160 years later, battlefield at Gettysburg returning to 1863 roots
Jun. 30—GETTYSBURG — It's been 160 years since Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia ventured into the Pennsylvania crossroads town of Gettysburg in what became the largest battle ever fought in North America.
Now, more than a century and a half after the Civil War's seminal three-day battle — from July 1-3, 1863 — officials at the Gettysburg National Military Park continue to ensure the 6,000-acre battlefield remains as close to, if not exactly, the same as it looked then.
Restoration, renovations, additions and new attractions are always happening across the battlefield. According to Gettysburg National Military Park licensed battlefield guide James Pangburn, the sprawling battlefield just north of the Mason-Dixon Line is as close to looking like 1863 as it has since the battle.
Pangburn, a guide for more than 20 years, said the idea for the Gettysburg Foundation — a nonprofit philanthropic, educational organization that operates in partnership with the National Park Service — and others is to restore the battlefield. Sometimes Mother Nature and Father Time get in the way, he said.
"Every year we try to make sure that whatever needs to be repaired or updated remains as close to original as possible," Pangburn, originally of Lewisburg, said. "It is important to keep the battlefield as authentic as we can."
Approximately one million visitors come to Gettysburg each year.
Renovations, additions
Some of the more popular stops on the battlefield tour include Devil's Den, Little Round Top and the Pennsylvania Monument along Cemetery Ridge, Pangburn said. Devil's Den offers unique geological features and stories of some of the hottest fighting of the battle. Little Round Top grants some of the most wide-ranging views of the battlefield, looking west from on high.
Devil's Den closed in March 2022 for a six-month rehabilitation project there. The project was necessary to address significant erosion and safety issues, officials said.
This project was also necessary due to significant erosion along existing walkways.
Overshadowing Devils' Den is Little Round Top, another popular attraction, Pangburn said. Construction underway there to restore some of the erosion has the tourist stop closed. The area closed in July 2022 and is set to open in 2024.
Renovations there aren't necessarily restoration, unlike other parts of the battlefield. Renovations include better parking for the high volume of visitors at any one time. Pangburn said the project will also give visitors an improved experience with better signage and gathering areas.
"When this reopens, people will love the renovations," he said. "The view from Little Round Top is worth the drive to Gettysburg alone."
Former Sunbury resident Christopher Walter, 51, a 1990 Shikellamy High School graduate, who now lives in Wisconsin, said he likes to visit Gettysburg once a year when he returns home.
"I love that the park is trying to stay as authentic as they can," he said. "I will be visiting in the next few days and I keep up on all the changes being made. I am excited to be back for a visit."
One interesting addition to the battlefield is a braille marker near the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, Pangburn said.
The Rose Farm is also currently under construction as the structure is getting restored, according to the park services. The Rose Farm was one of the final points of the battle on the second day.
The farm included Stony Hill and the Rose Woods. It also included a 20-acre field where more than 20,000 men engaged in brutal and often hand-to-hand combat, officials said.
The Gettysburg National Military Park officials said the thick stone walls of the farmhouse and barn provided shelter to two Confederates brigades, and the farm buildings were used as a Confederate field hospital. It is estimated that between 500 and 1,000 Confederate soldiers were buried on the property. Alexander Gardner took some of the most famous photographs after the battle here.
The stone farmhouse is still standing, but the barn is in rough shape after a fire in 1910, officials said. The farm was privately owned until the 1950s, when it was acquired by the National Park Service.
Pangburn said one of the biggest additions to the park came in 2008, when the $103 million, 139,000 square foot Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center opened.
The center houses one of the largest collections of Civil War memorabilia, Pangburn said. A popular attraction inside the center is the Gettysburg Cyclorama, he said.
The cyclorama depicts the fury of Pickett's Charge during the third and final day of the battle in a 360-degree, three-dimensional illusion of being in the midst of the war.
The painting survived years of exhibition, multiple moves, vandalism, fire, cuts and neglect before finding a home in Gettysburg in 1913, according to officials.
The National Park Service purchased the painting in 1942 and it underwent multiple restoration efforts, including a multimillion-dollar restoration from 2004 to 2008.
"It's such a great attraction to people when they visit us," Pangburn said. "That's one of the first things I hear before taking people out on tours."
Individuals can purchase tickets to see a 30-minute film inside the 180-seat theater, before heading up to the second floor of the visitor's center to view the painting that comes with a sound and lighting effect.
After a visit at the center, it's time to make your way to the battlefield and that's where the excitement begins, Pangburn said.
"It's always great to take people out and see their faces when they look around at such history," he said.
Keeping history intactPangburn said one of the most attractive sights to see are the witness trees, he said, or trees that were there in 1863 and remain today. The trees, which Pangburn said are dwindling in number each year, are still a popular sight for tourists because there could be one of the seven to nine million bullets that were fired during the three-day battle, still inside.
"We had a tree get struck by lightning last year and when crews began to cut the tree up they discovered bullets," he said.
Pangburn said bullets are occasionally discovered and when they are, they are turned in to officials and placed inside one of the best places inside the visitor's center.
"The basement," he said. The basement is off limits to the public, but Pangburn said there are original items from the war that are stored away to preserve their original form. "There are so many pieces of history there," he said.
Across the street from the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, individuals can get a clear view of part of the battlefield where orchards were growing during the time of war. Pangburn said some of the land is leased to farmers who have replanted the orchards and the look is close to what it was like in 1863.
Pangburn said on occasion during tours, guides will be surprised to where crews have cleaned brush away that had grown through the years and are now opened up as they were during the battle.
Sunbury resident and Civil War reenactor Scott Debo, who is president of Cooper's Battery B, 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery, said keeping the battlefield original is important.
"It's history that we want to keep the way it was," he said. "I am happy to see things are staying as they were."
Another location that remains the same is the Gettysburg National Cemetery, the final resting place for more than 6,000 United States soldiers and veterans. According to the National Park Service, 3,500 of those soldiers were among the soldiers who died during the Gettysburg battle.
At the cemetery's entrance, President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address Memorial sits. The actual Gettysburg Address, given on Nov. 19, 1863, was delivered by Lincoln about 300 yards away from the memorial.
"Individuals will be able to take the memories of the visit to Gettysburg home with them as being in exact spots, with as much authenticity as possible back to their home states," Pangburn said. "One of the things we notice at the visitor's center are the license plates from every state that come to visit."
