Gettysburg remains one of the most relevant and moving Civil War battlefields in the United States. Because of its considerable acreage of preserved battleground, visitors have the opportunity to imagine the action between the Union’s Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during those hot, dusty days of July 1-3, 1863, in the middle of the American Civil War.
This purposeful preservation proves especially helpful when parents and teachers describe the long campaign’s events in agricultural fields and what was a small Pennsylvania town to kids or newcomers to the Gettysburg National Military Park.
As a national park, visitors can follow a well-marked auto tour, hike or bike through the hilly terrain as they investigate this historic treasure, allowing them to focus on individual elements or to take in the park as a whole. The large new Visitors’ Center welcomes guests while providing services, information, and a gift shop.
The town of Gettysburg also retains some of its bullet-riddled mid-nineteenth century architecture, including must-see sites that are not part of the national park. Many of these historic buildings now house unique museums or shops, including those which cater to younger visitors. Buildings which stood in 1863 often bear small designated plaques which note their Civil War-era status.
Lee’s Headquarters
Sometimes overlooked because of its proximity to the Quality Inn, the small grey stone cottage known as Lee’s Headquarters should not be missed and works well as a starting point for a battlefield tour. Visitors of all ages can tour the museum for a small fee for adults to get a feel for Lee’s quarters and planning facilities in the modest home.
Kids may be surprised at how small a typical house could be or at how much strategic and tactical planning occurred in a tight space. The accompanying giftshop sells Gettysburg items, toys such as wooden guns and Lee’s Headquarters’ only commemorative china.
Jennie Wade House and Museum
Like Lee’s Headquarters, this small house also serves as an important reminder of the Battle of Gettysburg. In this home, twenty year-old Jennie Wade became the only civilian casualty of the battle while baking bread in what was known as the McClellan home. Ironically, Jennie (also known as Ginny) left her own house to seek safety in her sister Georgia McClellan’s house on Baltimore Street.
Smaller children may enjoy seeing the recreated house museum but may choose to skip touring the cold, damp basement in which Jennie’s body lay after her death. This is the spookiest part of the tour and ghosts are sometimes mentioned at this point.
Gettysburg National Military Park
In the Gettysburg National Military Park, visitors will find notable sites such as the contested hill known as Little Round Top and Devil’s Den, a grouping of boulders which was once drenched in blood. Kids may be surprised that these innocuous looking geological spots were areas of intense fighting between soldiers who were often in their teens.
Visiting Gettysburg gives children a chance to marry the distant textbook portrayals of American history with a real place, hopefully allowing them to take in a small measure of the difficult and deadly conditions and concerns of the soldiers. Blood permeates the history of the battle, once more giving meaning to the vast scope of the fighting, and serves as the reason for the state monuments marking regiment locations throughout the battlefield.
Pennsylvania Monument
In this large, triumphant arch bearing notable figures including Abraham Lincoln with an outstretched hand, kids will enjoy climbing through the recently renovated structure with its pressed copper walls and ceilings and narrow winding staircase.
The monument offers two levels of observation decks, including one which encourages visitors to examine the battlefield from an aerial view.
Markers point out other key points and expansive distances between sites for visitors to consider tactical concerns while also seeing the patchwork of fields, farmhouses, and other sights common in 1863. Kids whose agenda includes seeing the Virginia Monument should note that it is one mile away from the Pennsylvania Monument.
The Virginia Monument
This is perhaps one of the most famous of the Gettysburg monuments because the statue of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee astride his horse, Traveler, is often fittingly depicted on Gettysburg memorabilia.
The Battle of Gettysburg proved to be a turning point in the war and a moment of desolation for Lee, which gives parents the opportunity to explain that the war’s outcome was unknowable for the first two years of the conflict.
This monument rises high above Seminary Ridge, looking into the valley which became known for Pickett’s Charge. Visitors are encouraged to walk down a path along the field, ending in a site once thick with fighting and now offering a clear view of the Pennsylvania Monument.
The Irish Brigade Monument
Perhaps no monument can truly impact kids in the same way as the Irish Brigade Monument, whose power is unleashed by the presence of a prostrate dog. The marker commemorates the contributions of the three New York regiments comprised of Irish immigrants living in New York City and of the later addition of a Massachusetts regiment.
The Irish Brigade Monument is a striking Celtic cross with an Irish Wolfhound at its feet, both symbolizing the Irish link while emphasizing the Irish Brigade’s loyalty to the United States.
Battlefield Exploration for Kids
No matter the age, battlefields can be great introductions to American history for most kids. Gettysburg’s prominent, knowledgeable staff, state-of-the-art indoor facilities, activities for kids, and annual re-enactment can help educators and parents lay the groundwork for a visit into the 1863-era battlefield that proves the value of an interactive learning experience.
Bonnye Good - Bonnye Busbice Good received an Editor's Choice award for her article on Your Historic Home's Interior Design Secrets and has also written ...
Join the Conversation