If you have read any other part of my blog, you would know that I am trying to visit a National Park Service property in every state. I take road trips, and plan my itinerary based on which NPS properties are on the way. I had been on a solo road trip of the eastern states, and was going to go through Pennsylvania. I figured you can't go here without a visit to Gettysburg National Military Park.

This one was tough. The Gettysburg National Museum is huge, and it is placed on the battlefield, which really encompasses the entire town. Since it was raining, I decided not to walk around the battlefield, rather, I paid to see the movie, and the Cyclorama. The movie took you through the battle of Gettysburg, what led up to it, where the Union and Confederate armies were lined up, and then the battle, which lasted for days, leaving over 20000 casualties. The movie also talked about how the community was scarred from trying to bury the over 3000 that were killed, and covered Lincoln's Gettysburg address.

The Cyclorama was something I had never heard of before. It is a HUGE painting, done in 1883, depicting the battle. It is done in the round, so it is on the walls of a huge room, where you stand in the middle, and the program talks through the battle, lighting up various parts of the painting as it goes on. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Cyclorama

This was a LOT of war for me. Very interesting, and very much part of our nations' history, but not a particularly happy time. The museum is outstanding.

#Pennsylvania