Our first stop was for lunch at the Old Spring Tavern in the town of Gettysburg. It was in the basement of an 18th century home. It was lit by candlelight and our servers were dressed in period clothing. We ate food that would have been served in the 1700's. Minus the ale, of course!
Next stop was the US Military Park, Gettysburg museum. There we watched a great film and viewed the newly restored cyclorama. It was a great way to orient us to the what happened in those three terrible days. 
The battle was fought over the first three days of July 1863. It was the second time the Confederate forces invaded the North. It is often called the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy" because things started to go downhill for the South after this loss. It was at a time when the fate of the nation still hung in the balance. The loss of life here was staggering.
There were more than 50,000 casualties. Close to 9,000 were killed, 10,000 missing, and the rest injured. This little town didn't know what hit them.
There were several observation towers. We had to climb them of course. 
This was a rock wall the armies built for protection. There were walls like this all over the place.
A little bit of silliness. 
This is Dwight Eisenhower's retirement home. He was delighted to live on this great Civil War battlefield. 
This is the National Cemetery in Gettysburg. The kids are near the spot that Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous address. I'll refrain from quoting it, but it is powerful. It is rare that so much is said with so few words. We spent about 5 hours here and barely touched the surface.
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