East Coast Trip

The Battle of Gettysburg was a critical event in a war that determined the preservation of our nation. Known as a turning point in our great Civil War, the battlefield is preserved by the National Park Service as a symbol of America's struggle to survive as a nation, and as a lasting memorial to the armies and the soldiers who served in that great conflict. Our job is to preserve the park and to provide you, the park visitor, with a fulfilling experience.

Fought during the first days of July 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg was one of the most critical battles of the war and began early on the morning of July 1 when Union pickets three miles west of Gettysburg spotted a Confederate column heading toward them from the direction of Cashtown. The southerners were coming to Gettysburg to find the strength of the Union cavalry spotted there the evening before. The first shot, fired by a Union cavalry officer, opened the battle. Opponents sparred over the gently rolling farmland west of Gettysburg, and adjacent to the Chambersburg Pike. The Union troopers finally fell back to the McPherson Farm where Union infantry arrived just in time to throw back the Confederates. One of the first to fall was Major General John Fulton Reynolds, instantly killed while leading his troops into the fray.
Most of the fighting on July 1 was west and north of Gettysburg. The Union troops fought valiantly against overwhelming numbers of Confederates, directed toward Gettysburg by General Lee. Lee arrived on the battlefield at the height of the fighting and watched his victorious soldiers drive the Union troops through Gettysburg to the hills south of town. It was a great victory for Lee, but not a decisive one as the Union Army did not retreat from the hills but concentrated there. General Meade arrived that night and decided to fight the battle by defending the hills and letting Lee make the next move.

The Award winning museum, dedicated to the civilian experience during the Battle of Gettysburg, is situated in the heart of Gettysburg's historic district.  The home of George and Hettie Schriver appears much the way it did when it was first built in 1860.  Today, guides in period dress recount the harrowing story of the Schriver family's experiences.  The thirty minute tour includes all four floors including the Confederate sharpshooters nest in the attic where at least two were known to have been killed.