Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

One large consideration in planning our itinerary has to do with the campgrounds available along the way.  High priority is given to Coast to Coast parks because they cost much less than other parks.  Gettysburg has a very nice Coast to Coast campground and we were interested in seeing the battlefield again.  Many years ago we spent an afternoon in Gettysburg and that is not enough time to see everything.  Most people at least remember that Lincoln made his famous Gettysburg address here.  Gettysburg was the site of one of the most bloody battles of the Civil War.  General Robert E. Lee's goal was to bring the war to north's soil with his army of more than 70,000 men.    The Union forces numbered more than 90,000, but nearly lost the battle. 

About 26 square miles of battlefield are part of the National Park.  More than 1300 momuments and memorials dot the landscape, marking the areas where the battle took place.  Within 4 months after the end of the Civil War, a concentrated effort was made to preserve the battlefield.  The battlefield was mapped and positions marked by returning veterans who gave their accounts to a historian.  CDs and tapes are available to follow an auto tour that is carefully marked throughout the battlefield.  The sound effects help bring the experience to life.  There is a museum at the National Park as well as a Cyclorama, a 26 foot tall painting 360 feet in length housed in a circular building that depicts the battle.

Another National Park nearby consists of the retirement home of President Ike and Mamie Eisenhower.  It was a working farm when he purchased the property and continues to be today.  The work is contracted out to nearby farmers.  Ike also raised show Angus cattle.   The home is a wonderful example of the 1950's.   The docent at the reception center is being transferred to the National Seashore at Padre Island near Corpus Christi.  Small world!

The Eisenhower Home               The Show Barn