This little town, located some eighty miles north of Washington, D.C., just over the Maryland border, was the site of a remarkable confrontation in the summer of 1863. The Union had been unable to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond and longed for a decisive victory. The commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee, already had several victories to his credit, but badly wanted one on Union soil. By crossing the Potomac, he hoped to relieve the pressure on Vicksburg, then under Union siege, and obtain much-needed supplies. Further, a major rout, such as a successful attack on Baltimore or Philadelphia, might dispirit Northerners enough that they would pressure President Lincoln to sue for peace. The stakes were very high for both sides.
Yet remarkably, both sides met up by chance in quiet Adams County, and their encounter over those three fateful days - July 1-3 - is generally considered to be the turning point of the war. While Gettysburg was neither the first conflict nor the last, it was the largest, the bloodiest, and generally the most memorable.
The town today is a pleasant place, and while it certainly has its commercial elements, it doesn't feel all that much like a tourist town. (This, of course, is my opinion. There are others, I'm sure, who would disagree.) It has most of the things you'd expect to find in town of about 7,500: A town square and a courthouse. Quaint shops and charming restaurants. Even a college.
It just also happens to have about two million visitors each year.
Still, the town is highly navigable and well worth a visit, especially for the Civil War buff. A good place to start is the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor Center located on Taneytown Road. One thing you'll want to see here is the 30-minute Electric Map presentation, which outlines the events of July 1-3, 1863 for you using colored lights. Even if you already know all the troop movements by heart, the map is a great way of laying everything out for you and pinning down the locations of such well-known battlefield landmarks as Little Round Top and Seminary Ridge. The Visitor Center also has museum exhibits containing many Civil War relics.
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