American Places - Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
2025-02-10
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1The Gettysburg National Military Park is in the small town of Gettysburg in the eastern state of Pennsylvania.
2Much of the area around Gettysburg still looks like it did in the 1860s, during the American Civil War.
3The town is in the middle of good farmland.
4Roads pass through Gettysburg that lead to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and other eastern cities.
5It is hard to believe that two huge armies fought there.
6One fighting force was the United States Army of the Potomac, commanded by General George Meade.
7The other was the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia led by General Robert E. Lee. Lee's troops had moved north into Pennsylvania from Virginia.
8Lee believed that a Southern win of a battle on Northern land would force a negotiated settlement of the Civil War and mean independence for the Confederate States.
9The battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863. About 170,000 soldiers fought for three days.
10When it ended on July 3, more than 50,000 soldiers were dead, wounded or missing.
11Lee's army lost the battle.
12Many visitors start their visit to Gettysburg at the Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War.
13The museum has a large collection of Civil War objects.
14The museum has more than 1 million artifacts, from soldiers' private notebooks and clothing to maps of the battlefield.
15The museum also houses the Gettysburg cyclorama painting.
16This kind of artwork completely surrounds the people looking at it.
17The painting shows the artist's vision of the final major attack of the battle on July 3, 1863.
18Over time, it has come to be called Pickett's Charge.
19George Pickett was one of several Confederate commanders ordered to make the charge.
20The Confederate soldiers reached a point close to the northern lines and headquarters.
21Today, the point is called the "High Water Mark."
22Northern forces then turned the Confederates back.
23The charge failed. Southern forces would never again reach so far north.
24Soon after the battle, people began to visit Gettysburg to try to understand what happened there.
25One of those visitors, on November 19, 1863, was President Abraham Lincoln.
26He was invited to help dedicate a burial ground for Union soldiers killed in the battle.
27Lincoln spoke for just two minutes.
28But his speech, known as "The Gettysburg Address," is one of the most famous pieces of American oratory.
29I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1The Gettysburg National Military Park is in the small town of Gettysburg in the eastern state of Pennsylvania. 2Much of the area around Gettysburg still looks like it did in the 1860s, during the American Civil War. The town is in the middle of good farmland. 3Roads pass through Gettysburg that lead to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and other eastern cities. It is hard to believe that two huge armies fought there. 4One fighting force was the United States Army of the Potomac, commanded by General George Meade. The other was the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia led by General Robert E. Lee. Lee's troops had moved north into Pennsylvania from Virginia. 5Lee believed that a Southern win of a battle on Northern land would force a negotiated settlement of the Civil War and mean independence for the Confederate States. 6The battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863. About 170,000 soldiers fought for three days. When it ended on July 3, more than 50,000 soldiers were dead, wounded or missing. 7Lee's army lost the battle. 8Many visitors start their visit to Gettysburg at the Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War. The museum has a large collection of Civil War objects. The museum has more than 1 million artifacts, from soldiers' private notebooks and clothing to maps of the battlefield. 9The museum also houses the Gettysburg cyclorama painting. This kind of artwork completely surrounds the people looking at it. 10The painting shows the artist's vision of the final major attack of the battle on July 3, 1863. Over time, it has come to be called Pickett's Charge. George Pickett was one of several Confederate commanders ordered to make the charge. 11The Confederate soldiers reached a point close to the northern lines and headquarters. Today, the point is called the "High Water Mark." Northern forces then turned the Confederates back. 12The charge failed. Southern forces would never again reach so far north. 13Soon after the battle, people began to visit Gettysburg to try to understand what happened there. One of those visitors, on November 19, 1863, was President Abraham Lincoln. He was invited to help dedicate a burial ground for Union soldiers killed in the battle. 14Lincoln spoke for just two minutes. But his speech, known as "The Gettysburg Address," is one of the most famous pieces of American oratory. 15I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 16Nancy Steinbach and Ashley Thompson with additional material from the National Park Service for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for the VOA Learning English podcast. 17____________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19museum - n. a building in which interesting and valuable things (as works of art or historical or scientific objects) are collected and shown to the public 20artifact - n. a usually simple object (as a tool or ornament) showing human work and representing a culture or a stage in the development of a culture 21vision - n. a thought, idea, or object formed by the imagination 22dedicate - v. to set apart for some purpose and especially a sacred or serious purpose 23oratory - n. the job of making speeches in public 24We want to hear from you. 25Our comment policy is here.