Recently in Gettysburg battlefield Category

Adams County author and historian Timothy H. Smith will be the featured speaker at the November 18, 2009 meeting of the York Civil War Round Table. On the eve of the 146th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Tim's program "Abraham Lincoln : Twenty-five Hours at Gettysburg" will focus on the time that the President spent while a visitor in this historic town. Tim will also present a sampling of the largely untapped reminiscences of area residents and how the President interacted with the local population on his visit to Gettysburg in November of 1863 for the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery on November 19th.

Tim Smith has authored or co-authored eight books on the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War; his best selling book recounts the history of Devil's Den. His most recent work is Farms at Gettysburg: The Fields of Battle, which looks at the farms involved in the Battle of Gettysburg. Tim has been working on an extensive book detailing the civilian experience during the Battle of Gettysburg which he expects will take another five years to complete.

Tim Smith is a research assistant for the Adams County Historical Society, Licensed Battlefield Guide, Gettysburg Elderhostel Instructor, Harrisburg Area Community College history lecturer and operates his own historical consulting business. Despite all of his jobs, Tim's main emphasis is to get people to understand that the people who lived in the area in 1863 are also a part of the story of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Tim's presentation will be at 7:00 PM on Wednesday 18, 2009 in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust, 250 E. Market Street, York PA.

Gettysburg National Military Park contains much of the ground where opposing armies from the Union and the Confederacy struggled for the first few days of July 1863 during the Battle of Gettysburg. The Pennsylvania Monument memorializes the soldiers and officers from the Keystone State who fought here. On November 19, 2009, the Gettysburg Address will be remembered in the annual Dedication Day ceremonies.

This November 19th, the 146th Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address will be honored with numerous events in Gettysburg. The day will begin with a 9:30 a.m. wreath laying ceremony at the Soldiers' National Monument, featuring the Gettysburg High School Ceremonial Brass Band. Wreaths will be laid by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, Richard Dreyfuss, Brion FitzGerald, the Acting Superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park, and Frederick E. Clark, Commander of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Gettysburg Camp #112. Following a brief procession of Civil War reenactors along the upper drive, ceremonies will continue at 10:00 a.m. at the Rostrum, where Rendell and Dreyfuss will deliver remarks.

The York Civil War Round Table will feature James A. Hessler at its monthly meeting on October 21, 2009. The topic of the evening will be "Sickles At Gettysburg: The Controversial Civil War General Who Committed Murder, Abandoned Little Round Top, and Declared Himself the Hero of Gettysburg."

No individual who fought at Gettysburg was more controversial, both personally and professionally, than Major General Daniel E. Sickles. By 1863, Sickles was notorious as a disgraced former Congressman who murdered his wife's lover on the streets of Washington and used America's first temporary insanity defense to escape justice. With his political career in ruins, Sickles used his connections with President Lincoln to obtain a prominent command in the Army of the Potomac's Third Corps despite having no military experience. At Gettysburg, he disobeyed orders in one of the most controversial decisions in military history.

Licensed Battlefield Guide James Hessler has written the first balanced, deeply researched, and eminently readable biography of this colorful and wholly unique American icon. Civil War enthusiasts who want to understand General Sickles' tarnished life, Gettysburg's battlefield strategies, the in-fighting within the Army of the Potomac, and the development of today's National Park will find " Sickles at Gettysburg" a must read.

James A. Hessler works in financial services for Bill Me Later, Inc., is a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park, and has taught Sickles and Gettysburg-related courses at college level. He has published Civil War-related articles, and speaks regularly at Civil War Round Tables. A native of Buffalo, NY, Jim resides in Gettysburg with his wife and children.

The meeting will be held at 7:00 PM on Wednesday evening in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust at 250 E. Market Street in downtown York, Pennsylvania. There is no charge for admission and the public is welcome ! Parking is also free.

You're invited to join the Lancaster Civil War Round Table as they welcome Licensed Battlefield Guide Roy Frampton.

Reverend Frampton has been a Civil War "buff" since the age of nine years old. He became a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg in 1968, and is currently the President of the Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides. The Gettysburg National Cemetery has been passionately studied by Roy for many years, and he concentrates on the personal lives of the soldiers buried in the cemetery. Roy Frampton is the co-author (with Licensed Battlefield Guide Jim Cole) of the book Lincoln and the Human Interest Stories of the Gettysburg National Cemetery.

Roy's topic for the evening will be "Battlefield Curiosities." Ever wonder if there could possibly still be living witnesses to the Battle of Gettysburg? Did you know that there are rock carvings left behind by Civil War soldiers all over the battlefield? Have you seen the 5-inch, three-toed dinosaurs foot print on one of the stone bridges on the battlefield? Licensed Battlefield Guide Roy Frampton will be your guide through the curious, little known secrets of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Lancaster Civil War Round Table will meet on Thursday, October 15th at 7:00pm at the Lititz Public Library in Lancaster County. These programs are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Micky Kraft at 717-392-4976.

Charlie Fennell poses by a monument on Culp's Hill at Gettysburg National Military Park. A professor at Harrisburg Area Community College in Gettysburg, Dr. Fennell is one of the recognized experts on that portion of the Battle of Gettysburg. A long-time friend of the York Civil War Round Table, he will lead a battle walk / field study on September 19.

Photo from Gettysburg Daily, the most informative Gettysburg blog currently on the Internet.

The York CWRT has scheduled a battlefield walk at Gettysburg National Military Park with Dr. Charles C. Fennell, Jr. for Saturday, September 19, 2009, at 1 p.m. The walk will be approximately 2 hours and it will cover the movements of Iverson's Brigade on Oak Ridge on July 1, 1863. The cost is $10.00 and is due the day of the walk.

Meet at the Eternal Light Peace Memorial at 12:45 p.m. Please dress for the weather as we will go rain or shine ( unless it is a deluge) and wear long pants or spray for ticks.

The York CWRT welcomes members of other round tables to join them for this battlefield walk.

I have been through the newly restored Gettysburg Cyclorama a few times now. Here are my initial impressions:

1) The recent improvements to the canvas are astounding - curving it the way it was supposed to be viewed, restoring the missing pieces, cleaning and refreshing it - all are excellent!

2) I like the 3D effect with the foreground objects and terrain "blending" in with the painting. Note the cannon in the photograph - there are dozens of similar 3D objects that have been placed in front of the canvas, similar to what has been done years ago with the Atlanta Cyclorama in Grant Park. That's the way the Gettysburg painting was displayed in the 19th century and early in the 20th.

3) The canned presentation with the sound effects and music is OK, but I would prefer live narration with the speaker pointing out specific features of the painting. The soundtrack is somewhat redundant with the Morgan Freeman movie at times.

4) I like the new setting, and relish looking forward to the day that the Richard Neutra concrete eyesore is gone from Cemetery Ridge and Ziegler's Grove is restored. It never should have been located on such historic ground to begin with.

5) There's another copy of the Cyclorama down at Wake Forest, and two other copies were destroyed decades ago.

Please leave your comments!

G. Craig Caba will be speaking at the July 15th York Civil War Round Table meeting. His program is called "Aspects of the J.Howard Wert Gettysburg Collection." Free to the public, his presentation will be at 7:00 PM Wednesday evening in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust at 250 E. Market Street in York.

The July 15th meeting of the York CWRT will feature period artifacts collected by the Wert family of Adams County for over a span of four generations. This collection of early Americana will be presented by G. Craig Caba, who is the CEO and Chief Curator of the J.Howard Wert Gettysburg Collection.

The Werts were an 18th century colonial Pennsylvania-German family who saved important heirlooms marking their accomplishments in the new nation. They actively participated in the American Revolution, the French and Indian War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. The family deeply cherished the American vision of liberty and equality, and the family slogan became "Preserve for posterity." Thus, a private collection of historical memorabilia was formed by one of Gettysburg's earliest families. This collection continued to grow well into the 20th century and these documented relics give tangible testimony to America's unique cultural heritage.

York, Pennsylvania, photographer, historian, and architectural expert Scott D. Butcher is one of the four history bloggers for the York Daily Record. His WIndows into York blog offers interesting insights into the history of the individual buildings in York and around the area. The author of several interesting books, his latest effort is perhaps my favorite. Gettysburg Perspectives is one of the best, if not the best, photographic anthologies of Gettysburg. Filled with stunning photographs that are artistic and informative at the same time, this new release from Schiffer Books is well worth adding to your Civil War collection, especially at only $9.99. Soft bound and printed on high quality, clay-coated semigloss paper, the book is well done.

Butcher's battlefield photographs are excellent, and are wide in their scope and variety. But, perhaps the real charm of the book is his unique interpretation of the buildings of Gettysburg. His architectural background obviously shining through, Scott examines the historic town through his well trained eye for the unusual, the interesting, and the visually appealing. Many of the photos are of scenes that the casual photography would never have captured (or even noted). The people, the buildings, the scenery, the battlefield - it's all there in this wonderful new book.

I had the privilege of signing copies of my books this past Thursday evening at the American History Store in Gettysburg, and I was speaking with a family from the western U.S. I recommended Scott's book as a great memory of their visit to Gettysburg, and, after glancing through it, they agreed. One person called it "a great way to share their memories with their family." I agree - this one is a must have as long after the vacation to Gettysburg is over, Scott Butcher's fabulous photos will live on.

Scott Butcher's website with 225 photos of Gettysburg, York County PA, and the Atlantic Coast (as well as Arizona and other places he and his camera have visited) can be viewed by clicking HERE.

There are more than 1,000 books that have been written on the Battle of Gettysburg, the majority (including my three) in the past 20-30 years. Yet, there remains a strong market for new material on the battle and campaign, or for fresh, creative approaches to present and interpret well known, time honored material. Pennsylvania Civil War authors J. David Petruzzi and Steven Stanley have succeeded on both counts with their excellent new book, The Complete Gettysburg Guide.

Blending some of the best maps and color graphics ever seen in a Gettysburg battlefield guidebook with crisp, concise and enjoyable text, Stanley and Petruzzi have generated what will surely come to be regarded as the ultimate Gettysburg overview and guide. Already scores of battlefield trampers have used this book to help them interpret what happened on the hallowed grounds of the Gettysburg National Military Park, as well as some obscure sites outside the park limits that the authors include in their well crafted series of automobile tours of the area.

Veteran National Park Service Ranger and author Troy Harman speaks to an enthusiastic crowd during his outstanding 2008 battlewalk of the seldom visited, seldom discussed fight on Brinkerhoff's Ridge along Hanover Road (Route 116) between the main Gettysburg Battlefield and East Cavalry Field. Photo by Scott Mingus for Cannonball.

The 2009 schedule has been announced by Katie Lawhon of the National Park Service.