September 12
A theme you have heard before. Once again it is very late and I have to get to bed for tomorrow’s long day. Will add comments tomorrow night. I did get photos add for today’s two parks in the Daily Trip Report section.
If you live in America and you have never heard about the Battle of Gettysburg, then you were not paying attention in school. This is the marque battle of the American Civil War. Union forces were rushing up from Washington, D.C. to counter the Confederate push into northern lands from their Pennsylvania and Maryland positions. The small village of Gettysburg would see three days of heroic, for the ages, fighting. A 16-stop auto-tour takes you to all the important locations of the battle, ending at the Soldier’s National Cemetery. One road is along the Confederate battle line (on Seminary Ridge and Warfield Ridge), another along the Union front on Cemetery Ridge, including The Copse of Trees, where Pickett’s Charge failed. There are plenty of monuments, markers, and cannons along the park roads. As with most large parks, a good place to start your visit is at the VC. You can get the auto-tour map, check out some displays of guns/cannons, and shop in the bookstore. Currently the road through the Little Round Top area is closed, but there are plenty more stops of interest to fill an entire day of exploration. The Peach Orchard, The Angle, and The Wheatfield are just a few famous names from the battlefield. Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address on a hill that is now in the Soldier’s National Cemetery. A couple of signs on the cemetery road point you to the location.
At the end of Warfield Ridge is the entrance to Eisenhower NHS. The 34th President had trained in Gettysburg during his early years in the military such that when considering retirement, he purchased a farm on the outskirts of town. A couple of guard shacks meet you as you drive up on the long entrance road. The Secret Service were on-sight for as long as Eisenhower was alive after leaving government service. There are two halves to the farm. One section has the main house and large barn. The other area has the barns used for maintaining the farm as well as his cattle. Eisenhower won awards for his steers. Golf may have been the only thing he prized more than his bovine endeavors. And the PGA (Professional Golfers Association) knew this such that they installed a personal putting green and chipping area, complete with a sand trap, on the grounds. The flag pole on the green has a 5-star flag, representing Eisenhower’s rank in the Army.
US 15 is just east of the town, providing quick access to I-70 and I-271 around Frederick, MD.