Posted: 9/3/2025 3:34:13 PM EDT
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Planning a possible visit there(my first) the end of October. BIL is huge civil war buff and wants to make the trip. Anyway, I've recently read "Killer Angels" on his advice to get an idea of the battle, along with watching the online tours, etc. I would love to take along battlefield maps, etc to orient myself while actually standing in battle locations. Anybody have suggestions? I found the Gettysburg Atlas via internet search but its not available anywhere. Apparently on back order? Any others I should look for? Or suggestions of stuff to take along? I'll be bringing a compass obviously, but maps? |
| Just a suggestion, but you may also want to cross post this in the "Hometown, PA" forum. You may get info from the locals. Also, GD will have some good answers as well. |
"You can't hang yourself, if you ain't got enough rope"
Larry Fleet
"There comes a point where we are no longer drawing lines in the sand but are backed against a precipice."
Orracle
Larry Fleet
"There comes a point where we are no longer drawing lines in the sand but are backed against a precipice."
Orracle
| There is an Gettysburg app, I'm assuming it should work well and provide the information and maps needed. |
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
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If you are up to it, you should walk the path of the Confederate push on the 3rd day, otherwise known as Pickett's Charge. It puts the battle into great perspective. The auto tour is great for those there the first time. I would recommend spending at least two days touring the battlefield. ETA: The battle is a great study of how terrain influences combat. It's the reason the War College students visit the battlefield. |
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Farnsworth Inn, has a bar/restaurant good Irish place for lunch Army Surplus Store The Farnsworth Inn is a historical place and still has pock marks in the brick facade from musket fire. |
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As a prior poster said you should download the official battlefield app. It is very good. The signage at the marked stops is also helpful and pretty comprehensive. +1 vote for Sweney's tavern in the Farnsworth. |
It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt.
| We hired a tour guide that gets in your vehicle, drives, and acts as a docent/chauffeur. Fabulous experience. As we arrived at the visitor center we were advised the last bus tour was full, but we’re directed to private tour guides there on offer. Best money spent. |
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There are three books that every certified tour guide has to read and be tested on. 1) "The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command" by Edwin Coddington. Probably the best book on the battle ever written. It came out in 1965. The author spent years putting it together. Sadly he passed away jsut before the book came out . 2) "High Tide at Gettysburg: The Campaign in Pennsylvania" by Glenn Tucker. A good read but not as deep as Coddington's book. 3) "Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage" by Noah Andre Trudeau. More anecdotal and he gets a bit sarcastic a few times. Still a very good read. Together the three books give a very complete look at the campaign. The last time I was there all three ware available at the visitor center's bookstore. Be sure you understand the timeline and flow of the battle before you get there. It is very important to understand the flow of the battle over the three days or the battlefield becomes confusing real fast. It can easily take more than a day to see everything. One other thing. take some time to just sit and take it all in. Early mornings and late evenings seem to be the best time for this. I did have one interesting experience there in 1998. I was taking a photograph of the triangular field near the Devil's Den. The word on the street that it is haunted by a ghost who died there and down not like people taking photographs of the place. When I clicked the shutter release my camera made a strange sound. When I got my film back the slide had the whole middle of the frame whited out with a massive overexposure. On top of that the hat I had been wearing disappeared. |
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Great info, thanks. Installed the suggested app but haven't played with it much yet. Also in the process of reading one of the suggested books above. There really are some good tour videos online. Some with park rangers and also the American Battlefield Trust, so I've watched some of those. looking forward to this. |
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Just got back from the visit. Have to say, very very awesome trip and well worth it. Seeing it first hand and standing on the actual battlefield gave me a whole new perspective. Spent two days on the battlefield. The app was the ticket for sure. Spent half the trip doing the driving tour, getting out and hitting key spots. The second day we walked some of the areas on our bucket list and man, it was very cool. Some tough ass men back in those days! Well worth the drive! Hit Culps hill on the second day late. Didn't make the entire walk down to rock creek because my old ass was tired LOL. Started first at the museum and spent some time there. The cyclorama they have is really awesome and worth the ticket. Should've went earlier in life before my knees were toast. But still a great place to visit. Thanks for all the advice  ETA- Happy birthday Marines!! |
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Originally Posted By d4xycrq: We hired a tour guide that gets in your vehicle, drives, and acts as a docent/chauffeur. Fabulous experience. As we arrived at the visitor center we were advised the last bus tour was full, but we’re directed to private tour guides there on offer. Best money spent. +1, we did something similar several years ago and the guide was fantastic. A friend of mine looked into becoming a tour guide there and was intimidated by the requirements. It is a no-joke real challenge to get accredited there. |