Our visit to Gettysburg was educational, moving, hot and too short. We wanted to see the battlefield but didn’t want to be tied to a tour bus schedule. So, we opted for a recorded audio tour. The local tourism bureau has cleverly marked a specific route with signs directing drivers where to turn and where to stop for the “audio tour” (although our tour added some unmarked points of interest). There are at least four different versions available depending on the time you have available. We opted for a 3 CD package and were not disappointed. We decided to take the long version of the tour with an average completion time of 2 1/2 hours. It actually took us 4 1/2 hours and we kept up a pretty good pace. The roads, obviously constructed for the tourism trade, are mostly one-way so drivers can park almost anywhere and anytime they like.
Neither of us are really Civil War buffs (unlike our niece Caitlin!), but listening to the recount of a battle while you are sitting in the exact spot it took place is very moving. As the narrator on the CD described the scene before us and pointed out the tree lines where the enemy troops were emerging we could hear the shouts of soldiers around us, the battle cry of the advancing enemy troops and the ever increasing sound of gunfire and cannons. It made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. We were entertained by a number of interesting stories while we moved from point to point. Stories like the General who hid in a pigsty for 3 days. The young man from Pennsylvania who had gone to Virginia and joined the confederacy and now found himself fighting against his own brother on his own family’s farm. If you are ever fortunate enough to visit Gettysburg the audio tour is a must. Get the 3-CD pack.
From a military tactics stand point there are many historians who enjoy discussing the “what ifs of the battle. The main battle of Gettysburg came when General Lee of the confederate Army attacked the Union forces who were dug in on Cemetary Hill. He suffered 28,000 casualties – a third of his entire Army. Union losses were 23,000. What if he had not done this? Some analysts think that the entire outcome of the war may have been different, with the confederate army capturing Washington and winning. Gives pause for thought how things in our country may have developed if this battle had gone the other way. You can Read More Here
INGRESS
Since we are mostly seeking unique and AP the tour of the Gettysburg battlefield was made to order. The route has monuments and memorials lining the route and nearly all of them were portals, and most were low-level blue when we got there. You can see from the IITC captures below what we had. We ended up with a total of nearly 500k AP and 400 uniques – all of which we split. But we still have about 8 million AP left to level 16!
