Summer is in Full Swing!

Greetings from Gettysburg! We have finally gotten past a cold,wet spring and are reveling in some beautiful summer-like weather here on the Battlefield. It's been tough on local farmers, the ground has been too wet to harvest their wheat and rye, and as such summer corn has not yet been planted. So don't be looking for "Knee-high by July" cornstalks when you come to visit!

But with the recent dry spell things are finally getting back to a more normal schedule. The honeysuckle which grows everywhere on the field is in full bloom and smells heavenly to boot.

FIRST DAY BATTLEFIELD WORK!

As part of the continued Battlefield restoration, the Friends of Gettysburg has installed new snake rail fencing on the July 1^st Battlefield.

Fencing has been erected along the Railroad Cut, Reynolds Avenue, Buford Avenue, and Wadsworth Avenue. We are excited to see the First Day getting some attention.

Rufus Dawes would be happy to see these fences represented here! Below is a picture taken from the railroad cut looking south towards Chambersburg Pike. This is the field where the 6^th Wisconsin charged the Mississippians in the railroad cut. Many of these fences would have been here in 1863, and became significant obstacles for the troops:

To the right is view west from the bridge over Reynolds Avenue with the 14^th Brooklyn monument in the foreground. Hall’s Battery had a disabled gun stuck in a fence opening in this field as the Confederates bore down on them from the West.

With all the volunteers' hard work, you can now see (at left, looking north from the railroad cut), the three rows of fencing between the cut and Wadsworth Avenue, all three of which the troops would have had to contend with during the brutal fighting of July 1st.

SUMMER RANGER PROGRAMS HAVE STARTED!

The Park's excellent series of 7 days/week programming is also well underway. Click here for a complete listing of events and topics.

Hope to see you soon on the Battlefield!

~Todd