The first part of our continued adventure, Sue entertained Sallie by going to some famous Pennsylvania Civil War battlefields: Harper’s Ferry, Antietam and Gettysburg. We had a nice day exploring Harper’s Ferry Town, the old buildings and a nice lunch along the river. We then traveled to the tragic battlefield of Antietam, the bloodiest single day battle in American history with a combined total of 22,717 dead, wounded or missing. The grounds were lovely and scenic… very sad so many men lost their lives there. There is a tree that still stands at the bridge, that was just growing during the war. It’s called the “witness tree”. Antietam was the first place where photographers began documenting the war. Lastly, we went to the famous yet also tragic battlefield of Gettysburg. The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war’s turning point. The names of some of the fighting places are famous: Little Round Top, the Wheatfields, Devil’s Den, Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill. Approximately 50,000 men were casualties in this three-day battle. There are still remnants of canons positioned the way they were during the campaign. We went on an audio tour of the different battle sites (thanks to Jackie & Dave Albright), saw the loving memorials of the states that participated and the corps that lost lives, and a beautiful emotionally moving Cyclorama painting by Paul Philippoteaux, depicting Pickett’s Charge. We finished the battlefield tours at the Gettysburg National Cemetery where Lincoln gave his famous address: “Four score and seven years ago…” The National Civil War Museum tied all the history of the war that eventually united the states.
We then lightened up the trip with a visit to Hershey, PA. The land of CHOCOLATE. We went to the museum and learned the history of how Milton Hershey began his legacy and then got to taste 6 different liquid chocolates from around the world. We spent too much time in the huge Hershey Store and $35 later…….
Sallie discovered the best tasting Turkey Hill diet sweetened Blackberry Tea and bought every store out as we finally happened upon their factory store. They make pretty good ice cream too!
We ended this part of the trip in Lancaster (Amish) country. We got to see a lot of different ways the families travel, scooters that look like bikes, skateboards, razors, walking, roller blades, and the famous horse and carriages. We enjoyed some awesome homemade jellies, pretzels, cheeses and sausages.
On to Upstate New York…