Today is the 144th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. That means that the Town of Gettysburg is jam packed with tourists. It means that there are far too many people, too many cars, and too many motorcycles in town for the anniversary commemoration of the battle. Personally, I can’t imagine being there during this chaos. I’ve been there on the anniversary of the battle twice, and that was more than enough for me. I can’t imagine anyone WANTING to be there now–you can’t find a parking space, a table in a restaurant, or a quiet place to reflect on the meaning of the day. Consequently, I swore I would never be there on the anniversary of the battle again if I could help it, and I’m sitting here in my family room in Columbus as I write this. I’ll live the crowds and chaos to the others, including J. D., who enjoy being there at this time of year. Have fun, guys.
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Eric,
🙂 Am one of the sickos as well, and while not there on the actual anniversary of the Battle, I will be there with J.D., JR, and Mike on the field next weekend.
Steve
Eric:
Couldn’t agree with you more. I avoid Gettysburg not only on the first three days of July, but the entire month as well, along with August. Too much “buzz” for me, especially the motorcycles. Actually my favorite times to visit are October through April. Gettysburg is awesome in the snow, though it can be a tad on the cold side.
Randy
I’m still waiting on my invitation to Columbus.
Being incredibly fortunate, I not only get these three days – but I get three more next weekend with the reenactment next door to our home. yippee!!
Not.
Phil
Senator Trostle,
Come on out. You’re more than welcome here. So long as you can tolerate three incredibly silly golden retrievers, you’re welcome to escape to the Flatlands of Ohio.
Eric
Randy,
Smart boy.
I do have a motorcycle, though. Rode it to work today, as a matter of fact. But, it doesn’t have loud pipes.
Eric
LOL, who ever said I WANT to be there? 🙂
Luckily, most of my driving over the weekend is just along Herr/McPherson Ridge. I stay completely away from town whenever possible!
And it definitely helps to know all the back roads…
J.D.
What a difference a few years makes! Back in the late 1980’s, my wife and I by chance stopped in Gettysburg on July 2nd and had a quiet picnic lunch at the Peach Orchard. No crowds at all. Of course, that was before Ken Burns and THE MOVIE made their impact on things.
JFE
Eric:
Kudos to you for your quiet pipes. My beef with the bikes at Gettysburg is that they tend to travel in large packs and that many/most of the riders in those packs seem to delight in making things as loud as they possibly can. Sitting on the front patio at O’Rourkes last week I thought my glass of Guinness was going to explode from the shock waves. I’ve got to admit though that touring Gettysburg on a bike, or in a rag top for that matter looks like loads of fun.
Randy
On a recent David Ward tour led by Mr. Ed Bearss, I asked Ed if he had anything to add to the story of the Sharps carbine used by Lt. Jones to fire the “first shot.”
Mr Bearss told me that in 1886 when Jones and Levi Shaffer decicated the first shot marker, Shaffer told Jones that he(Shaffer) still had the carbine.
Fast forward to 1939 and the possession of the carbine by Shaffer’s grand-niece or great-grand-niece. According to Ed, the grand-niece lent the carbine to two men who asked to use it as a prop or in a parade.
The carbine was never returned to the niece and is lost to history. I just received an e-mail from GNMP Historian
John Hieser. He states only that the gun has never turned up in any collection or museum.
I’m doing a talk for my Round Table group and would like any info you might add.
Thank you so much for your time.
Jerry Babineau, Stockton, CA