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.

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Author, editor and Licensed Battlefield Guide, Diana Loski, will speak to the Lancaster Civil War Round Table about the life and military career of Confederate General William Dorsey Pender at 7:00pm on Thursday, October 9th.

William Dorsey Pender was one of the youngest, and most promising, generals fighting for the Confederacy in the American Civil War. Pender commanded a division of the 3rd Corps under A.P. Hill at Gettysburg where he received shrapnel in his leg. His leg was amputated but he died on July 18, 1863.

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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.

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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).

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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...

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The Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Civil War Round Table is, once again, pleased to welcome historian and actor Patrick Falci to our Thursday, September 18, 2008 program., which will be held at 7:00 PM at the Lititz Public Library on Thursday, September 18th. Lancaster Civil War Round Table is free and open to the public. Anyone with an interest in the Civil War is welcome!

Come out and enjoy an evening with Patrick Falci! Registration for this free event is suggested by emailing your name, phone number and number attending to srihn@lititzlibrary.org or call the library at 626-2255. For more information, contact Micky Kraft at 392-4976, email lancastercivilwarroundtable@gmail.com.

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Micky Kraft sent me a press release today. She encourages area Civil War buffs to Join the Lancaster Civil War Round Table on October 4, 2008, for a full day of exploration in Gettysburg, featuring several well known guides and tour leaders.

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It was the hot summer of 1968. My parents decided to take a family vacation to Pennsylvania, a state I had never visited. We packed our suitcases in my Dad's cream-colored Ford Falcon and headed across Ohio through Wheeling WV and into the Keystone State. After hours of driving, we stopped at Chambersburg's Travelodge for the night. I could barely sleep, knowing that tomorrow I would see fabled Gettysburg for the first time! Vision of statues and monuments danced in my head, and I had prepared for this almost spiritual experience by reading and re-reading all my copies of Civil War Times Illustrated and every ACW book in the local East Fultonham, Ohio, branch of John McIntyre Library.

In the morning, Dad drove eastward from Chambersburg across South Mountain and approached Gettysburg in the early morning fog. My heart leaped...

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Several descendants of Michigan Brigade soldiers and other interested persons donated money to acquire a small piece of land at Hunterstown and erect one of the country's newest Civil War monuments. This marble slab and bronze relief is dedicated to Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer, who led the Michigan Brigade (the "Michigan Wolverines") into action at Hunterstown against the troops of Wade Hampton III of the Confederate cavalry during the Gettysburg Campaign.

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Veteran National Park Service Ranger and author Troy Harman speaks to an enthusiastic crowd during his outstanding 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.

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Huge crowds attended today's first two battlewalks on this the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. National Park Service Ranger Eric Campbell leads a two-hour walking tour of Cemetery Ridge examining the actions and movements of Union Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock during the second day of the battle.

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Background post: Stuart's Ride reenactment

Just a reminder that this event is coming up later this week! For more information, or to request "will call" tickets, please see their website.

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Background post: One-tank trips: Belle Grove Plantation.

Recently, author and blogger Eric J. Wittenberg posted an article about a sell-out by a previously well respected historical preservation group that traded the rights to mine historical property in exchange for a token piece of land that abuts their holdings (the original article follows). The sad tale reminded me of the ill-fated and illogical swap the National Park Service did with Gettysburg College a few years ago that forever ruined a key portion of the first day's battlefield at Gettysburg. Short-sighted, short-term thinking often clouds longer-term judgement, and we are left with a scarred landscape that can never be restored properly.

Here in York County, similar preservation efforts have been underway for years to try to save the Camp Security prisoner-of-war site from the American Revolution. Recently, the skirmish field at Wrightsville has been compromised by new construction, and other sites of interest to the historian are long gone in the name of "progress." I was in Kernstown, Virginia, last weekend and heartily applaud the efforts of the locals there in the last five years to band together to save, preserve, and interpret a key part of the three Kernstown battlefields, although much has already been lost.

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Background posts: Shenandoah battlefields, Winchester battlefields.

During my recent trip to the Shenandoah Valley, I stopped by the Cedar Creek Battlefield, site of the 1864 thrashing Phil Sheridan placed upon the forces of Jubal Early (which including a large number of regiments that had sojourned in York the previous summer during the Gettysburg Campaign). Early was initially winning the fight, highlighted by John B. Gordon's hard-hitting attack on Union camps on the Belle Grove plantation. Early was unable to capitalize on the morning's progress, and, after a stirring ride down the Valley Pike from Winchester, Phil Sheridan arrived and stabilized the Union line before launching a decisive counterattack.

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Pennsylvania monument on the eastern side of the New Market battlefield, just off of U.S. Route 11 (the Valley Pike)

Debi and I spent Saturday afternoon at the Luray Caverns in Luray, Virginia. These are definitely the most spectacular caves I have ever toured! Very impressive indeed! They were discovered in the decade after the Civil War and were exploited to help draw tourists' dollars to the war-torn Luray Valley.

We drove back to our hotel in Winchester on U.S. Route 11, pausing at a few places to take in the Civil War scenery and various wayside markers. Among our early stops was the Battlefield of New Market, where I briefly took a few photos of a section of the battlefield I had not been to before. The New Market battlefield is well preserved, and is about three hours from York. There, the VMI cadets gained fame for their charge on Sigel's Yankees.

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Courtesy of Winchester-Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau. Used by permission.

Debi and I are spending the weekend in historic Winchester, Virginia, a town that changed hands during the Civil War more than seventy times. This area is rife with Civil War history and old battlefields, although few have been well preserved. First, Second, and Third Winchester are poorly preserved, although there are some nice parts such as Fort Collier and the Star Fort. Better preserved are the nearby First and Second Kernstown battlefields, parts of which are quite pristine.

Winchester is about two-and-a-half hours south of York in the scenic Shenandoah Valley just off of I-81. It's an easy drive, and there are many good hotels in the area for an overnight stay.

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Tucked away near Seven Valleys in southern York County, Pennsylvania, is the tiny hamlet of Hanover Junction. Now mostly known to locals as an important rest stop and parking lot on the York Rail Trail, the old train station has been in existance for more than 150 years. It has been altered, renovated, added onto, and subtracted from during its long history. Restored to approximate its 1863 appearance, today the station houses restrooms for the bike riders and hikers, as well as a small museum that is usually manned by volunteer guides during summer weekends.

If you have never visited this site before, it is well worth a couple of hours some Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Few casual visitors realize that a minor Civil War skirmish occurred at the station on June 27, 1863, when Lt. Colonel Elijah V. White's 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, raided Hanover Junction and drove off its Union defenders, elements of the 20th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia.

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For those of you readers interested in Civil war reenactments, there will be one near Hanover on July 3 of this year. Here is an entry from this month's copy of Civil War News by Deborah Fitts.

Come out and support this extremely worthy cause!!

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Dunker Church at Antietam (photo by Scott Mingus)

Today, I took my two-year-old grandson and his uncle (my younger son) to the Antietam National Battlefield for the day. The weather was delightful - sunny and warm, and the comraderie outstanding. We were disappointed that our favorite fast food restaurant in the area was out of business (Fazoli's in Hagerstown) and replaced by a Roy Rogers (which we hate). We ended up at Mickey D's... quite a come down from Fazoli's all-you-can-eat breadsticks!

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York County's 130th Pennsylvania marched past the venerable old Mountain House inn at Turner's Gap on South Mountain on September 15, 1862. Today, this establishment is still in operation and offers some of the best food in the central Maryland region. Its now peaceful appearance is in sharp contrast to the horrifying view the young York soldiers had as they passed by this old stone inn after the Battle of South Mountain.
Background post: Pvt. Ed Spangler

Private Ed Spangler was a relatively fresh recruit in the 130th Pennsylvania Infantry. During the Maryland Campaign of September 1862, he saw the horrors of war for the first time as he tramped up the eastern slope of South Mountain toward the battlefield at Turner's Gap.

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Crowds thronged the Toy Soldier Show in Gettysburg, offering promise that this event will become a fixture in the area for years to come.

I spent a pleasant few hours Sunday afternoon at the 1st Annual Toy Soldier Show in Gettysburg, a new event held at the Gettysburg Hotel on the square. Attendance was very strong, spurred in part by the novelty of the event, as well as some very cool door prizes from Britains and several hourly drawings for gift certificates to the dealer hall. I saw a lot of old friends and had a blast going down memory lane as I looked through box after box of old toy soldiers, army men, cowboys and indians, Vikings, space men, and many other genres of plastic figures from all sorts of makers.

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The 102nd Pennsylvania was among the Union reinforcements that helped clear the "Valley of Death" late on July 2.

The York Civil War Round Table is sponsoring a National Park Service-sanctioned battlefield clean-up activity on Saturday morning, May 3, 2008. To further entice folks to turn out, in the early afternoon, there will be a free battle walk and tour of East Cemetery Hill led by Scott Mingus, who has written a new book covering the topic. There is no charge for either activity, and the public is welcome to participate, although a free-will donation is suggested to the York CWRT to help defray expenses for the speakers at future monthly meetings. Volunteers for the Adopt-a-Position work day need to bring gloves and clippers.

Meet at 10 a.m. at the monuments to the 102nd Pennsylvania / 62nd New York on the John Weikert / Althoff Farm Lane, just northeast of the Wheatfield Road intersection with Crawford Avenue (near Houck's Ridge / Devil's Den). Lunch is on your own. Then, at 1:00 p.m., meet at the Evergreen Cemetery Gatehouse for the 90-minute battle walk, which will involve only modest walking.

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Wargamer and Gettysburg buff Billy Ray Wagenseller greets author Scott L. Mingus, Sr. at the 4/19/08 book signing during the History Meets the Arts spring festival. Photo by Curt Daniels taken at the Gettysburg Gift Center.

Gettysburg annually holds a spring festival known as History Meets the Arts, a celebration of historical art, music, literary accomplishments, and other arts. Artists such as Dale Gallon, John Paul Strain, Keith Rocco, and many others were present yesterday, and attendance throughout the town was exceptional. The combination of glorious weather, some big-name artists, the first weekend for the new Visitors Center, and good advertising helped boost attendance versus last year’s wind-blown freeze-fest.

Maryland author Bradley Gottfried and I signed books together in the afternoon. He is quite a gentleman and a very nice guy, not to mention an extremely talented cartographer and writer. His latest book is entitled The Artillery of Gettysburg, and seemed to be selling well, along with his other titles such as The Maps of Gettysburg. I sold quite of few of my three books, and thoroughly enjoyed the conversations with Brad and with many of my friends who stopped by. Brad also agreed to come speak to the York CWRT sometime in 2009; more details to come when next year's schedule comes out.

HMTA continues today in Gettysburg. A French & Indian War reeenactor camp site replete with a small fort are highlights of the main display at the Fire Hall, as well as the impressive array of original painting by a host of talented F&I artists. There is no admission charge for this annual event.

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The new Visitors Center is highly recommended!

I spent an hour or two wandering through the new Gettysburg Visitors Center yesterday afternoon. It's well, well worth the short drive from York County, and frankly, two hours was not enough to examine each of the displays and galleries. See my Charge! blog for a complete report, as well as several photographs.

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This Friday through Sunday marks the annual History Meets the Arts spring festival and celebration in downtown Gettysburg, PA. Many artists who specialize in historical paintings, prints, photographs, and sculptors will be on hand to sell their goods, to answer questions, sign art prints, and/or discuss their craft. A few authors will also be present to sign their books. I will be signing copies of my three most recent books at the Gettysburg Gift Center (the Wax Museum on Steinwehr Avenue).

Among the artists scheduled to be present are Dale Gallon, John Paul Strain, Bradley Schmehl, and Keith Rocco. Authors include J. David Petruzzi (who will be the featured speaker at the May 21 meeting of the York CWRT), George Newton, and Bradley Gottfried, whose new Maps of Gettysburg book is selling quite well.

See you there?

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For many years, the National Park Service has allowed various organizations, as well as private citizens, to "adopt" a monument or position on the Gettysburg battlefield. Volunteers are encouraged to clean-up and maintain the general environ of the area around the monument. Activities include weeding, trimming, clearing underbrush, and general maintenance of the grounds. These volunteer groups often meet once or twice a year for organized work parties that often include meals or refreshments together before or after the work.

A couple members of the York CWRT have adopted positions and are having a clean-up day on April 5. I'm sure they would welcome more help from any Cannonball readers!!

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The Gettysburg Civil War Round Table is sponsoring a one-day bus trip retracing the route John Wilkes Booth and David Herold took after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Seats on the bus are filling quickly, so make sure you get your reservation in soon if you want to go. Lunch is included. If I didn't already have a commitment that day, I would definitely go on this fascinating trip. Admissions are also included in the price, as well as tips.

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This weekend marks the third annual Reenactor Appreciation Weekend in Gettysburg. Hundreds of uniformed reenactors and living historians will be in town for this event, which is highlighted by a period ball, a ladies' tea, and a fashion show. Several merchants are offering discounts to those in period dress. if you are a reenactor, why not take a stroll through town and register for these free events?

I have gone to this event the past couple of years, as we presented a series of miniature wargames to the public. However, due to sparse attendance at these games, we did not plan any games this year.

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Today one of my sons and I toured the Hershey Museum for the first time (before our twentieth trip through the Disney-like “factory tour”). From a history perspective, the museum contained a few Civil War items from Milton S. Hershey’s private collection, including a Confederate tin canteen from Gettysburg with a bullet hole through it on both sides. Also, Hershey had a hand-carved wooden cane with a bullet from Devil’s Den imbedded in the wood.

The museum contains a lot of Civil War-period Pennsylvania German furniture, dishes, musical instruments, clocks, household goods, and other things that would have been very familiar to the Trostles, Weikerts, Codoris, Spanglers, and other Gettysburg residents during the war years.

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The Battle of South Mountain was a integral part of the Maryland Campaign, yet it receives little attention from authors, writers, and tourists. Located within a 2 and a half hour drive from York, the battlefield consists of three distinct sections, from north to south being Turner's Gap, Fox's Gap, and Crampton's Gap. D.H. Hill's Division of Confederates, assisted by parts of Longstreet's Corps, held off the Union I, VI, and IX Corps for all day on September 14, 1862, blocking the mountain passes and keeping McClellan from attacking Lee's weak force until September 17 (Antietam).

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The National Civil War Museum (Harrisburg) is sponsoring a special Shenandoah Valley / Winchester Tour on April 11, 2008. This promises to be an exciting one-day event, and reservations are being accepted from the public. Many of the Confederates who camped in York County fought at Winchester, as did York County's very own 87th Pennsylvania Infantry. Come walk in their footsteps, and see some of the most impressive scenery in Virginia!

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The National Park Service has set a date of April 14 for the formal opening of the new $105 million museum and visitors center at the Gettysburg National Military Park. Nearly everything is complete at the new 139,000 square-foot Baltimore Pike facility, except for transferring the artifacts from storage and the old VC to the new building. The Cyclorama will notbe ready on time, and is expected to reopen this autumn. There are nearly 2 million visitors a year to the battlefield, and the new VC is expected to be a showplace and a solid introduction to the battle. Nearly half the visitors go into the visitors center, according to the Park Service.

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Brandy Station was the largest cavalry engagement ever fought in the United States. It marked the opening battle of the Gettysburg Campaign, and was one of the few times the Federal cavalry held its own against J.E.B. Stuart's vaunted cavaliers. Over the past few years, the battlefield has been reasonably well preserved, and the Brandy Station Foundation is to be commended for their excellent efforts.

If you are looking for a Civil War fix over the next few months, why not consider taking in one of Brandy Station's frequent lectures or tours? It's a relatively easy drive from York County through parts of historic Virginia.

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Abraham Lincoln remains one of the most well-known and revered Americans of the 19th Century. He was a complex man, with far more nuances and characteristics than the common public perception. Andy Martin will explore some of these facets of Lincoln's personality in his upcoming talk at the York Civil War Round Table on February 20 at the York County Heritage Trust at 7 p.m.

Unlike today's presidents, Lincoln was highly visible around Washington, with frequent walks, carriage rides, horseback rides, and other casual pursuits that often compelled his bodyguards to implore him to use more caution. Washington at the time was a hot, muggy place in the summer, and the White House was not the most comfortable living quarters. Lincoln often rode out to a breezier location and sojourned in a small cottage. This home has recently been restored and will be open to the public beginning on President's Day. It will make a perfect one-tank day trip down to D.C.

For more information, see the CNN article.

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