One dash through the Gettysburg battlefield

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is the site of one of the bloodiest battles in American Civil War.  The three-day battle claimed lives of over 53,000 soldiers on both sides.  The Civil War Century rides, which I have participated in the past and described in this blog previously, would lead me through the most southern age of the battlefield.  This time, thanking to a work-related meeting I had to attend in the town, I had the opportunity to explore some parts of the battlefield – on bike.

The 1-hour lunch break, taxed with about 15 minutes of preparation, gave me a very limited window of opportunity, which I gladly took.  The weather was sunny, but cold.  Emmitsburg Road brought me to Peach Orchard and Wheatfield Road.  Turning left into the Wheatfield soon made me pass Sickles Avenue.  Because Wheatfield Road is where the Century ride passes through the part, I did have the opportunity to see the sign for Sickles Avenue.  This time there was no question: this indeed was Sickles Avenue.  The road was apparently named after Daniel Sickles whose blunder, reckless drive for higher ground, almost cost the Union the entire battle.  In short, he singlehandedly moved his troops toward Emmitsburg Road thereby leaving his flanks open to the Confederates to attack.  Only the reserves send the last-minute saved the Union from an almost certain catastrophe.  And, the same Daniel Sickles apparently got the road named after him!!? 

The next stop was the Devil’s Den; a collection of large boulders, positioned at the bottom of the all  important Little Round Top.  Observing this spot from the saddle, made me wonder how exactly the battle could have been played out there.  It was hard for me to grasp that hundreds of soldiers lost their lives at this rather small area.  The next stop, Little Round Top, a relatively small hill, strewn with boulders of various sizes, which proved to be a key to the outcome of the second-day battle and thus the battle overall.  Mr. Chamberlain’s unorthodox approach gave the Union an important moral boost.   Again, bicycling up the hill was relatively easy.  Getting up there and looking down toward the Devil’s Den, made me realize that Little Round Top was not exactly invincible; it could have been taken. 

The time was passing rather quickly and I had to return to the meeting.  Thinking of those days in July 1863, made me almost entirely obsolete of anything on my way back to the hotel.  An important place that continues to shape our lives even today.