The Battle at Gettysburg commemorated its 150^th Anniversary during the first week of July. Crowds poured in, and re-enactors lived in encampments that were spread about the countryside and along Seminary Ridge. A record number of spectators flocked to the hallowed ground to learn about this historic Civil War event through battle dramatizations, visits to the historic sites, museum displays and the Gettysburg Battle Cyclorama — an 1884 painting by Paul Philippoteaux, that is larger than a football field, and displayed in a specially designed circular building.

Many children accompanied their families, and attended organized activities by the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center/ Gettysburg Foundation.

The three-day battle is partially renowned for the most casualties, but General Meade’s victory over General Robert E. Lee was the turning point of the Civil War. It truncated Lee’s momentum in the North, and led to Grant’s eventual victory over the South.  Four months later – in November 1863, President Abraham Lincoln would address the crowd with a 2-minute speech at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. Gettysburg –and all that occurred there–would be remembered, forever.