Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is the significance of Gettysburg?

 

Gettysburg is the site of the most significant battle ever fought on American soil.  For three days in July in 1863, 165,000 men fought there and 51,000 of them became casualties in defense of their beliefs. 

 

Four months later, Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery there.  In just a few minutes and a few hundred words, he described his vision for a reunited nation -- a “new birth of freedom.” It was what many consider the best summation in our nation’s history of the meaning and price of freedom. 

 

In the years following the war, Gettysburg became a symbol for reconciliation, as soldiers from the Union and the Confederacy returned to the battlefield to shake hands across the stone walls. Seventy-five years later, in 1938, surviving veterans of the war -- several thousand in number with an average age of 93 -- returned to Gettysburg as President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the Peace Memorial there.

 

Today, Gettysburg is truly “Our Country’s Common Ground,” with nearly two million visitors from all 50 states and from nations around the world visiting each year.  For most, it is the only Civil War battlefield they will ever visit.  For many, when they arrive, they know little more than the fact it was a battlefield.

 

How has the Gettysburg experience changed?

 

Opening in April 2008, a new Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park serves as the ideal gateway to the Battlefield. With the new center, one of the world’s largest and most important Civil War collections is brought to life, with:

 

  • 12 galleries on the Civil War, its causes and consequences. Appropriately, the themes of the museum’s 11 permanent galleries are based on phrases within Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

  • Original films throughout the galleries.

  • Voices theaters, featuring readings of letters, diaries and newspaper articles by commanders, common soldiers, civilians and correspondents.

  • Hands-on and interactive exhibits: high-tech experiences that put America’s turning point into perspective.

  • A new Refreshment Saloon, with samplings of foods reflective of the era. (Box lunches available.)

  • A new 22-minute feature film, A New Birth of Freedom, which will immerse viewers in the sights and sounds of the events leading up to the battle, the battle itself and its aftermath.

  • A world-class museum bookstore.

  • Dedicated accommodations for groups, including a separate entrance, bus parking area and bus drivers’ lounge.

 

And beginning September 26, 2008, the newly conserved Gettysburg

Cyclorama painting will become a “must see” part of this new experience. 

 

The new Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park is located behind the battle lines, about two-thirds of a mile from the original visitor center.  The new facilities have been designed to blend into the rural Pennsylvania countryside, but are sited so as not to be visible from major interpretive points on the battlefield. 

 

Why does Gettysburg need a new museum and visitor center?

 

First, the previous visitor facilities could not meet the needs of modern visitors, including major inadequacies for visitors with disabilities.  Nearly two million people visit the park each year; the facilities could accommodate just 400,000, and the parking lots fewer than that.  No amount of interior renovation could resolve that problem, nor could it provide adequate storage space and conditions for the park's collection of archives and artifacts, including the Gettysburg Cyclorama painting.

 

When the park service purchased the building on Taneytown Road that served as the Visitor Center for 36 years, it said it would be removed and replaced with a more adequate museum within seven years.  And the facilities that until recently housed the park's collection of artifacts and archives lacked temperature and humidity control, dust protection, and adequate fire and intrusion protection. The new Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center provides a controlled environment, helping to ensure the future of these priceless pieces of history.

 

And second, the Visitor Center on Taneytown Road sits on hallowed ground.  We have covered with brick, concrete and asphalt some of our nation's most significant and fabled battlefields. Renovations and the expansion of the previous facilities were not an option; we had to rehabilitate this land. The ground where the union repulsed Pickett's charge, the blood-soaked terrain of Cemetery Ridge, the greenery of Ziegler’s Grove – are today occupied by buildings and parking lots.  Buses and cars competed to park on land where nearly 1,000 soldiers became casualties, fighting for their beliefs. Because of these intrusions, visitors struggle to picture Gettysburg as it existed in 1863.  In contrast, no major battle action occurred on the site of the new Museum and Visitor Center.

 

What is the Gettysburg Cyclorama painting?

The Gettysburg Cyclorama painting was state-of-the-art entertainment in the 19th century. This colossal oil painting in-the-round depicts the charge of the Confederate infantry led by General George Pickett. When it was first displayed in the 1880s, it was said to be so moving that battle veterans wept. Opening again on September 26, 2008, the experience will include returning the painting to its full size, bringing back its original hyperbolic shape, and creating both a new canopy for viewers and the three-dimensional objects in the foreground that have been missing for more than 40 years

 

What else is there to see in Gettysburg?

 

The Gettysburg Battlefield is nearly 6,000 acres of inspiration, with close to 1,400 monuments and markers dotting the landscape. Licensed Battlefield Guides are available to walk you through the Battlefield and add perspective to your visit.  (Set aside some contemplative time to walk the battlefield and study the fields, ridges, monuments and memorials

 

The Soldiers’ National Cemetery is another must-see. On this site, in November of 1863, Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address. Today, it is the final resting place for American veterans from this country’s major war and conflicts from the Civil War through Vietnam.

The Eisenhower National Historic Site is the ideal place to step back in time, as you tour the home of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife Mamie. This was the only home the couple owned, and it was right near the Battlefield.

 

For assistance in planning your itinerary, click here. 

 

A number of walking tours and historic home tours are also available throughout the area surrounding Gettysburg. To find out more about these and other events in greater Gettysburg, visit www.gettysburg.travel.

 

What is the Campaign to Preserve Gettysburg?

 

The changes at Gettysburg are made possible through the public-private partnership between the National Park Service and the Gettysburg Foundation. By raising the necessary funds to help restore and preserve this national treasure for future generations, the partnership has worked to:

  • Provide the American people with a state-of-the-art Museum and Visitor Center.

  • Ensure high quality interpretation and educational opportunities.

  • Conserve and fully protect the Gettysburg Cyclorama painting.

  • Protect and provide for proper display of the park’s collection of 300,000 civil war artifacts and 700,000 archival items – one of the largest and most significant Civil War era collections in the world.

  • Rehabilitate significant portions of the battlefield, including removal of outdated and poorly sited visitor facilities and parking lots from the Union battle line on Cemetery Ridge, where nearly 1,000 Union soldiers were killed, wounded or captured on July 3, 1863.

  • Acquire development easements on, or buy properties, to protect more than 1100 acres of privately owned battlefield lands inside the park’s congressionally authorized boundary to preserve historic resources and give visitors a better sense of what Gettysburg was like 140 years ago.

  • Create a permanent endowment to support ongoing annual building maintenance and preservation of the park's collection.

How can I get involved in supporting Gettysburg?

 

There are a number of ways you can become involved: You can join the Friends of Gettysburg, a group of nearly 25,000 individuals dedicated to the preservation of Gettysburg. You can join our 1863 Society, or become a member of The Gettysburg Society. You can make a donation of any amount -- every dollar is appreciated. And you can also volunteer your time to help at Gettysburg. To talk about which method of involvement is right for you, contact our development office at 866-889-1243.