Gettysburg-Antietam -Other Civil War Battlefields-Civil War Dated Coins

mrearlygold

Has anyone toured any of these battlefields? I visited one near Vicksburg. There's a little church there where the Southerners dug out areas to sit and wait, right behind the gravemarkers. When the yankees came riding in at night I was told , the Rebels jumped out from behind the markers. Gave em a little surprise

In any event, I've never traveled to them for the purpose of touring them but would like to and am wondering who else has done so.

To keep this a numismatic tour, along the lines of the Civil War, here's a memento:

speety

5 years ago we toured gettysburg and Antietam on the way back from Washington DC for our 8th grade trip. They were pretty neat and many of the houses had bullet and mortor 'wounds' in them, some still had unexploded morter rounds in them that have been there since the battle. Also, they have placed canons near certain strategic bunkers and lines that the armies held during the fight, pretty neat!

BillJones

I've been to both Gettysburg and Antietam.

Gettysburg has been made into a big deal with tons of monuments. There are so many monuments that it kind of messes up the view. Now there is a moratorium on building more of them. There is also cyclorama there that is neat although the one in Atlanta, Georgia for the battle of Atlanta is better presented IMO.

Antietam is much quieter with fewer tourists. It has a few monuments, but the three major sites of the battle, including Burnside’s Bridge, which in the reverse of the half dollar, are all in great shape. The other two sites are the Dunker church (which as been re-built from the original materials after it was blown down in a windstorm) and the sumken road. The rangers at Antietam joked about the size of their displays compared to Gettysburg, but it really is well worthwhile.

I have pictures, but I’d have to do some digging to find them. BTW the image of Burnside’s Bridge on the half dollar is a mirror image of the real site. The old tree, which is the last living thing that was around during the battle, is actually on the other side.

Overall Gettysburg, as the turning point of the war, is historically more important, and more men fought and died there over a three day period. Still Antietam is just as interesting IMO.

duck620

i've been to gettsburg twice & vicksburg.i live just down the road from stones river battle grounds here in tennessee. the battleground has a ghost walk coming up in oct,it's very interesting.

FilthyBroke

I've been to Gettysburg several times as a kid, but I don't recall much of it. There is a lot of history in the area, I lived in central PA until I was 15.

CoinsAreNeat

I live 10 minutes away from Gettysburg, so I've been there

Trebor

We are headed to Gettysburg this weekend; a sort of last hurrah before our daughter moves to the Ohio State University campus.

Also visiting Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob.

Are there any Wright commemorative Halfs or Dollars?

RedTiger

I've been Gettysburg, Antietam and Appomattox. At Gettysburg, I definitely felt the presence of spirits. Antietam was not as interesting as Gettysburg because it is so spread out, and the battle moved. The history of Gettysburg is better known to most history fans and a person can retrace the steps of certain units, or find where they fought.

Appomattox is where Lee surrendered, and has its own significance. Quite a few historians point to the generous terms surrender as a key reason why the South didn't resort to wide spread guerrilla warfare.

If a person likes history, there is a lot to take in at any of these old battlefields.

tjkillian

I participated in the 145th Gettysburg Reenactment this year with about 50,000 other reenactors. We have toured extensively the battlefield there and recreated the battle on a farm just two miles north of the center of town.

I've been to most of the major battlefields of the war, including Sharpsburg, Vicksburg, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Front Royal, Chickamonga, et cetera.

I have yet to get a single commemerative from the war, although I would love to get one.

I do collect 1861-O half dollars by die marriage and hence by coining authority. Most 1861-O half dollars were either minting under the authority of the independent state of Louisiana or under the authority of the Confederacy.

Last month I FINALLY found an 1861-O half dollar struck under the authority of the United States of America.

percyb

I was at Gettysburg twice. I'll have to pull out old photos to refreshen my memory. I have a photo hanging on my wall of an artillery piece/canon with the graveyard behind it. Quite eerie. It's a great shot that I had to have framed, a shot that underscored the carnage that took place there.

mrearlygold

Are tours still available in Gettysburg at the end of October ?

Great info here. Red Tiger, you felt the presence of spirits there? My Wife nodded her head when I read that to her. When I mentioned once upon a time " imagine a coin dealer who does Civil War coins living in a house in Gettysburg " to which I was interupted with " I would not like that because of the ghosts"!

BillJones

<< <i>Are tours still available in Gettysburg at the end of October ? >>



There are licensed guides at Gettysburg who for a fee with drive your car so that you can look around and provide a running dialog. The one my wife and I had was very knowledgeable and could answer more questions about the Civil War beyond Gettysburg. You can sign up for one at the National Park Service visitors’ center. I forget how much it cost, but it’s better than the “cattle car” bus tour I took when I was kid and saw the batter field for the first time.

Blackborder

Shiloh is the best CW battlefield to visit. It's one of the best preserved battlefields in the world.

mommam17

Hi. If anyone goes to Gettysburg, go to where the 20th Maine took their stand as the left flank of the Union army. It is on the lower part of Little Round Top. They could not retreat even when they were almost out of ammunition. They fixed bayonets and charged down the hill taking many prisoners. Very key to the battle!

BillJones

<< <i>Shiloh is the best CW battlefield to visit. It's one of the best preserved battlefields in the world. >>



I was fairly impressed with Cold Harbor with the original mounds and pits the soldiers dug for defense are still quite evident. Sorry to say I've never been to Shiloh.

TheRegulator

I visited Gettysburg during a road trip with my family when I was 8 years old. Unfortunately, I was not very interested in history at the time. I remember that it was a warm June day; I remember the electric map and all the minie balls in the museum; and I remember stuffing my half eaten sandwich down the knothole of a tree as we ate our packed lunch near the parking lot.

Just finished reading The Last Full Measure: The Life and Death of the First Minnesota Volunteers by Richard Moe and would recommend it to everyone. Or do a quick internet search on the First Minnesota to read about their heroics.

Hopefully, I will visit Gettysburg again.

mrearlygold

Anyone have any pictures ?

NHSBaseball

Great thread.

The school where I teach is on the Pride-Port Hudson Road. Port Hudson actually held out longer than Vicksburg on the lower Mississippi River against the Union and was a constant thorn in the side of Yankee troops in Baton Rouge until July of 1863. About 7,000 Confederate soldiers held out in entrenched emplacements against a Union force of more than 30,000. Repeated and costly attacks by Gen. Nathaniel Banks failed to dislodge the Confederate defenders. When the Confederates surrendered after hearing of Vicksburg's fall to U.S. Grant, the Union effectively gained control of the Lower Mississippi and split the Confederacy in half, depriving the Confederate army of food sources of Texas cattle and Louisiana crops.

There is a very nice and very under-appreciated state park at Port Hudson that I would highly recommend to anyone interested in the Civil War.