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Sunday Afternoon Battlefield Programs
Series – 2024
During our COVID19 shut-down / slow-down in 2020 the ALBG commenced a series of battlefield programs on Sunday afternoons inspired by the success of the popular Tuesday evening summer walks. On these beautiful fall afternoons a Licensed Battlefield Guide will lead a program focusing on a specific battle-related topic. These are ideal for those who desire a more in-depth look at one aspect of the Battle of Gettysburg, or for those simply looking for something to do on a beautiful fall afternoon. Each session is offered for a fee of $35, payable to the Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides.
Note: Under the provisions of our Commercial Use Authorization permit with the Gettysburg National Military Park, we are required to have on file that you have read and agreed to the provisions detailed in the Acknowledgement of Risks form. Should you wish to register for any of the programs detailed below you will have to agree you have read and understood this form before you will be taken to the payment site.
Please car-pool whenever possible and make sure to obey all National Park regulations regarding parking in the National Park. At all times make sure your car is parked in a legal parking placing and does not present a road hazard by partially blockng tour roads. At no time should your vehicle be parked on the grass.
When: Sunday Afternoons throughout the Fall of 2024
Dates: Sundays from September 8th through October 27th.
Time: All programs will run from 2:00 PM until approximately 5:00 PM
Where: Detailed below. Parking is limited. Abide by park rules and consider car-pooling
Cost: $35 per session.
September 8, 2024 – Afternoon Program
The Horse at Gettysburg
LBG Chris Bagley
Many of the Monuments that grace the Gettysburg Battlefield honor the various units and soldiers both officer and enlisted. Numerous monuments display the one unsung hero that is viewed with great admiration but not often spoken about…the Horse of course. These animals were trained and prepared for battle all with different functions. Like the men who rode them, they were expendable implements of war. Many men lamented the loss of their animals and one, a Union Officer admitted his inability to judge a horse as a quality mount. He also admitted it was in many cases pointless due to the high attrition rate. These animals have even caused one of the great myths that persist to this day. Come on out and learn about these noble animals and their sacrifice at Gettysburg and the American Civil War.
Stop 1: Meet at the west-end comfort station adjacent to the Buford Portrait Statue and Reynolds’ Equestrian Monument. Parking is either on Stone Ave or behind the comfort station. (from this point we will drive along West Confederate to Millerstown road and turn left. We will cross Emmitsburg Road and proceed left on Sickles Ave and then turn right on United States Ave.
Stop 2: Trostle Farm. Parking on US Ave. NOTE: Please stay off of the horse trail just past the Witness Tree/Sickles HQ marker. We will then proceed down US Avenue to Hancock Ave. and turn left and proceed to the last stop.
Stop 3: Cemetery Ridge/ General Meade’s Equestrian Statue.
Each stop will detail the horse used in the cavalry, artillery as well as personal mounts and couriers. Walking will be kept to paved or grassy surfaces, which will entail minor exertion and will be near guests’ vehicles. This time of the year will prove to be warm, so please bring water, sunscreen, and bug spray. I will attempt to keep everyone in the shade whenever possible.
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September 15, 2024 – Afternoon Program
“Follow the Lone Star Flag to the Top of the Mountain.” The Texas Brigade.
LBG Larry Korczyk
The tour will cover the attack of Lt. Col. Work’s 1st Texas Infantry Regiment of General Jerome Robertson’s Brigade of General John Bell Hood’s Division of General James Longstreet’s 2nd Corps on 2 July 1863. We will set up the attack of Hood’s Division on Warfield Ridge at the position of the 1st Texas of Robertson’s Brigade and then travel to Devil’s Den to cover their assault upon the General Hobart Ward’s Brigade of the Union Third Corps. I’ll utilize first person accounts to describe the battle action and the heroic efforts of the brave Texans. Hear the story of the wedding battle flag carried by the Texans and the heroic and defiant color bearer of the 1st Texas.
Meeting place: Stop 1: The Texas State Memorial-South Confederate Avenue-Warfield Ridge and Stop 2: Devil’s Den. Please leave the parking lot at Devil’s Den for other visitors and park along Crawford Avenue (on the right side with all four wheels on the pavement) and walk to Devil’s Den.
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September 22, 2024 – Afternoon Program
Major General Richard Anderson’s Division
LBG Therese Orr
Major General Richard Anderson’s Confederate Third Corps Division was present for all 3 days of the battle. During this walk we’ll explore Anderson’s background; the composition of his division; and its participation in and performance during the battle.
Meeting Place: Amphitheater on West Confederate Avenue. Can either park behind the VA monument on West Confederate (end of tour) or Amphitheater. The participants will walk north on West Confederate Avenue to the horse trail. The group will walk along the horse trail to the Henry Spangler farm, then return to the Avenue. The group will proceed to the Virginia monument and end the tour at the Point of Woods.
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September 29, 2024 – NO PROGRAM
Fall ALBG Seminar
October 6, 2024 – Afternoon Program
The Pennsylvania Reserves
LBG Tim Pierce
This walk will be on the Pennsylvania Reserves. The Reserves were a fighting force composed solely of soldiers from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. At the beginning of the war more men from all around Pennsylvania answered the call for volunteers than the federal government called for. Governor Andrew Curtain, concerned for his southern border, chose to swear the men into Pennsylvania service. They were eventually requested for Federal service. The Reserves were a unique division and they had the opportunity to serve under some of the premier commanders in the army including John Reynolds, and George Meade. On this walk we will explore some of the history of the reserves and then focus on their July 2nd experiences on Little and Big Round Tops, Plum Run Valley, and the Wheatfield. We will begin on the northern slope of Little Round Top, then charge down Little Round Top, through the valley of death, to the edge of the Wheatfield. We won’t actually be able to make that charge, (I got to as a reenactor many years ago) but we may be able to make our way from LRT to the Wheatfield as we follow the reserves through their battle experience. We will meet some of the personalities in the Reserves and share their stories.
Meeting Place: Please park along Sedgwick Ave. leaving the gravel lot at the intersection of Sedgwick and Wheatfield Road open for other visitors. A limited number of cars may park on Ayers Avenue to car pool back to Sedgwick Avenue at the end of the program.
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October 13, 2024 – Afternoon Program
“Old Clubby” Allegheny Johnson’s Division on Culp’s Hill
LBG Rob Abbott
Everybody goes to the top of Culp’s Hill and honors Brig Gen George Sears Greene (as we should), but nobody ever looks at Culp’s Hill from the bottom, from the Confederate perspective. Major General Edward Johnson, CSA, ‘Old Clubby” leads the attack. Who is this guy? Join LBG Rob Abbott as we follow Johnson’ s Division as they muscle their way through traffic to the vicinity of Benner’s Hill and then go into the attack. The discussion will center on how the orders came to Johnson, what he could reasonably see, the decisions that he made and how the attacks turned out.
Meeting Place: Benner’s Hill. There will be three stands: Benners Hill, East Confederate Avenue near the Middle School and then to the top of Upper Culp’s Hill by the War Department tower for a mildly strenuous walk from the Union lines down to Forbes Rock and back to the cars.
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October 20, 2024 – Afternoon Program
“Never Under Such Perilous Circumstances Did A Command Behave Better” The Battle of Monterey Pass
LBG Britt Isenberg
The Army of Northern Virginia began their retreat from Gettysburg on Independence Day and their safe passage back to Virginia required overcoming two geographic obstacles; the Blue Ridge and the Potomac River. On the night of July 4, General Judson Kilpatrick’s division struck the Confederate line of retreat in a raging thunderstorm near Monterey Pass and the fight continued on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line into the morning hours of July 5. This tour will trace the battle from first contact into the Cumberland Valley.
Meeting Place: Hamiltonban Community Park, 4020 Bullfrog Rd, Fairfield, PA 17320
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October 27, 2024 – Afternoon Program
“Wait a little, we will all be going in shortly.”
LBG Phil Muskett
General Longstreet spoke those words to Brig Gen Barksdale on the afternoon of July 2, 1863. Barksdale’s men had been under severe artillery fire for over an hour. Barksdale was confident he could take those guns in five minutes. Once released by Lt Gen Longstreet, that Mississippi brigade would advance over a mile and fight over some of the most famous ground at Gettysburg. The Sherfy Farm, The Peach Orchard, The Trostle Farm and the Codori Thicket.
Stop 1 and meeting spot. Mississippi State Monument West Confederate Ave. Park along the right side of the road, wheels on the pavement. Introduce the key characters and a brief overview of the campaign. Once complete, we will car caravan to the second stop.
Stop 2 The Peach Orchard Park near the Excelsior Brigade monument. Park on the right side of the road, wheels on the pavement. To reach stop 3 we will move along the mowed path to the 73rd NY.
Stop 3 73rd New York Monument. To reach stop 4, we will move along the mowed paths to the Peach Orchard and Ames’s battery.
Stop 4 The Peach Orchard. Ames’s battery. To reach stop 5, we will move along the mowed areas along Wheatfield Rd, to the mowed area behind Bigelow’s guns.
Stop 5 Behind Bigelow’s Guns. To reach stop 6, we will follow the mowed path to Trostle Farm.
Stop 6 Trostle Farm (Bigelow’s second position) To reach stop 7, we will follow the mowed paths and horse trail to Sickles wounding monument.
Stop 7 Sickles wounding monument. Conclude program, and everyone returns to cars via US Avenue.
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