Gettysburg Visit
While in Philly last weekend, I took a side trip to Gettysburg. This was primarily to tour the town's College with my daughter and they have a very impressive campus. It was also to visit the battlefield once again.
I've been to Gettysburg many times over the years given my long-standing interest in the Civil War and can always look past the somewhat schlocky aspect of the tourist trade in the town there to appreciate the significance and reflective nature of the National Military Park. The landscape in that part of southeastern Pennsylvania is also quite beautiful with lots of farmland and tree covered rolling hills. Since my last visit over six years ago, the Pennsylvania Memorial has been reopened after its lengthy refurbishment and there is a fine new Visitor's Center. The Pennsylvania Memorial is a touchstone for me because it contains plaques for all state regiments that were present at the battle and includes the names of the soldiers enlisted in each regiment. The 61st Pennsylvania Infantry, which was the regiment of my great grandfather William J Nimon, was present there and so it is always fun to see his name. I've actually developed a strong historical interest in the regiment itself and have maintained a website devoted to its saga for over a decade (http://www.61PVI.org). I have included pictures below of the Memorial, the plaque for the 61st and William Nimon's name on it. Of course, there is much more to see in the park as battle lines and momentum constantly shifted over the three days between the two armies and many famous moments of heroism occurred. I've always enjoyed visiting the cemetery area too where Lincoln gave his great Address. By chance, the 61st regiment was deployed to the extreme right flank of the Union lines and while their position is part of the parkland, it is somewhat inaccessible and is commonly known as the "Lost Avenue". I was able to get to their monument once and hope to do that again on a future visit. The local newspaper had an interesting article about touring that site earlier this year (http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/?p=3063).
