Gettysburg

We had planned to just spend the morning in Gettysburg and be on our way, but we ended up spending more time than we anticipated. We had a personal tour guide show us some of the sights in the morning. Once we were done we decided to go back and see some of the sights again since we didn't get to stop and get out a whole lot on the tour. We also visited the museum and visitor center. While we were there, we saw a short film, as well as the Gettysburg cyclorama, which is a 360 degree painting depicting Pickett's charge, the climactic Confederate attack on the Union, which ultimately resulted in the Union victory.

It was cold and the ground was covered in snow, but at least it allowed us to see farther and in more detail, since there were no leaves on the trees. One of the things that surprised me the most was the how large the battle field/land was. I was under the impression that maybe the three-day battle took place over a few fields, but the reality is that the battle was wide spread.

This is a cannon ball from the battle stuck in the front of this house.

Original bullet holes and markings from the battle

Our hotel on the square

Seminary Ridge-this was a lookout for union soldiers 

A shout out to Illinois. We were told this was a good cavalry. Or maybe our tour guide was trying to make us feel good. :)

Views of some of the battlefields. This is Oak Ridge, where the Union were being pushed back by the Confederates on the first day, and they eventually had to retreat back to Cemetery Hill. By the end of the first day, the Confederates held the upper hand. It's strange to see such plain fields, but to know that so much meaningful and costly history was forged on these places. 

This is the Eternal Light Peace Memorial 

Cannons!

These were original Napoleon cannons

This is a view of what it might have looked like firing on the enemy.

Enjoying the view

More battlefield views along the way

This barn is an original from back when the battle took place.

Another Illinois Cavalry Memorial 

Battlefield views

This is the Evergreen Cemetery Gatehouse. It's one of the most well known and recognized icons in Gettysburg, and is featured in some war artwork as well. We didn't get to visit any cemeteries while in Gettysburg due to time constraints, but at least we got to see the outside of this one.

These are some views of the cyclorama painting that we saw. Such beauty and detail.

This was where the bloodiest and most costly part of the battle took place on day 3-Pickett's charge. Pickett's charge was the culmination of the Battle of Gettysburg, and would take nine brigades of Confederate soldiers over three-quarter mile of open ground susceptible to cannon fire the entire time.  This assault resulted in over 6,000 (estimated) Confederate casualties. This marked the end of the Battle of Gettysburg as well as Lee's last invasion of the North. This is the Union view. The Confederates would have been back in that treeline in the distance.  

This is a view of a cannon pointed towards the Confederate side.

Then we drove over to the Confederate side to see this statue of General Lee (and his horse Traveler).

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This is the view of the battle field from the Confederate side.

This is Little Round Top (another location of the battle on day 2)

Closer view of Little Round Top

Earlier in the day on our tour, we stopped at the top of Little Round Top, and we were able to get out, walk around, and see the view. These are some of the view looking down from Little Round Top.

This is looking down into what they call Devil's Den. I think there are a lot of cool rocks down there, but they are hard to see because of the snow (boo!).

This is another stop we made on our tour. This is the observation tower at Culps Hill. It was cold and windy, so I didn't climb it, but the others did.

Going up

I think I see someone peeking down at me!

After Gettysburg, we decided to make a stop in Baltimore to visit the house where my dad grew up! It was a beautiful neighborhood and area!

Then, we decided to visit some Hardinge graves, since the cemetery was just down the road. It started raining outside, but we were able to find what we were looking for.

The Hardinge plot. Personally, I'm not one for visiting grave sites (particularly of people I never knew), but it was so close to the house we were visiting, so it made sense to go.

This is my dad's great-grandfather's grave (my dad is Harold Hardinge IV) 

My dad's great-grandmother's grave

It's hard to make out anymore, but this is Henrietta Kemp Hardinge, my dad's great great grandmother.

This is my dad's grandmother's grave. She died at the age of 31.

This is the bank where my dad's grandfather worked (Harold Hardinge Jr.). It was right in town, so we had to drive by.

On to Washington DC!