Gettysburg

rachel1998 · Apr 24, 2011

We would like to go to Gettysburg maybe in Sept. or Oct. What would be the closest timeshare?

Free2Roam · Apr 24, 2011

It looks like The Suites at Hershey are the closest... about an hour away. A few in the Washington DC area (about 2 hrs away) and McGaheysville, VA (3hrs away)

Check-out the RCI and II directories online to get a better idea...

http://www.rci.com/RCI/prelogin/rdMain.do

http://www.intervalworld.com/web/cs?a=1500

Good luck!

dougp26364 · Apr 24, 2011

We've made the drive twice from Williamsburg but, it's not the closest. We typically stay a couple of nights in one of the bed and breakfasts when we go, so the drive isn't as big of a deal. There are many B&B's that were there at the time of the battle. We enjoy the Farnsworth house, which has bullet marks in the side of the buidling from shots fired durnig the battle. It's also a "haunted" B&B if you believe in that sort of thing.

Williamsburg, IMO, is to far to do Gettysburg as a day trip.

pianodinosaur · Apr 24, 2011

There are numerous hotels in the Gettysburg area and I think that if your main goal is to be in Gettysburg, than you might be better off with a hotel room. Robert E. Lee's headquarters has been converted into a Quality Inn at General Lee's Headquarters. There are also a Marriott Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn, and Hampton Inn that are conveniently located.

Timeshare Von · Apr 24, 2011

It could be done as a nice overnight trip from the Poconos.

Beaglemom3 · Aug 16, 2011

Thanks to all the good info received on this site about Gettysburg, we have made our plans for a September trip for three days.

We're taking the Amtrak from Boston to Harrisburg, picking up our rental car not too far from the train station and then driving to the Brafferton Inn -
www.brafferton.com Will rent some bikes and tour the battlefields for a day, do some antiquing and meet friends from Maryland for dinner.

Am watching "Gettysburg" now (long movie - watching over 2 nights) and am reading up on the battles.

Thanks to all who contributed. It is appreciated.

Conan · Aug 16, 2011

The Fight at Cemetery Ridge
http://www.civilwar.n2genealogy.com/battles/630701-cemeteryridge.html

The entire force that charged against the Union positions consisted of about 12,500 men, marching deliberately in line with Pettigrew and Trimble on the left, and Pickett to the right. The nine brigades of men stretched over a mile-long (1,600 m) front. The Confederates encountered heavy artillery fire while advancing across open fields nearly a mile to reach the Union line. The ground between Seminary Ridge and Cemetery Ridge is slightly undulating, and the advancing troops periodically disappeared from the view of the Union cannoneers. As the three Confederate divisions advanced, awaiting Union soldiers began shouting "Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!" in reference to the disastrous Union advance on the Confederate line during the 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg.
....
Opposite the main assault was the "Angle" - a point in the Union line where it formed a 90-degree angle. Positioned in the Angle, behind a stone wall, was the 71st PA Regiment of 250 men. To their left, was the 69th PA, supported by 5 guns. As the Confederates pushed forward, the men and artillery in the Angle poured devastating fire into the approaching units. Still, the Confederates came, this time reaching the stone wall of the Angle. Armistead led the Confederate attack with a group of about 200 men and overran most of the Federals before reaching Cowan's Battery. The Confederate advance stopped and forced many of them to seek cover behind the western side of the stone wall. Hand-to-hand fighting raged in the Angle and Webb ordered a charge. Col. Devereux's 19th MA Regiment and the 42nd NY Regiment rushed into the Angle to drive the Confederates out.

The Confederates were now outnumbered and cutoff from any reinforcements. Soon, anyone left in the Angle was either captured or killed. The remaining Confederate units near the Angle slowly retreated and made their way back towards Seminary Ridge after realizing no reinforcements were to come.

Pickett lost nearly 3,000 men, over half of his Division. He lost all 15 regimental commanders, including 2 brigadier generals and 6 colonels. When Pickett returned to Lee, he was ordered to prepare against a possible Union counterattack. Pickett then replied, "General Lee, I have no division now."

pogg · Aug 23, 2011

Can answer questions

I live (nearby) and work in Gettysburg and can help answer any questions you might have if you send me a personal e-mail.

Beaglemom3 · Nov 5, 2011

Greetings from the Brafferton Inn in Gettysburg !

Arrived here last evening after a nice train ride from Boston (Boston- Philadelphia- Harrisburg - rental car).

We are on our way touring today. Have hired a private guide who will take us in our car around the battlefield and other sites. My DF (dearest friend) had an ancestor (who made it through) in the 20th Maine and this is special for him (and me).

This is the trip we were supposed to take several weeks ago, but had to cancel due to the flooding.

Ate at Gary Ownens Pub and that was good - okay. Have reservations at
Dobbin House Sunday.

Carolinian · Nov 5, 2011

Having visited both the battlefield at Gettysburg and that at Waterloo in Belgium, the tactical similarity was amazing. The charge of the Imperial Guard against Wellington's center at Waterloo was repeated by Lee in Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, and with the same disasterous result. Since the Napoleanic Wars were a major part of instruction at all miliatary academies including West Point in the decades prior to the War Between the States, Lee had to have studied Napolean's failed manuever and its result. Why did he do the same thing at Gettysburg? Napolean, at least, had the excuse that he had limited time to try to win a victory before Field Marshall von Blucher's Prussian army arrived to reinforce Wellington. Lee did not have that pressure.

There is an interesting ''alternative history'' novel co-authored by Newt Gingich, a former professor of history, which details how the Battle of Gettysburg could have gone the other way if Lee had followed a better strategy. It is entitled ''Gettysburg'' and is an interesting read. In the novel, the first day of the battle unfolds the same, but Lee adopts a different strategy from that point.

There is also an interesting alternative history essay written by Sir Winston Churchill in the 1920s on the impact that a Confederate victory at Gettysburg would have had on world history. It is entitled ''If the South Had Not Won at Gettysburg'', describes a world as he postulated it would have been then, and then compares the actual history as if it was speculation on the results of a northern victory. Among other things, Churchill describes why World War I and the rise of Communism would not have happened if the south had prevailed at Gettysburg.

My own great grandfather fought at Gettysburg, his regiment being reassigned from eastern North Carolina to the Army of Northern Virginia after the Battle of New Bern, and staying with that army until Appamatox.

Gettysburg

rachel1998

Free2Roam

dougp26364

TUG Review Crew: Expert

pianodinosaur

TUG Review Crew: Veteran

Timeshare Von

TUG Review Crew: Expert

Beaglemom3

Conan

TUG Review Crew: Elite

pogg

Beaglemom3

Carolinian