Gettysburg
On Saturday I took a day trip to Gettysburg, just north of the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. As students of American history know, the small town of Gettysburg was the site of the largest battle ever fought on American soil. It was the climactic battle of the Civil War and 51,000 men were killed or wounded over the three day battle.
Gettysburg is about 1.5 hours by car north of College Park. Along the way, I listened to Car Talk, one of the best shows aired by NPR. It’s a tremendous show. If you’ve never listened to it, give a chance and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I reached Gettysburg around 11:30am, and picked up a map of the battlefield at the visitor’s center. It turns out there is this 18-stop auto tour of the battlefield that pretty much everyone, I noticed later, decided to do. The battlefield is about 2 or 3 miles tall (if you want to include the first day’s skirmishes northwest of the town) and 1.5 miles wide. The Visitor Center is located along the Union Line, north of where General Meade’s headquarters are.
Since the Union and Confederate troops didn’t have cars back in 1863, I decided to walk the battlefield. I was the only one to have made this decision, though I did see some others biking around. I started walking south along the Union line, seeing the place where Pickett’s Charge took place and the ‘High Water Mark of the Confederacy’, the farthest point their soldiers reached against the Union line. Gettysburg has markers every 30 or 50 yards, marking X brigade of Y regiment of Z state and what they did at that spot. Looking out from Cemetary Ridge across the field to Seminary Ridge, where the Confederate line was, was pretty illuminating. The Confederate soldiers had to march across a completely open field for almost a mile before then having to charge an elevated position against the Union line. Crazy.
I continued walking south down the Union line, by Plum Run and the Peach Orchard, the Wheatfield, and made my way down to Devil’s Den. Devil’s Den is this bizarre rock formation in this Pennsylvanian farmland. The Union held it until it was overrun by Confederate troops, who then used it to shoot at the Union position on top Little Round Top.
As I was making my way towards Devil’s Den, I saw for the first time Little Round Top. This area of Gettysburg, indeed behind the whole Union line, is quite forested. Little Round Top has a special significance for me anyway, because that is where the 20th Maine Regiment under the tremendous leadership of Joshua Chamberlain held their ground and the entire Union line against superior Confederate numbers. I wasn’t sure exactly where the stand occurred, but as I approached Little Round Top from the southeast, I saw through the streets a low rock wall. I remembered a scene from the movie Gettysburg so I approached it. Sure enough, I spotted a lonely stone marker with the words ‘20th Maine’ chiseled into it. I had finally reached it.
At the battle of Gettysburg, Little Round Top was not occupied by either side. As the lines of each army began to extend farther south, this was a very strategic point. From Little Round Top one can survey almost the entire battlefield. Although it does not seem very high from the ground, the view from on top makes its stragetic qualities immediately clear. Colonel Vincent rushed to occupy Little Round Top for the Union and minutes later the Confederates were attacking it. Fearing they might sweep to the east and flank the entire Union line to the rear, he assigned the 20th Maine to hold the left most edge of the entire Union line. They had to “hold this line at all hazards.” They could not retreat or surrender. Chamberlain quickly assumed position a short distance down from the top of Little Round Top with a position with a short rocky wall. They repulsed numerous waves of attackers. The Confederates kept moving eastwards, trying to get around the line. Chamberlain would take every third man on his line and keep extending the line at angles. Finally, with ammunition almost run out and no other options left, he gave out the call: “Fix Bayonets!” Moments later, the 20th Maine charged down the hill with their bayonets, catching the Confederate soldiers by surprise and pulling out victory from the jaws of defeat. An incredible story. The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, is an outstanding read and highly recommended.
After leaving Gettysburg at around 3pm, I picked up some food at the grocery store outside Taneytown and headed back home. Cunningham State falls is on the way and I stopped by there to see the park, but Maryland charges people to gain entrance into state parks, so I said ‘no thanks’. I did stop by a brook running near the road for some quiet time in nature.
It was a nice road trip to see a place rooted in American history. I do find it amusing that I was the only Asian I saw there, and only three African Americans were to be seen. Heh. For more pictures, check out my gallery.
