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Gettysburg, Pennsylvania


navycollector
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navycollector

I'll be heading to Gettysburg PA sometime in the next few weeks. I'll probably have limited time, maybe a couple days, I was wondering if anybody has advice or recommendations on what to see.

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There is a lot of battlefield to cover, as for the Museums, I have not been in about 20 years, although I re enacted for many years, Its hard to believe today how beautiful it is, putting your self in the mind frame of what happened 152 years ago. The views from the high ground, round tops & Culp's hill, knowing the Union troops were pouring the fire down those hills onto the advancing Confederates, & how some made it up them, is amazing. The same can be said for the Confederates crossing the open ground at pickets charge, and also made it over the walls there, I have fired rifled muskets and they very deadly accurate. The carnage was unbelievable. My great Grandfather was there on Culp's Hill with the 1st Maryland Eastern shore Infantry( U.S.), Where Marylanders were fighting Marylanders. There are so many monuments, its amazing, I have been no less than 7 times & still not seen it all. Take a camera & take it all in, Its Hollowed Ground for sure.....

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navycollector

There is a lot of battlefield to cover, as for the Museums, I have not been in about 20 years, although I re enacted for many years, Its hard to believe today how beautiful it is, putting your self in the mind frame of what happened 152 years ago. The views from the high ground, round tops & Culp's hill, knowing the Union troops were pouring the fire down those hills onto the advancing Confederates, & how some made it up them, is amazing. The same can be said for the Confederates crossing the open ground at pickets charge, and also made it over the walls there, I have fired rifled muskets and they very deadly accurate. The carnage was unbelievable. My great Grandfather was there on Culp's Hill with the 1st Maryland Eastern shore Infantry( U.S.), Where Marylanders were fighting Marylanders. There are so many monuments, its amazing, I have been no less than 7 times & still not seen it all. Take a camera & take it all in, Its Hollowed Ground for sure.....

 

 

Thanks for the reply, I'm really looking forward to going and I wish I would have more time to spend while I'm there. I can always hope to get back there again sometime too. As you said with being there 7 times and not seeing it all, that's what I've heard from everybody that there's so much there. With only a couple days to spend there I doubt I'll even start to scratch the surface of what is there. I'm looking forward to seeing whatever I have time to see. Thanks again for the reply.

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Start in the traffic circle in the middle of town, museums, antique stores, some with militaria and there is a great restaurant there all within a short walks. Later for good micro brew hit Appalachian Brewing Company right next to General Lee's HQ good Tuna and great beers!

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Hookemhorns88

I am heading to the Washington/Houston PA area just south of Pittsburgh in a couple of weeks. Any shops or museums along the way?

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42ndbombers

Navycollector, last year I went to a store a couple places from the circle in town that had some goodies. I went through a few small boxes of patches while I was there. This place also had hundreds of tiny soldier figures. It was on Baltimore St.

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navycollector

Start in the traffic circle in the middle of town, museums, antique stores, some with militaria and there is a great restaurant there all within a short walks. Later for good micro brew hit Appalachian Brewing Company right next to General Lee's HQ good Tuna and great beers!

 

Thanks alot for the information, this sounds like a good plan. Do you happen to know the name of the restaurant or will it be apparent as the only one in the middle of town? The Appalachian Brewing Company sounds like a nice place will have to make a point of checking that out. Thanks again I appreciate it.

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navycollector

Navycollector, last year I went to a store a couple places from the circle in town that had some goodies. I went through a few small boxes of patches while I was there. This place also had hundreds of tiny soldier figures. It was on Baltimore St.

 

Thanks for the information, the soldier figures sound interesting, were they toy figures or more for display purposes? Do you happen to remember the name of this place or if I go to Baltimore street will I be able to find it? Thanks again I appreciate it.

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navycollector

Depending which way you are going to Gettysburg, the state capitol Harrisburg is about 45 minutes away. There you will find the National Civil War Museum:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Civil_War_Museum

 

http://www.nationalcivilwarmuseum.org/OurCollection.aspx

 

Thanks for the tip, I'll be getting there via the PA turnpike if all goes as planned. I'm going to check in to the links you gave, a short 45 minute trip north might be well worth it. I just wish I had more time to spend there so I could see more. Without even looking into it yet I'm wondering if this might be a good plan if the weather is bad one of the days, figuring the museum would be indoors, and if the weather is good every day then drive up the last day. Thanks again for the suggestion.

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The Turnpike actually runs along the southern edge of Harrisburg, so it might work out very well for you. Enjoy!

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navycollector

The Turnpike actually runs along the southern edge of Harrisburg, so it might work out very well for you. Enjoy!

 

Thanks I'm definitely going to have to look into this and try to make this work out. I looked at the links you gave and that museum looks amazing. Thanks again for the suggestion, I would've never known about it or tried to make it there, thanks again.

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42ndbombers

Heading north on Baltimore St, it will be on the right. I don`t remember the name of the place.

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navycollector

Heading north on Baltimore St, it will be on the right. I don`t remember the name of the place.

 

 

I looked at the map and it looks like a lot of places in that area. I'll have to keep an eye out for this place. Thanks for letting me know about it.

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Infantry Grunt

Make sure you check out the diorama of the battlefield. It is probably about 25 ft long and 10 ft. wide. They have a show that talks about the battle and parts of the diorama light up. It is on steinwehr ave. I think you may have to pay a little to get in, but it's certainly worth it!

 

Here is the address of the store: 241 Steinwehr Ave, Gettysburg, PA 17325

And here it is in google streetview: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.820505,-77.23373,3a,75y,357.44h,88.05t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sfYBWcBqHErVHVOeHmkUknw!2e0

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

 

P.S. If you go down Queen street there is a small militaria store called the Homefront General Store.

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Recommend you view on Youtube the videos of the battlefield and sights to get an overall

idea of what is on site. Then when you are boots on ground, on site, you can focus

in on what you really want to see. The museum has always been of interest to me.

 

AZ Abn

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If you are going to be in Gettysburg overnight... there is a series of books called Ghosts of Gettysburg available on Amazon. My brother enjoyed them... there are also haunted Gettysburg walking tours. Not everyone's taste, but still interesting.

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Having lived in Gettysburg for a number of years in the 1990's and early 2000's, I would suggest parking and walking the town. There are a ton of shops to browse (many bad, but some are great), and by walking you are sure to find the gems. The Horse Soldier on Steiwehr Avenue is basically a museum for sale and not to be missed.

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CombatEng44

Forget the antique/military/etc shops and just go to the Lincoln Diner!! (If it is still there)

 

We have been going to Gettysburg since our girls were 6 weeks old and they still love it(just turning 23 now). Our favorite time is at Christmas, staying at the Gettysburg Inn overlooking the Square's Christmas Tree. We were greeted with lots of snow one morning and had the battlefields all to ourselves as we kept one step ahead of the park rangers closing the roads.

 

There are several good antique shops in all 4 directions from the square.

 

Summer? Just get your head right and ignore the tour bus people. There are plenty of areas that allow you to get away from the crowds. Get up very early(6;00 am) and go to the battlefields. That's the best time to be by yourself and put your mind into what these men went through. Every American should HAVE to visit Gettysburg!

 

Tons of other shops in surrounding small towns.

Enjoy!

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439th Signal Battalion

Forget the antique/military/etc shops and just go to the Lincoln Diner!! (If it is still there)

 

I'll second that! Lincoln's Diner for breakfast, Tony's Pizza (or maybe Tommy's) for supper.

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Farnsworth Inn. It's a B&B, but they have a bar and restaurant, a bit pricey but well worth it. All the staff dresses in period costumes, and it's historical. The attic window was a sniper perch and has shotholes around it, I believe a woman was accidentally shot in the back by a stray round during the battle while baking. It's supposed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Used to eat there almost every Thursday night in the summer after my poolee functions, one of the guys was an amateur ghost hunter and would pay the tab if we walked the woods with him during the night afterwards chasing orbs and ghosts. They do ghost walks a couple of times a week, but we always ventured out on our own. Directly next door is (or at least was) a pretty decent militaria shop, but finding it open is like finding a unicorn.

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Very good militaria shop and museum just outside Gettysburg on Baltimore pike,run by a Korean war vet , he has the most amazing collection of uniforms all ww2,very rare items.

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Manchu Warrior

The Horse Soldier is expensive but it really is an awesome place. They use to just sell Civil War and earlier items but in recent years they have branched out and starting dealing in WWI and WWII.

 

http://www.horsesoldier.com/

 

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My family and I have been going there about twice a year for the last 10 years or so. We just love the atmosphere and it's a great relaxing trip for us. We stay always at a WWII themed B&B called Sentimental Journey. Wonderful owners. It's about 5 houses down from the Farnsworth House. BTW, if you look at the Farnsworth house main side brick wall, apparently the bullet markings are original and you can see them. Downtown has really changed the last few years.....a lot of antique shops are gone, including several that I used to really like. The one mentioned here is still there, and he's got a decent amount of militaria in the cases, along with those toy soldiers in the back! The Gettysburg Pub in the town circle is always a favorite to eat at, and Applachian Brew Pub is good too, but they moved as they are out on route 30 near the interchange from route 15. Not far, but not in town. Another good place is the Dobbin House Spring Tavern for lunch, as you eat in the basement with a really cool atmosphere.

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navycollector

Wow I haven't been on the site for a week or so, things have been really busy, I see there are a lot of new posts and I appreciate all of your replies, I'm going to read through them one by one and I'll respond, thanks for all of the great info. The trip was supposed to be soon but now looks like it will be pushed back until this coming fall. Thanks again for all your responses.

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