Pilgrimage to Gettysburg by an ACW Newbie

A confederate cannon in the field aimed at Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg — *A Confederate Napoleon is aimed at Cemetery Ridge – Hill’s corp, Anderson’s Division, Lane’s Battalion, Patterson’s Battery.*

By Troy Hill

I admit it. I hated studying the American Civil War (ACW) ever since Junior High School. But, the title says I made a visit recently to Gettysburg. Since I’m about to turn 61, you might be wondering why I had this change of heart?

First, why did I not care for the war? The best I can say is that reading The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, in the 8th grade. I’d had a good dose of ACW studies in the 7th grade as well at Brookdale Junior High, as my social studies class covered it in depth for about three months. Then the 8th and 11th grades went even farther.

And Stephen Crane’s book kept coming back to haunt my dreams, so I tuned out the lessons. Study enough to pass the tests, then forget about it. I just wasn’t interested. But, after having spent most of two decades studying and gaming World War 2, I was ready for something fresh. Napoleonics! Yeah….? Well, no. I wasn’t into figuring out the uniform facing colors for each unit. Best to not upset the gaming grognards with the incorrect facings or pom colours. But I still wanted another period to get into that was older than WW2. The Great War was too tied into WW2. Though different, it was too much the same.

What about ACW? Union blue vs Confederate gray, butternut, brown, and whatever else Johnny Reb was wearing… Yep. That’s more manageable on the painting front. And a lot of the battlefields are only a one-to-two day drive away from Indiana. No hopping on a jet plane to Europe or Africa to go see what happened. So, ACW was my next historical gaming stop. As long as I didn’t have to read Stephen Crane again.

Where does the pilgrimage to Gettysburg fit into all of this? And, most importantly, how did I as a wargamer, get my non-wargaming wife to agree to one of the most required pilgrimages in all of ACW-dom?

Convincing the wife

Earlier this year, my wife reminded me that we’d had no vacation since right before my mother passed on Labor Day 2024. That was her hint that we needed to do something soon, to help her de-stress from her work. With the ACW bug full on, I mentioned a trip to either Shiloh or Gettysburg.

She didn’t kill the idea, so I started researching both potential trips.

A woman looks out at Devils Den at Gettysburg from the top of Little Round Top — *Even my wife is curious at why Uncle Dan Sickles positioned his force all the way out there in Devil’s Den, when Little Round Top had all of these great boulders on it?*

I figured she’d go for the Western theatre instead of the Eastern, since Tennessee has its share of beautiful mountains and scenery. There’s nothing she loves better than a hike in the forest. But she settled on Gettysburg, noting that if she wanted a wilderness hike, there was a Pennsylvania state park mere minutes west of Gettysburg. We could trek out the Chambersburg Pike and she could commune with nature.

Preparation

So, what does a newbie ACW buff do to prepare for the holiest of holy pilgrimages? Watch Ron Maxwell’s film Gettysburg, of course.

I’d already purchased the extended cut, the one where even Gen Lee’s horse, Traveller, gets to give a soliloquy. I jest about the horse, but the plethora of speeches are even noted by the director in his follow-up comments years later.

Actually, I spent more time researching what the film got right or wrong, than I did watching the film. Many, many hours of YouTube videos later, my head was whirling, and I wanted to make the pilgrimage even more. I wanted to walk the land and see just how good it was. Was Sam Elliot… er… General Buford correct?

I did convince my wife to give the movie a watch, and we broke the four-plus hours across three evenings right before the trip.

Statue of Gen Howard and a cannon on Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg — *If General Howard had sent reinforcements to Seminary Ridge, would Reynold’s forces have been able to hold that wing of the good ground?*

I didn’t subject my wife to the various battlefield tour videos, or miniature wargaming battle recaps, like the Little Wars TV episode where Garry Adelman of the American Battlefield Trust and other historians took on generals from the Little Wars TV to refight the battle using the Altar of Freedom rules.

Of course, there are also numerous Ranger Walk videos by “StuffWriter” and from the NPS on Youtube. Following Ranger Matt along on some of those videos gives a sense of perspective as to just how large that event was. But the videos are still missing the overall experience that one gets from being there. Just how high is that ridge. Could Longstreet’s Corps really been seen marching to get to Little Round Top?

None of these experiences prepared me for seeing the actual battlefield.

A gaming table with 15mm ACW units set up — *A friend teaching me Johnny Reb 2 on this table. Sometimes you need a real view of the battlefield to better understand the gaming table.*

I approached this from a history nerd, and historical wargamer’s viewpoint. In addition to checking on General Buford’s opinion, I also wanted to see what Ron Maxwell didn’t get quite right? And what about the boys from my home state of Indiana? There were about half-a-dozen Indiana regiments here, including the storied 19th Indiana of the Iron Brigade. I wanted to see and understand the what behind their stories. (We found a few of their monuments, but not all.)

The Visit

Let me start with a Lesson Learned. I should have hired a Licensed Battlefield Guide (LBG). But, I thought I knew enough to handle it with the Auto-narrated audio driving tour the National Park Service provides.

Well, we turned off the NPS auto tour audio after the second stop. The first stop, near where the Iron Brigade met action on the first day, barely mentioned the activity there. Instead, it began filling us in on the Eternal Flame at the next stop. While that is an important part of the park, it totally missed the story I wanted to hear. It would have been far better to have the veteran’s reunion as the intro during the 10 minute drive from the visitor center up to Stop one. Then they could focus on the story of what happened where.

The Pennsylvania monument at Gettysburg — The Pennsylvania monument. Behind the photographer, off camera, is one of the most important buildings. The restrooms with flush toilets! My wife however says the view from the upper deck of the monument shouldn’t be missed.

We saw several couples with the LBGs, and I regretted not hiring one. Especially after hearing many of the LBGs on the Addressing Gettysburg podcast. I should have pressed my wife, who is always conscious of my spending on trips, to let us splurge.

A Pleasant Walk

Our Bed and Breakfast (the Swope Manor) had a hearty breakfast each morning. I knew my wife would want to skip lunch after that. Fortunately, she let me refuel at various local eateries in the evening. And I needed to refuel. We were each averaging about 15,000 steps per day, despite having a car to drive around the battlefield.

Day one: we began at the Visitor Center, where we hiked the path from there up toward the national cemetery. But, we got distracted by Cemetery Ridge, and the sign pointing to Meade’s headquarters in the Leister House. Walking by the site, we spied the monuments dotting the ridge, and ended up seeing the sites in the middle of the Auto Tour first. From the high-water mark at the infamous Copse of Trees that Longstreet points out, to the Pennsylvania memorial. We walked most of the center of Cemetery Ridge.

Woman looking at statue of General Meade at Gettysburg — *On our walk from the Visitor Center we stumbled across General Meade. I forget, is that Old Baldy he’s riding?*

My wife’s memory of Pickett’s charge from the movie is spotty, since that was the part where she fell asleep. But she stayed awake on the walk. Looking across the landscape toward the Virginia Monument on Confederate Ave gives a sense of scale that made the infamous attack even more astounding. I couldn’t believe that Lee actually ordered that charge. I was amazed that Armistead’s brigade even made it up the ridge to hit the high-water mark.

We spent the rest of the day visiting the main parts of the battlefield, making sure to hit all of the main sites, read the interpretive plaques, and walk the areas like Devils Den, Culp’s Hill, and Little Roundtop. We found the main Indiana monument over by the spring at Culp’s Hill. Along with the marker for the 7th Indiana that arrived on the night of July 1 and was sent to help fill the defenses on the hill along with what remained of the Iron Brigade after their long afternoon in Herbst Woods.

The 20th Maine

If memory serves, very little of Ron Maxwell’s movie was filmed on the actual battlefield. So, trying to place the events of the 20th Maine took a new meaning when we made it to that end of hill, and saw just how tightly packed the men of that regiment were on July 2. Tracing the line from the right flank marker, to the Regimental monument, then over to the left flank marker gave me a good perspective of the action.

That’s something that doesn’t always translate to the gaming table.

The right flank marker for the 20th Maine regiment on Little Round top — *The Right Flank marker for the 20th Main. The stone wall extends down, then the regiment makes an angle to the left to deny their flank. This is the end of Meade’s line that day.*

I’ve always thought that the depiction of compressed scale was too tight. Like seeing the mile or so that the Confederates traversed to attack Cemetery Ridge (Yeah, that’s a LOT of open ground), but then I saw the south side of Little Round Top. That was TIGHT!

We called it a good day, despite the out of sequence meandering we did, and headed back to our HQ to relax and get some food.

Day Two:

The Seminary

Before hunting for the 19th Indiana, we headed toward Seminary Ridge.

Using the movie as the guidepost for helping my non-history oriented wife to understand the visit, I pointed out that we should tour the Seminary Ridge Museum and take the cupola tour. She could stand where Sam Elliott stood, and portray her version of General Buford.

We pre-purchased our tickets, using a discount code from the Addressing Gettysburg podcast (be sure to listen through the commercials if you want the discount code).

A woman standing in the Seminary Cupola surveys the view of the Day 1 Battlefield — *My wife surveys the view North-West, worried that Buford’s troops can hold until Reynold’s men arrive.*

The museum itself is worth the visit. The cupola tour is worth the extra cost. We were lucky to be here before the tourist season began. Unfortunately, the middle school tours were still happening. Seeing that we were there for the 10 am cupola tour, the docent said she’d give us a tour before the school group got theirs. That was nice, since my wife and I were the only two on the tour.

Overall, the cupola tour took about half-an-hour, and the docent did a great job of filling in the historical role of not only what the Union observers saw from that vantage point, but also what happened with at the Seminary building on days two and three.

The museum itself is more of what role the Seminary building played as the battle raged, as well as what happened in and around the community of Gettysburg.

The Iron Brigade found!

Because we’d missed it (darn audio tour! Not telling me about what I came to learn!), I made a pledge to be on the lookout for the 19th Indiana monuments as we drove. Since we didn’t find the 19th’s marker on day one, we made it a point to explore the drive through Herbst woods on the north end of McPherson’s Ridge. I used GoogleMaps to pinpoint the location of the marker, and still drove by it twice before my wife spotted it.

The monument for the 19th Indiana regiment at Gettysburg — *It’s down a slope, hiding from view, but she found the monument for the 19th Indiana in the Herbst Woods.*

The marker isn’t along the road, like the others. It’s set off the road, down a short depression. Which makes sense, positioning it where the men fought. But, it’s not easy to find.

Visiting Ike

Another side-trip to put on the list is a visit to the President Eisenhower home a few minutes from the battlefield. While not directly gaming related, it has it’s own historical perspective, and it’s likely that Lee’s forces may have traversed part of the ground.

*Ike’s Home. He even had a putting green on the property, with the five star flag of rank.*

Day 3: The Visitor Center and the Museum, followed by more walking

Our third day was filled with rain in the morning, and gray drizzle throughout the day. We’d planned for this and saved the museums for this day. Our first stop was the official National Battlefield Museum and Cyclorama.

Worth the visit and price of admission. It’s what you’d expect of the museum from the National Park Service. Park service employees wander through the museum to help with explanations and fill in details. While they’re not everywhere, I did have a few stop to see if we wanted further info about the artifacts we were looking at.

The 360 degree oil painting in the round, the Cyclorama, depicts the battle of Gettysburg — *The Cyclorama is a unique view of the battle, blending artifacts/replicas with the 360-degree oil painting of the battle.*

The cyclorama (a 360-degree circular oil painting) is also worth the visit.

The cyclorama presentation included a lights dimmed audio narrated recap of the battle, with lights highlighting various parts of the display. Visitors do get about ten minutes to meander about the center platform to see the entire painting and diorama that encompass the display. That didn’t seem like long enough, but with the crowd we were sharing the space with, all milling about to see the various parts, take their selfies, and whatnot, it was plenty of time.

I suspect that if we return again, I’d get the museum ticket just to see the cyclorama again, and spot different things I hadn’t noticed on my first go.

In the museum bookstore, I found author William B. Styple, ready to sign books. Being an author (of fiction) myself, I had to stop to chat. His newest work is Generals in Bronze, where he was able to read the papers of artist James Edward Kelly, who drew portraits or created bronze plaques of many key figures from the ACW, interviewed each of his subjects as they sat for the artist. He’d write recaps of their conversations each night. Styple says he was given access to the artist’s papers many decades later, and the details shared by the generals didn’t always match the sanitized public records.

I’m itching to read the book, but I’m holding off until I feel I’ve got a better grasp of the “sanitized” versions. Of course, with all of the principle players long past, it’s hard to confirm the authenticity of the private sentiments recorded within the tome. Still, it will be interesting fodder for speculation about motivations and interpersonal relationships between the various commanders. (photo of the book much farther down in the story).

A hardee hat from the Iron Brigade on display at the NPS Museum — *Of course, I had to get a photo of a Hardee hat from the Iron Brigade.*

We then spent the rest of the misty day wandering downtown Gettysburg, peering into shops, and even visiting the Gettysburg Museum of History. This is a very small downtown building housing a bunch of artifacts from the period, as well as later historical areas. Admission is free. It’s not a top of the list visit, but it’s an interesting stop. Plus, they sponsor the Addressing Gettysburg podcast, so it was on my list.

What we didn’t do

It will be a few years before I can convince the wife to visit the area again. Even with all of my questions yet unanswered. But if we do return, there are several museums yet to visit. The Jennie Wade House museum was one we cut on Day Three, but would try to visit on a return trip.

The Adams County Beyond the Battle museum was also on our to-do list, but was cut as our feet were sore, our backs achey, and we were in information overload.

Gaming and Gettysburg

Here I sit, a few weeks later, building scenery and painting figures to develop an ACW 15mm gaming force. What did I learn?

Other than hiring a LBG is a must when I go back to the battlefield, I learned that Buford was correct. That is good ground for a defensive battle. Those series of ridges, from McPherson’s, across Seminary, and to Cemetery Ridge was good ground for the Union to defend. And I’m grateful that McClellan wasn’t in charge of the army then. I doubt he would have gotten there in time to secure Cemetery Hill and ridge. For once, the Union had the right man at the head of the Army of the Potomac, and it worked in their favor.

I have many questions that could hit the gaming table. Would Reynolds’s men have been able to hold Seminary Ridge if Howard had sent Reinforcements?

Two books and a challenge coin. — *Two books from the NPS Bookstore at the Visitor Center. And a challenge coin for the Iron Brigade I purchased from the Seminary Museum.*

What would have happened if Sickles had positioned his men where Meade wanted them?

And those are the easy questions to think of. Dropping down into the regimental level, we could ask even more questions about how the battle could have unfolded on that “good ground.”

The other book I purchased was the Stackpole atlas of the battle. That I highly recommend for gamers interested in the ground and troop movements. Listening to the audiobook of Stephen Sears Gettysburg again, I find it extremely helpful to reference the Stackpole atlas several times per chapter in Sears’ recounting of the battle.

Overall, I decided that Buford was correct. It was good ground for a defensive battle, turning the tables on Lee, and making him crash into a defensive line for a change. But, with over 50,000 men killed, captured, wounded, or missing from those three days, the ground there is now hallowed with the blood, sacrifice, and memories of a time of strife for our country.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. – from the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln.

Sources Cited:

American Battlefield Trust: https://www.battlefields.org/

Stuffwriter on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@StuffWriter/videos

NPS Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GettysburgNPS

Little Wars TV: https://www.youtube.com/@LittleWarsTV

Swope Manor: https://www.swopemanor.com/

Addressing Gettysburg Podcast: https://www.addressinggettysburg.com/

Seminary Ridge Museum: https://www.seminaryridgemuseum.org/

Beyond the Battle Museum: https://www.achs-pa.org/visit/

Generals in Bronze: https://www.amazon.com/Generals-Bronze-Interviewing-Commanders-Civil/dp/1883926181

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