once in the Pub. The atmosphere is great - it is candle lit and the servers are in period costumes. We checked with the managers of the RV Park about the food at the Dobbin in advance, sometimes themed restaurants put more energy into the accoutrements than into the food. We were assured of great food and were not disappointed. The Onion soup deserves its fame. We also had a late day snack at the bar at the Pub on the Square (which is really a circle) in Gettysburg. Again, great atmosphere, good food.

Gettysburg RR Station - historic because President Lincoln arrived here by train the day before he delivered his Gettysburg address.

We have a cassette with a dramatization tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield and followed it along. One of the motor coach tours offered for about $30 included participation - the tour leader lined up his “charges,” drilled them, taught them to load their rifles, etc. it looked like a fun and interesting way to learn history.

Overwhelming describes quaint little Gettysburg in one big word. To think of fighting in the streets (however so briefly), amid families, children of all ages, farmers, and business people, strategies to lure battalions into the range of fire, skirmishes that involved hand to hand battle, the vast number of casualties, and the sad reality of brother fighting brother is all here, and very well chronicled. The terrain, at Little Round Top and Devils Den is the same as it was in 1863. And the monuments to the heroes, especially the Pennsylvania Monument, are amazing.

One sadly significant fact is that the cause that the soldiers were fighting for and against - freedom for all - was still a factor in Gettysburg for the next 100 years as evidenced by the fact that it was not until the Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, and the desegregation of schools in Mississippi during the 1960s that poor black children in the lovely looking little village of Gettysburg, PA enjoyed the freedom of the same educational opportunities as their white age-mates. Unimaginable; but true!

I am writing this blog from home. Gee it’s great to be back home again! Beautiful!

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Photos

Bridel Path - Gettysburg
Interesting how many parks have facilities designated for horseback riders - including our own Saratoga Battlefield in Schuylerville (Old Saratoga).

Little Round Top / Devil's Den
This was the scene of a horrific battle. The rocks are just about the same as they were in 1863.

Catholic Priest, Gettysburg
Because so many Irish fought in the Civil War, this priest (knowing how horribly busy it was going to be) "invented" conditional absolution. Soldiers of the Catholic faith were annointed with last rights prior to battle just in case they were among the two out of three who wouldn't survive. Yes, one out of every three fighting man, was a casualty of this war.

Marque -- Majestic Theatre Downtown Gettysburg
This downtown theatre presents similar shows to Proctor's in downtown Schenectady. There is a nice looking adjacent cafe that seems to serve meals on show nights.

Comments

[Bill Connors]

Welcome Home
Thanks for sharing all of your travels. Your blog is fun to follow and then the photos... Great! Where did the winter go? Welcome home.