pirategirleee and <user site="livejournal.com" user="melaniesuz

[melaniesuzanne]

pirategirleee and I trekked up to Gettysburg, PA for sight-seeing and ghost hunting Saturday, October 18, 2008.

Seminary Ridge Field across from McMillan woods.

We started our tour listening to the soundtrack for "Rocky Horror Picture Show". I felt that was a bit irreverent to the dead people and snapped off the radio.

	North Carolina Memorial Memorial on Seminary Ridge.
	Cannon in the woods Cannon facing Seminary Ridge.
	11th Mississippi Memorial for the 11th Mississippi near Seminary Ridge.
	11th Mississippi
	McMillan Woods Looking back at the woods.

I found this entire area serene and beautiful. pirategirleee, on the other hand, was unnerved by something in that field.

	West of the Ridge, east of the mountains.
	West of the Ridge I just missed photographing two people on horseback.
	McMillan Woods
	Another cannon Facing Seminary Ridge, cloaked in shadow.
	Virginia Memorial Memorial on Seminary Ridge.
	Virginia to Her Sons at Gettysburg.
	Seminary Ridge The Codori farm (house on left) and Pennsylvania memorial (white dome) are in the distance.
	Louisiana Memorial The Louisiana Memorial stands near Pitzer Woods.
	Louisiana Memorial
	Arkansas Memorial The Arkansas Memorial stands near Warfield Ridge.

As we continued our drive through the park, we drove through a low, wooded area. "It's hard to breathe," I mentioned to PG, "and I feel a pressure on my chest." She assented that she felt the exact same thing in the same area. Spooky.

	Massachusetts Volunteers Monument in a glade near the bottom of Big Round Top.
	Right! Marker for the right flank, perhaps? In glade near bottom of Big Round Top.
	And she was never seen again Last known photo of PirateGirleee. (Just kidding) In glade near bottom of Big Round Top.
	Creepiness begins I could not get a clear shot of this small marker despite the abundance of natural light.
	Creepiness continues When I tried to use a flash to get a clear photo, everything went black. Same thing happened in multiple shots. Then my camera died despite its previously full battery.
	Little Round Top

Obviously, the camera is working again. Weirdness.

	On top of Little Round Top Looking down at the Wheatfield (right) and Devil's Den (left).
	On top of Little Round Top Looking down at the Devil's Den (rocks in top center) and Slaughter Pen (top left).
	*This* is the last known photo PirateGirleee was just scrambling over those rocks on Little Round Top.
	On top of Little Round Top Looking south to the NY Regiment monument.
	The Valley of Death
	General Warren A monument to General Warren depicts his vantage atop Little Round Top.
	General Warren He continues to keep watch over Devil's Den.

I could see Russia from here! No, not really.

New York Regiment Monument "Castle" on Little Round Top.

While surveying the countryside from the top of the monument, PG received a call from her brother. He'd popped "the question" to his girlfriend. I presume the girlfriend said yes because there was much squeeing.

	We're up too high! Me at the top of the castle. The "Slaughter Pen" and Devil's Den are in the background.
	On top of Little Round Top Looking north to the small Pennsylvania monument.
	New York Regiment "Castle" monument on Little Round Top.
	Little Round Top Taken from the base, near Devil's Den.
	Woods near Devil's Den

Amusing story. As we approached Devil's Den, PG says, "Hey look! Confederate reenactors are up in the woods." I couldn't see them. "They're right there," she said while pointing off to the left. I still couldn't see them, but I was busy not running over bicyclists, boy scout leaders, and old people who couldn't hear the electric car sneaking up on them. PG was going to be very put out if the folks she saw in the woods weren't corporeal. We parked the car above Devil's Den and scrambled down over the rocks. "Where are your reenactors?" I asked. She pointed and I saw a couple of guys in grey, carrying the confederate flag leading a bunch of tourists deeper into the woods. "They're real," I assured her, "but it would've sucked if we'd been just a few seconds too late and I'd missed them after they'd gotten into the woods."

Woods and Slaughter Pen I still get queasy looking at that area.

We both felt queasy after reading the placard at the base of Devil's Den. The placard included some photographs taken three days or so after the battle and before the bodies had been removed. Gruesome. Neither of us had any desire to go traipsing about in that field.

Devil's Den crevice

We were both kind of ooged out by this dark crevice, but nothing showed up in the flash.

Shadows Me and PirateGirleee on top of Devil's Den.

We're queens of the mountain!

Aaaand, that's it for my photos. PG got some (hopefully) good snaps of the reenactors we poked just before leaving the park. One really nice guy invited us to give his chair a test-sit. It looked a lot like a Basketman chair but had a curve for lumbar support. Heavenly. We also chatted with him about his gurney/cot setup, the field ambulance he is making from a refurbished Amish buggy, and his shade fly. Really, really nice guy. Hubbyfink thinks we got the red carpet treatment from him because I'd mentioned we're medieval reenactors when we introduced ourselves.

I'd like to go back up sometime and explore the town itself in addition to the parts of the battlefield we missed due to time constraints.

Comments

[greta-k.livejournal.com]

Sister #2 and I chatted up some Yankee reenactors when we were there a few years ago. They were in the part of the park on the other side of the cemetary, along a small drive.

BTW, regarding the field. Yes, it looks serene and beautiful, but pirategirleee is right about the bad juju. Not a happy place. Also, the glade at the base of Little Round Top - not surprised you had trouble with the camera there. I've never seen anything, but that area has always given me the heebe-jeebes.

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

The glade was at the base of (Big) Round Top.

[reasdream.livejournal.com]

Very interesting about the freaky spots. Can I come with next time you two go?

Also - nice pictures!

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

Surely, and thank you!

[shesquint.livejournal.com]

Ooo, I love sightseeing in Gettysburg. I don't necessarily believe in ghosts, but I definitely get ooged out in a lot of places. I find Devil's Den creepy any time after early twilight. Sach's Bridge gets me every time, daylight or no.

[melaniesuzanne.livejournal.com]

Where is Sach's Bridge? We completely missed the entire northern section of the battlefield/park because I took a wrong turn.

[pirategirleee.livejournal.com]

Oh btw, I just found out why that crevas at Devil's Den was so creepy. I was reading a website on Gettysburg History and it said that there was so many confederate soldiers killed that they couldn't bury them all. Some of the soldiers were stuffed down into the crevases of the Devil's Den (because they were decaying already). *shudder*