Location: Caledonia State Park, PA
On a 2009 road trip we stumbled into the Gettysburg Museum late one afternoon. We thought it was one of the best museum experiences, and not having enough time to enjoy it, we vowed to come back. Seven years later, we finally planned an entire day around Gettysburg. It did not disappoint.
An admission ticket gets you a movie narrated by Morgan Freeman about the battle of Gettysburg, the Cyclorama Experience, a trip thru the museum and access to the battle grounds. So what's a cyclorama? It's an oil painting, 360 degrees that tells a story. This particular cyclorama is the largest in North America. Imagine standing in the middle of a vast round room with floor to ceiling painted walls illustrating the story of the last battle at Gettysburg. (Unfortunately, my camera can only take a snapshot of a very small section).
As the room goes dark, a narrator tells the story of the battle. Lighted effects on the canvas give the illusion of movement.
There's music and sound effects that really bring it home.
Before the era of "moving pictures", this was a very effective way of telling a story.
It's such a great way to understand the intricacies of the battle and the movement of the troops.
One can easily spend all day in the museum. It goes into detail about the 3 day battle, breaking it down day by day and skirmish by skirmish. There's also a lot of detail about the Union & Confederate soldiers, from what they wore, ate, felt and experienced to the broader ramifications of the war. Of course there's a lot of emphasis on the politics of the time and Lincoln too.
It was quite interesting, but also made me a little sad. It's a bit heartbreaking to be so immersed in the details of the loss of lives and the affect this had on our nation.
This plaque especially hit home...
"Americans fought one another over three fundamental issues: The survival of The Union, the fate of slavery, and the common rights of citizenship - What it means to be an American. The war resolved the first two issues. The nation struggles with the third to this day." SO TRUE!!
The area around the town of Gettysburg has statues of the Generals and officers who fought in the battle and where they were stationed.
After reading several books on the Civil War and this battle in particular, Ned was fascinated to see so much of it come to life.
After this long day, we took a stroll thru downtown Gettysburg. Goodness sakes...look what we came upon! Hey Big Bro how could I pass this up?! Yeah, Mr. G. I had a scoop for you.
Tonight we have a campground all to ourselves, about a half hour from Gettysburg. Nice place to unwind and take it all in.
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