Gettysburg Battlefield Road Construction UPDATES (Copy)

*** This press release was updated on June 8. It was originally posted on May 19. *** 

Gettysburg National Military Park Announces Upcoming Road Paving Project

  GETTYSBURG, PA – Beginning on June 12, park roads on the southern portion of the battlefield will be repaved. This four-month project will address road surfaces that are at the end of their lifespan.

We have created a new webpage for this project at Road Construction Projects and Closures - Gettysburg National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).

This project requires road closures that will temporarily interrupt the ability to visit portions of the battlefield while work is ongoing. Park roads may be fully closed or reduced to a single lane of traffic. However, no work will occur during the events of the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg commemoration from July 1 to 3.

Roads to be repaved beginning in 2023 include: (dates may change due to weather or other impacts)

·       Howe Avenue: 6/12-6/16 – Full Closure.

·       Birney Avenue: 6/13-6/16 – Full Closure.

·       North Sickles Avenue: 6/13-6/16 – Full Closure.

·       Sedgwick Avenue: 6/19-6/22 – Full Closure.

·       Humphreys Avenue: 6/20-6/22 – Full Closure.

·       *South Confederate Avenue: 6/26-7-14 – Full Closure, includes pedestrians and bicycles.*

·       *South Confederate Avenue: 7/1-7/4 – Open to pedestrians and bicycles during the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.*

Roads to be repaved later in the summer of 2023 include: (dates will be provided when scheduled)

•      Hancock Avenue.

•      Ayers Avenue.

•      Cross/Brooke/Detrobriand Avenues.

•      South Sickles Avenue, including the Devil’s Den parking lot.

•      Crawford Avenue.

•      Wheatfield Avenue.

•      Berdan Avenue.

•      West Confederate Avenue, including all associated parking areas.

Scheduled paving dates are subject to change. Every effort will be made to complete the work as expeditiously as possible as well as minimize disruptions for park visitors. Full details on the schedule of road work will be made available on the park website and social media platforms as details become available.

Who:  Gettysburg National Military Park. 

What:  Battlefield road construction. 

Where:  Gettysburg National Military Park, roads on the southern portion of the battlefield.  

When:  Mid-June 2023. 

Gettysburg Battlefield Road Construction UPDATES

*** This press release was updated on June 8. It was originally posted on May 19. *** 

Gettysburg National Military Park Announces Upcoming Road Paving Project

  GETTYSBURG, PA – Beginning on June 12, park roads on the southern portion of the battlefield will be repaved. This four-month project will address road surfaces that are at the end of their lifespan.

We have created a new webpage for this project at Road Construction Projects and Closures - Gettysburg National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).

This project requires road closures that will temporarily interrupt the ability to visit portions of the battlefield while work is ongoing. Park roads may be fully closed or reduced to a single lane of traffic. However, no work will occur during the events of the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg commemoration from July 1 to 3.

Roads to be repaved beginning in 2023 include: (dates may change due to weather or other impacts)

·       Howe Avenue: 6/12-6/16 – Full Closure.

·       Birney Avenue: 6/13-6/16 – Full Closure.

·       North Sickles Avenue: 6/13-6/16 – Full Closure.

·       Sedgwick Avenue: 6/19-6/22 – Full Closure.

·       Humphreys Avenue: 6/20-6/22 – Full Closure.

·       *South Confederate Avenue: 6/26-7-14 – Full Closure, includes pedestrians and bicycles.*

·       *South Confederate Avenue: 7/1-7/4 – Open to pedestrians and bicycles during the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.*

Roads to be repaved later in the summer of 2023 include: (dates will be provided when scheduled)

•      Hancock Avenue.

•      Ayers Avenue.

•      Cross/Brooke/Detrobriand Avenues.

•      South Sickles Avenue, including the Devil’s Den parking lot.

•      Crawford Avenue.

•      Wheatfield Avenue.

•      Berdan Avenue.

•      West Confederate Avenue, including all associated parking areas.

Scheduled paving dates are subject to change. Every effort will be made to complete the work as expeditiously as possible as well as minimize disruptions for park visitors. Full details on the schedule of road work will be made available on the park website and social media platforms as details become available.

Who:  Gettysburg National Military Park. 

What:  Battlefield road construction. 

Where:  Gettysburg National Military Park, roads on the southern portion of the battlefield.  

When:  Mid-June 2023. 

Taneytown Road entrance at Gettysburg NMP Museum and Visitor Center reopens

GETTYSBURG, PA – The Taneytown Road entrance into the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center will reopen on June 8.

Initially closed on April 1, the Visitor Center Drive required a full replacement. The original asphalt surface had reached the end of its lifespan and was replaced by concrete. All normal operating services and routes that utilize this road will return to normal on June 8.

In addition, Parking Lot 3, and all walking trails adjacent to the construction area will reopen to the public. Alternate roads around the construction area, Hunt Avenue and Granite School House Lane, will return to two-way traffic after they were temporarily made one-way during the project. 

How Many Died in the Civil War?

From History.com
BY: BOB ZELLER PUBLISHED: JANUARY 6, 2022

The Civil War was the deadliest of all American wars. No one disagrees with that. But how many died has long been a matter of debate.

For more than a century, the most-accepted estimate was about 620,000 dead. A specific figure of 618,222 is often cited, with 360,222 Union deaths and 258,000 Confederate deaths.

This estimate was not an unreasoned guess, but a number that was established after years of research in the late 19th century by Union veterans William F. Fox, Thomas Leonard Livermore and others. Their work involved an exhaustive examination of army documents, muster rolls, cemetery records, census records, pension records and other resources and documents. In 1900, Livermore published a 171-page book of his work, Numbers and Losses in the Civil War in America 1861-1865.

2011 Analysis Raises Estimate

But in 2011, demographic historian Dr. J. David Hacker published “A Census-Based Count of Civil War Dead,” in the scholarly quarterly, Civil War History, reporting that his in-depth study of recently digitized census data concluded that a more accurate estimate of Civil War deaths is about 750,000, with a range from 650.000 to as many as 850,000 dead.

Hacker, an associate professor of history at the University of Minnesota, believed that a fresh, detailed examination of the numbers from the 1850, 1860 and 1870 U.S. census tabulations might reveal a massive reduction for the young male population in 1870 that would reflect the human toll of the war. And that is what he found. Hacker’s research concluded that the normal survival pattern for young American men from 1860 to 1870 was far less—by about 750,000—than it would have been had no war occurred.

Civil War History called Hacker’s findings “among the most consequential pieces” it has ever published. “It even further elevates the significance of the Civil War and makes a dramatic statement about how the war is a central moment in American history,” said Civil War historian Eric Foner.

“The first thing to stress is this is an estimate of the number of men missing in 1870. It is adjusted for possible census undercount and other things,” Hacker tells HISTORY. “It is not an estimate of the number of people who died on the battlefield. And why are these men missing? I think the only reasonable reason they're missing is because of the Civil War.”

Lack of Written Records Present Challenge

SSPL/GETTY IMAGES

A PRINT OF A DEAD SOLDIER AT DEVIL'S DEN ON THE BATTLEFIELD AT GETTYSBURG, BY ALEXANDER GARDENER (1821-1882) FROM A NEGATIVE PRODUCED BY TIMOTHY H O'SULLIVAN (1840-1882). THE DEVIL'S DEN WAS THE SCENE OF BITTER FIGHTING DURING THE SECOND DAY OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.

Many Civil War historians have believed the 620,000 estimate to be too low, especially on the Confederate side, given the lack of written records and the estimate’s questionable assumption that men in the Confederate army died of disease at the same rate as men in the Union army.

“I think that there's been a long, long belief among historians that the numbers that we've been citing for a century or more are not based on solid data but were in fact, crude estimates that were likely to be underreported,” Hacker says. “And for that reason, I think, the results of my study verified in some people's minds exactly what they had long suspected.”

The American Battlefield Trust, however, says it will continue to cite the estimate of 620,000. It praised Hacker’s initiative, but said his estimated range of 650,000 to 850,000 “is very broad, includes civilian casualties, and is not directly linked to the war years of 1861-1865.”

“They say, ‘How can you publish a number with that big of a possible error range (650,000 to 850,000)?’” Hacker says. “So they’re going to stay with a number that we all know is CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY

Gettysburg's Witness Trees - Rooted in History

The following is from CBS News files - July 8, 2018

If July the 4th represents the birth of our country, another event in the same month speaks to something else: a time when our nation was put to the test during the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. Mark Strassmann has the story of some Civil War era-trees standing witness:

Gettysburg … America's Armageddon. In July 1863, two great armies, the Blue and the Gray, collided on these fields for three days. It remains the bloodiest battle in U.S. history. 

And improbably, 155 years later, there are still living witnesses to that moment in time, otherwise gone to dust and glory: The trees.

Across 6,000 acres of Gettysburg National Military Park, rangers have documented at least a dozen "witness trees" that were alive during the battle - living links that help tell the story of the battle.

"For many years after the Battle of Gettysburg, we had the veterans that we could speak with, or we would have the descendants of the veterans that we could speak with," said Supervisory Park Ranger Angie Atkinson. "And so now the closest living connection are these trees."

The Sickles Tree

A Massachusetts bugler sketched a swamp oak growing next to Union General Daniel Sickles' headquarters. Today, this massive landmark is known as the Sickles Tree.

Correspondent Mark Strassmann and Supervisory Park Ranger Angie Atkinson visit the Sickles Tree at Gettysburg National Military Park, which was alive at the time the Battle of Gettysburg was fought.CBS NEWS

"It witnessed a general contemplating a decision, whether or not to move his men forward," said Ranger Atkinson. "And even today, it stands here as a witness to people who are still visiting this battlefield 155 years later."

These Witness Trees remind park visitors, of every age, that the Civil War is hardly ancient history. 

Inside the park's visitors' center, a tree limb on display is… Click here for the full story

Fredericksburg Memorial Day Events

2023 Fredericksburg National Cemetery Luminaria

Photo Credit: Terry Rensel

  The Fredericksburg National Cemetery Luminaria is an annual event featuring over 15,000 lanterns in the cemetery – one for each soldier buried in the cemetery grounds. This event takes place on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend. The luminaria honors soldiers who have died in the service of this country.

  This year, the event will take place on Saturday May 27th, from 8:00-11:00 p.m.

  The cemetery is located at the intersection of Sunken Road and Lafayette Boulevard. Attendees may park at the University of Mary Washington lot at the corner of William Street and Sunken Road. The Fredericksburg Trolley will provide free shuttle service between the parking area and the national cemetery. Accessible parking for vehicles with state-issued accessible hangtags or license plates will be available in the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center lot at 1013 Lafayette Boulevard.

  During the luminaria, 15,300 candles brighten the Fredericksburg National Cemetery. Each candle represents a soldier buried in the cemetery and honors those who died in the service of this country. Throughout the evening a bugler will play “Taps” every 30 minutes as park staff posted throughout the cemetery relate stories about some of the soldiers.

The Fredericksburg National Cemetery was established in 1866 and remained open for military burials until 1945. It holds the remains of 15,243 soldiers, sailors and Marines, most of whom died during the Civil War. At least 85% of the graves are unidentified, resulting in over 12,770 unknowns. The annual luminaria has served as a poignant tribute to the fallen since 1996. Learn more about the Fredericksburg National Cemetery.

This event would not be possible without the assistance of local Scouts, who volunteer to set up and light the luminarias.
In the event of rain, the luminaria will be moved to Sunday, May 28.

Please note that pets are not permitted in the cemetery.

 Ladies Memorial Association Memorial Day Observance

  The Ladies Memorial Association will hold its 157th Memorial Day Observance at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 29th at the Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery on Washington Street. Erik Nelson will be their speaker.

  Fredericksburg National Cemetery Memorial Day Observance

  The National Park Service will host its annual Memorial Day Commemoration at the Fredericksburg National Cemetery. on Monday, May 29th starting at 12 noon in the cemetery and is free to the public.  

  The commemoration will include a keynote speech and will conclude with a bugler performance of “Taps.”

  The keynote speaker this year is Lewis Rogers, Superintendent of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Rogers is a 39-year veteran of the National Park Service.

  In the case of inclement weather, the event will be cancelled.

Historic Gettysburg Offers McAllister Mill Tours, and Replaces Civil War Hospital Signs

May 11, 2023 by Community Contributors
From The Gettysburg Connection

Historic Gettysburg Adams County volunteers have begun conducting weekly Underground Railroad tours at McAllister’s Mill, located adjacent to the National Military Park. HGAC encourages everyone to discover a part of the battlefield unknown to most visitors. Tours leave from the south end of the old Mulligan MacDuffer’s Golf Course parking lot at 1360 Baltimore Pike every Saturday at 11 a.m. through August.
The site, now a ruin with foundations and waterways still intact, was most probably the first site in Adams County that people seeking freedom found on their flight north from slavery. The mill site is privately owned and is not open to the public. HGAC has the permission of the site’s owner to access the property.
McAllister’s Mill was designated as part of the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program in 2011 and was the first property to receive that designation in Adams County.
The mill was built in the late 18th century. The owner of the mill in the 1850s, James McAllister Jr., operated the mill as a safe house in support of the Underground Railroad and sheltered more than 200 runaways from nearby Maryland, which was a slave state.
For more information, please call 717- 659-8827. Suggested donations are $5 for students and $10 for adults. Contributions support the society’s preservation activities, including maintenance of the society’s historic headquarters in the G.A.R. Hall, 53 East Middle Street, Gettysburg.

Gettysburg Area High School Technology Education program students display the Civil War Hospital signs they created. Back row, left to right: Stan Licharowicz, Technology Education Teacher, Eli Cann, Wes Coolbaugh and Dalton Redden. Front row, left to right: Johah Fleck and Zach Sentz.

Over the past year, Historic Gettysburg-Adams County (HGAC) has undertaken the mission to replace the old, metal Civil War hospital signs scattered across the Gettysburg area — with the help of students in the Technology Education program at Gettysburg Area High School.
Under the purview of HGAC’s Preservation Committee and in coordination with HGAC’s Investing in Youth Initiative, a total of 14 replacement signs have been fabricated. Eight have already been installed. The other six signs have recently been delivered to HGAC for installation.
These signs are produced by students in the Technology Education program at Gettysburg Area High School under the guidance of their instructor, Stan Licharowicz. The students use the latest computer-aided design and laser manufacturing technologies to produce these weather-resistant, long-lasting signs. The signs are then installed by HGAC volunteers.
This partnership with the Technology Education program grows out of the Investing in Youth Initiative’s goal to foster interest among the younger generation in historic preservation and restoration — and to build a base of appreciation for our area’s history.
HGAC thanks these students for the obvious care and attention they have given these signs.

Rangers Will Lead Guided Walks of Civil War Trenches At Cedar Creek And Belle Grove

Belle Grove Plantation

By Compiled From N... - May 20th, 2023

from National Parks Traveler

Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park in Virginia will offer ranger-guided walks of Civil War army trenches on Sunday mornings, May 21, June 4, September 17, and October 1. The walks begin at 10 a.m. and last about an hour.

In the days before the Battle of Cedar Creek, the US 19th Corps dug a series of trenches and earthworks to fortify the Federal position just south of Middletown, Virginia. The trenches started from the Valley Pike (US Route 11) and extended about a mile north. A Confederate surprise attack overran the 19th Corps’ trenches in the early morning of October 19, 1864.

A park ranger will lead a walk on woodland trails along Civil War trenches preserved by the Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation. The walks cover about one half-mile on even ground. Meet at the entrance to the 19th Corps Trails at the 128th New York Monument, on US Route 11, 2.4 miles south of the NPS Visitor Center in Middletown, Virginia. Rangers recommend bringing water, wearing suitable walking shoes, and applying insect repellent before the walk.

The 19th Corps Trails now extend to connect the 128th New York Monument with Belle Grove Plantation. This spring, Belle Grove Plantation opened a walking trail that connects to existing trails on Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation’s property, for a total of 1.8 miles. Trail hikers may enter either at Belle Grove or the 128th New York Monument.

Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park is a partnership between the National Park Service and five non-federal organizations. The partnership protects, preserves, and interprets nationally significant properties inside the park’s legislated boundaries.

• Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park

Civil War Weekends at Adams County Museum

The Department of History at Oklahoma State University, in collaboration with the Adams County Historical Society (ACHS), is excited to host Civil War Weekends at the Museum. Proceeds from the events will be used to support ACHS programming and student-driven Civil War initiatives at Oklahoma State University.

The first weekend of talks is scheduled for this Saturday, May 20th, and Sunday, May 21st, and the second weekend is scheduled for Saturday, July 22nd, and Sunday, July 23rd. Each weekend's talks will take place at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. with a break for participants to eat lunch (on your own).

Saturday, May 20th:

10:30 a.m. - "The Great Reunion of 1913" with John S. Heiser, Gettysburg National Military Park, retired

2:30 p.m. - "Gettysburg's Rebel Commissioner: The Life and Legacy of William Robbins" with Christopher Gwinn, Gettysburg National Military Park

Sunday, May 21st:

10:30 a.m. - "'Such Then is the Decision:'" General Meade and the Battle of Gettysburg with Dr. Jennifer Murray, Oklahoma State University

2:30 p.m. - "John Futch: A Soldier's Experience During the Gettysburg Campaign" with Dr. Peter S. Carmichael, Gettysburg College

Tickets are available for single days or the full weekend.

*Participants of this program will also receive complimentary admission to Gettysburg Beyond the Battle Museum.

Purchase Tickets for May

Road Paving in Gettysburg NMP Begins in May

GETTYSBURG, PA – Beginning Monday May 22, park roads on the southern portion of the battlefield will be repaved. This four-month project will address road surfaces that are at the end of their lifespan.

This project requires road closures that will temporarily interrupt the ability to visit portions of the battlefield while work is ongoing. Park roads may be fully closed or reduced to a single lane of traffic. However, no work will occur during the events of the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg commemoration from July 1 to 3, weekends, or federal holidays.

Roads to be repaved in May and June 2023 include:(dates may change due to weather or other impacts)

• Howe Avenue: May 22 to 26 – Full Closure.

• Birney Avenue: May 23 to 26 – Full Closure.

• North Sickles Avenue: May 23 to 26 – Full Closure.

• Sedgwick Avenue: May 30 to June 2 – Full Closure.

• Humphreys Avenue: May 31 to June 2 – Full Closure.

• Hancock Avenue (from Cyclorama Drive to Pleasonton Avenue): June 5 to 14 – Full Closure.

• Hancock Avenue (from Pleasonton Avenue to United States Avenue): June 5 to 14 – One Lane, Controlled Access.

• United States Avenue: June 19 to 27 – One Lane, Controlled Access.

See attached map for more details.

Roads to be repaved in July, August, and September 2023 include: (dates will be provided when scheduled)

• South Confederate Avenue.

• Ayers Avenue.

• Cross/Brooke/Detrobriand Avenues.

• South Sickles Avenue, including the Devil’s Den parking lot.

• Crawford Avenue.

• Wheatfield Avenue.

• Berdan Avenue.

• West Confederate Avenue, including all associated parking areas.

Scheduled paving dates are subject to change. Every effort will be made to complete the work as expeditiously as possible as well as minimize disruptions for park visitors. Full details on the schedule of road work will be made available on the park website and social media platforms as details become available.
 

www.nps.gov