So my wife and I just returned from an amazing ten day road trip. We started in NYC, spent a few days in DC and then headed up to Gettysburg for a two day visit.
On the first full day we were there we hired a tour guide to drive our car and take us on a two hour tour of the battlefield. It was incredible.
For those of you who are not history buffs - Gettysburg is easily one of the most important historical sites in the country. If the Union had lost to the Confederate Army here, then England and France would have most likely recognized the South as an independent country - and Lincoln would have had to sue for peace. The history of our country would have been completely and utterly different - and slavery would have continued on for God only knows how long.
So on July 1-3, 1863 the Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army met here almost by accident and fought for 3 days. Nearly 45,000 men were wounded, and about 10,000 were killed - along with more than 5000 horses. It was an incredible battle - and one that turned the tide for the North and literally saved our country from being torn apart for nearly God only knows how long.
My wife and I went over to the Gettysburg Visitor Center and Museum and hired a guide to take us on a personal tour of this historic battlefield. The battlefield is absolutely gigantic, and this is a pretty standard way of touring the entire area. It takes about two hours and it is about the same price as taking one of those buses - but much more interesting.
The tour was absolutely fantastic for a couple of reasons, the first being our guide - Mr. Jim Tate 90 years old and born and raised right in Gettysburg.
I know what you are thinking - a 90 year old tour guide? And he was great? Yes, and yes again. For a 90 year old man, Jim didn't look or act a year over 78-80 years old (though his driving skills were somewhat limited for things like backing up, etc.,). Yes, he drove our car.
And here is what we found out about Mr. James Tate during our two hours with him. He was born in 1918, during WWI and the middle of the global flu pandemic. His grandfather was a Civil War veteran himself. Jim went to school in Gettysburg, and then went into the army when he was about 22 or 23 (during WWII).
When Jim first approached us (using a cane to help him walk) I asked him "Have you been doing this long?" to wit he replied "Oh...since about 1951 or so."
My wife and I almost fell over. Fifty-eight years of giving tours. I did the math and he has probably given more than 10,000 tours of the battlefield, and maybe more like 20,000. Of course, I asked him if he had ever given tours to anyone famous, and he told us Sigourney Weaver (who he liked) and Carl Malden (who he did not like).
Anyway, Jim took us around a large part of the town as well as the entire battlefield - and it was amazing. Jim showed us where all the major events happened on each day. He also told us about attending the 75th anniversary of the battle - back in 1938 when nearly 8000 living veterans of the war descended on the town - both blue and gray, mostly in there 80's and 90's and the oldest one being 112 (who travelled all the way from Oakland CA to attend). Think about that for a second. A guy who is 112 years old travelled all the way from CA to PA by train in 1938. By all rights, a trip like that should have killed him.
Jim also told us about the time, not long after that, when FDR came to dedicate the the Eternal Peace Memorial (which has a gas flame that burns 24/7 365 days a year). He then showed us each of the key locations where events happened during the three days of fighting. What I did not know before coming here is that there are more than 1200 statues, markers and memorials spread across nearly 6000 acres in an area that is about 1 mile by 2.5 miles in length. There statues and markers were placed at the locations where returning veterans indicated where they had fought.
Another great story that he told me was about how he and his friends used to go out into the fields when they were kids, during the Great Depression, and search for bullets and musket balls and then sell them to one of the local museums for either a nickel or a dime.
Some of the highlights were the Robert E. Lee statue, where I confessed to Jim that had I been President of the United States Lee would have at a mininum been exiled and most lilkely executed along with a couple of thousand other Confederate leaders and officers. Jim turned to me with a look of surprise on his face and said "Wow! You are A REAL YANKEE!!"
I just smiled and told him that all good revolutioanaries know that if they fail in their cause, they should expect to pay with their lives.
Or put another way: "If you are going to shoot the king, don't miss."
He then took us to Little Roundtop and showed us the location where Joshua Chamberlain (who went on to be Governor of Maine and President of Bowdoin College) along with a number of officers and soldiers from New York, literally saved the day and our country on the second day of the battle. The Confederates attempted a flanking move on Little Round top in an effort to get behind the Union army and surround it. The 20th Maine fought to the last bullet and then used bayonets to charge down the hill and rout the confederate soldiers. It is one of the most important and moving stories of the entire Civil War.
Anyway, the battlefield was amazing. And the town is pretty and scenic. The cemetary where Lincold gave the Gettysburg Address was incredibly moving.
One of the downsides of the town I have to say is that almost every restaurant that we went to was just God-awful. I mean shockingly bad.
Two places I highly recommend: the Brafferton Inn and the Garryowen Pub. Excellent.
If you have any Gettysburg stories of your own, please feel free to share.