For three days in July of 1863, a costly civil war battle raged between the Union and Confederate armies in and around the Borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The two armies met here in battle as the Confederate army sought to take the war to the north through the crossroads of Gettysburg. The Union army made their stand here. Strategies by both armies were sometimes grave miscalculations, the culmination of which resulted in a decisive victory for the Union. Over 51,000 Americans died during this battle. Although the Civil War continued two years following the battle of Gettysburg, the battle is viewed as the turning point of the war.

Today, hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world visit the Gettysburg battlefield, which is operated and maintained by the National Park Service. The battlefield has become a memorial to brave Americans who fought here attempting to preserve their individual beliefs. As you stand on the ground where they fought, one can visualize the terrible skirmishes that pitted American against American.