Gettysburg battlefield: September 2008 Archives

The entrance way to the new multi-million dollar Visitors Center at the Gettysburg National Military Park was lined with hundreds of small American flags.

Background post - Restored Gettysburg Cyclorama to Reopen.

My oldest son and grandson spent Saturday afternoon, September 27, with me in Gettysburg at the new Gettysburg Visitors Center. We got tickets from the 3:15 showing of the "A New Birth of Freedom" movie (featuring the voices of Morgan Freeman and Sam Waterston, among others) and the restored Cyclorama. We took a few photographs to share with Cannonball readers.

After an expensive renovation, the Gettysburg Cyclorama will be reopened for public viewing in its new custom-engineering theater within the new Gettysburg Visitors Center at Gettysburg National Military Park. I plan to see it in a couple of weeks, but don't plan to fight the crowds this Saturday (I will be at Dutch Wonderland with my grandson instead).

Many of you may not be aware that this particular painting is one of four very similar Gettysburg Cyclorama paintings done by the same overall artist and his team of assistants. There are also other Civil War cycloramas that were created in the same time period, including one depicting the Battle of Atlanta.

The replanted Peach Orchard as seen from across the tree-lined swale on the George Rose farm at Gettysburg.

A few years ago, the National Park Service had all the trees cut down in the historic Sherfy Peach Orchard along Emmitsburg Road in the Gettysburg National Military Park. They applied nutrients to the soil and allowed the field to lay fallow for a couple of years before replanting fresh saplings. They also dramatically expanded the area covered by peach trees to more closely resemble the dimensions of the 1863 peach orchard that was defended by elements of Daniel Sickles' III Corps of the Union Army of the Potomac. The trees are maturing well, and nearly all have survived the Pennsylvania winter and the spring rains. In addition, the NPS has replanted nearly a dozen other historic orchards, including several along Emmitsburg Road (such as the Rose Farm just south of the Peach Orchard). This is part of the overall battlefield rehabilitation project that has drawn so much praise and criticism, depending upon one's environmental versus historical preservation mindset).

Entrances to the new Gettysburg Visitors Center are now framed by wildflowers, making a colorful late summer scenic.

I spend most of a cloudy Saturday in Gettysburg, first stopping by several borough bookstores and souvenir shops to inscribe newly restocked supplies of my three human interest stories books. I then had a formal book signing at the Museum Gift Shop of the new Gettysburg Visitors Center. We sold 57 copies in a little more than four hours on a day when attendance was considerably lower than in the prime summer tourist season, so I was quite pleased with the results.

I took a few photos of the day to share...

Mr. Jeri Jones of Spring Grove, distinguished York County geologist, author, and field guide

The York Civil War Round Table is pleased to announce the speaker for the September 17 meeting. Jeri Jones of Jones Geological Services will speak on the "Geology of the Gettysburg Military Park and How it Influenced the Battle." The presentation will be at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust at 250 E. Market Street in downtown York. Parking and admission, as always, are free, and the public is welcome!