This is a three and a half mile walk that starts at the Gettysburg Visitor Center. The route starts at a trail behind the visitor center. This short trail ends at a crosswalk across Taneytown Road. Head north on the sidewalk along Taneytown Road and loop through the National Cemetery. Then recross Taneytown Road and head past the old visitor center to Cemetery Ridge. Head south along Cemetery Ridge toward the Pennsylvania Memorial and loop back to the visitor center via General Meade's Headquarters.
Before you start walking check the visitor center for the guided ranger tours. We managed to combine this walk with two great guided tours:
- THE THIRD DAY: "Pickett's Charge" (1 hour) Learn what happened during "Pickett's Charge" on July 3, 1863 and discover what its outcome meant for the Union and Confederacy.
- NATIONAL CEMETERY (40 minutes) A 35-minute program that explores the meaning and cost of the Battle of Gettysburg, and of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
A short warning about straying from the beaten path - I often walk in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy, NY. There are a few graves there from veterans of the NY 125th Regiment including Colonel Willard who was killed at Gettysburg. I tried to find Col. Willard's memorial by Plum Run (Creek) and I found myself covered with deer ticks.
Other links of interest:
- Gettysburg National Park Service
- Gettysburg National Park Service Ranger Programs
- Gettysburg Foundation
- Battle of Gettysburg Buff - Blog
- Wikipedia - Gettysburg
- National Park Service - Soldiers and Sailors Database
- Free Google book - 1st hand account: Frank A. Haskell
- Free Google book - 1st hand account: Abner Doubleday
- Witness Tree - Gettysburg Address Honey Locust
- Army Staff Ride - Gettysburg
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