22 November 2024
Civil War / US Presidents

Scenes from around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Jenniferby Jennifer
The David Wills House

The David Wills House is where President Abraham Lincoln finished up his iconic Gettysburg Address in 1863.  He spent the night in the home, then headed over the next day to the Soldiers’ National Cemetery dedication to deliver his immortal two minutes speech to a crowd of 20,000.

Lincoln was invited to the dedication to give “a few appropriate remarks” as an after-thought; it was not expected that he would be able to attend.  The real headliner was Edward Everett, a renowned orator who delivered a two-hour speech.  Afterwards Everett wrote to Lincoln, “I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes.”

Willis’ office, recreated.
A real authentic “Lincoln slept here”! This is the actual bed Lincoln slept in, along with other furnishings he most likely used.

David Wills was a Gettysburg attorney who was heavily involved in the immense clean-up after the Battle of Gettysburg, including proposing the national cemetery.

The park service now operates a small museum in the Willis home. The cover photo is from the museum, showing the layout of the center of Gettysburg when Lincoln came to town.

J. Seward Johnson (of the Grounds for Sculpture fame) created the Return Visit sculpture. It is the most true-to-life sculpture of Lincoln, created using casts of Lincoln’s face and hands. The “visitor” sculpture is holding a copy of the Gettysburg Address.
While we did go into the visitors’ center at Gettysburg National Military Park, it was raining when we did, so this is a picture of Lincoln with Doug from the last time we were in the ‘hood.
This is known as the “Bench of Irony” because it is memory of Samuel A. Mudd. It’s in view of the Wills House, where Lincoln finished the Gettysburg Address. The Samuel A. Mudd on this bench happens to have been an esteemed member of the community. History buffs will know that another Samuel A. Mudd was imprisoned for his role in Lincoln’s assassination. I hope this is an odd coincidence and not someone’s sick idea of a joke.
Sach’s bridge is 100 feet long and 15 feet wide (and frequently visited by ghost hunters).
Union troops arrived via this bridge for the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, and Confederate troops retreated over it on July 4th.
This tree stump in the Gettysburg National Military Park visitors’ center shows the ravages of the Civil War – you can find several cannon balls, bullets and other remnants of war in it.
We visited the Eisenhower National Historic Site last year. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife Mamie purchased the farm and home in 1950, and settled here after finishing his second term in 1961. They used the home as a retreat during the presidency, and to host world leaders out of the formality of Washington D.C. They raised Angus cattle on their nearly 700 acres.
In the museum at the Gettysburg National Park Visitor’s Center, “reverent men and women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field to ponder and dream.” – General Chamberlain at the dedication of the Monument to the 20th Maine in 1889.

Jennifer

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