Ultimate Gettysburg Self-Guided Bundle Tour

A visit to the Gettysburg Battlefield is not complete without stopping at the Gettysburg Heritage Center Museum. The tour begins at either the Heritage Center or the National Park Visitor Center. If you’re not at either location yet, head over now. From there, we’ll follow the official Auto Tour route.

As we continue driving, dawn breaks on the first day of battle. At McPherson's Ridge, Union and Confederate armies clash and generals on both sides order their regiments into place. We'll be able to imagine the movements of the battle as we look out over the ridge.

Our drive takes us over the Railway Cut, where we'll explore the different battle strategies of the generals on both sides of the fight. This was the unlikely site of a major skirmish during the first day. We'll continue forward, diving into the backstories of some of the key battlefield players.

Embark on this journey into the past at the Gettysburg Visitor Center! Get ready to be transported right into the middle of the battlefield... both in time and space. As we begin driving along the Gettysburg Battlefield Auto Road, we step back in time to the eve of battle. Who are the combatants? The generals? What are they fighting for? Why? We'll dive into the history of the United States of America up to the point of the Civil War. That'll help us understand what made Gettysburg such a poignant battle, and why a victory here was so important.

We'll continue driving along the Gettysburg Auto Road. Our next stop is at the Oak Ridge Observation Tower. Here we'll be able to jump back to that first day of the battle -- but by now, it's the afternoon. We'll "join" the fight as Union soldiers try to keep the Confederacy at bay. The top of this tower is a great place to get panoramic views of the historic fields that once saw so much violence and bloodshed.

We'll continue driving, following the progress of the first day of battle as we follow the Gettysburg Battlefield Auto Road. Though we'll pass several more memorials, one in particular stands out: the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument. There’s a dog sculpted on the other side of the statue’s base. That’s Battlefield Sallie! She served as a mascot of the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry and accompanied these Union soldiers for most of the Civil War. We'll drive past Sallie and learn a little about the importance of drummers and military music during the war.

Our journey continues along the Gettysburg Auto Road as evening descends on the first day of battle. Union soldiers have paid heavily and lost ground. Is there any hope of success? We'll explore the various plans and strategies the generals come up with as they bunker down after the first day.

As we drive, we'll pass the first of many memorials at Gettysburg - the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. This memorial commemorates the reunification of the United States. Maine granite forms the base, while Alabama limestone forms the pillar -- a symbolic unification of north and south.

We'll continue driving along the Gettysburg Battlefield Auto Road. The infamous Pickett's Charge on Day 3 began at this stop, but we'll save that story for a little later on the tour. Instead, we'll now enter the second day of battle. Troops on both sides have begun to organize and mobilize. Whose strategy will finally succeed?

Our drive takes us past the Longstreet Observation Tower, which offers a great vantage point over the second day's battlefield.

Here we can take an optional detour off of the Gettysburg Auto Road to visit the Eisenhower National Historic Site, which overlooks the battlefield. President Eisenhower often stayed here.

We're back on the Gettysburg Road, following the activities of Day 2 of the battle. Confederate troops assemble here, ready to attack one of the strategic Union outposts. Specially trained Union marksmen are in a position to defend. The stage is set...

Our drive passes Little Round Top, a critical skirmish site on the second day. Here Union soldiers just barely hold off Confederate troops, maintaining their control of this strategic hill. As we drive around the hill, we'll cross the Valley of Death -- an appropriate name for the site of such a bloody skirmish.

Our drive takes us past the North Carolina Memorial and Virginia Monument.

We continue driving along the Gettysburg Auto Road, passing the Wheat Fields. This area represented the second major skirmish site on Day 2. We'll find ourselves in the heat of battle, fighting alongside Union soldiers to defend against the Confederates. We'll also learn about the strange tale of Union soldier JJ Purman.

Our drives take us past the Peach Orchard, where the battles of the second day continued. We'll start seeing which strategies were successful and which were not as we drive past.

Here, Confederate sharpshooters set up positions among the volcanic rocks. From the safety of the rocky cover at Devil's Den, they’re able to pick off soldier after soldier on the Union side.

Our journey along the Gettysburg Battlefield Auto Road now takes us to Plum Run, where we catch up with the soldiers who just escaped the skirmish at the Peach Orchard.

We'll continue towards the George Weikert Farm. Like the Trostles, the Weikert's hastily evacuated when the battle erupted. But they returned to a grislier scene -- their farm had been converted into a battlefield hospital. As we drive, we'll learn a little about military doctors and the effects of war.

Our path brings us to the Pennsylvania Memorial. This monument commemorates the nearly 35,000 Pennsylvanian soldiers who fought in this battle. While the stakes were high for everyone, they were particularly intense for these men of Pennsylvania: they weren’t fighting for an abstract idea, they were fighting for their very state.

We'll continue past the Trostle farm. When fighting broke out in Gettysburg, the Trostle family fled their home. They left so abruptly that dinner was still on the table!

We continue the driving tour to East Cemetery Hill. Night has fallen across the battlefield, and ordinarily, this would mean an end to the fighting. But the Confederate failure to fully capture Culp’s Hill bothers them, so they try a nighttime raid. This was the moment the Union came closest to losing. Through a mixture of perseverance, skill, and luck, the Union prevailed. Once we explore this historic site and understand what was at stake, we'll continue driving. Day 2 has come to a close; the third and final day of battle is ahead.

The third-day dawns, and the Union and Confederate troops prepare for a final, epic battle. This is the infamous Pickett's Charge by the Confederates. We'll stand at the top of the hill, looking down at the empty expanse of the final battlefield. As we follow the progress of this last charge, we'll take a look at the "high water mark" -- the spot that marks the farthest the Confederacy advanced up the hill, towards the Union defenses.

We'll follow the Gettysburg Battlefield Auto Road to the final stop: the National Cemetery. Here we visit and honor the graves of the fallen Union soldiers who defended their country and morals.

This is also the site of President Abraham Lincoln's famed Gettysburg Address. Given the monumental nature of the battle, most people expected President Lincoln to deliver quite a lengthy speech. But Lincoln didn’t want to steal attention that he believed belonged to the Union soldiers who sacrificed their lives here. Our tour officially ends at this final, poignant stop.

The Gettysburg Auto Road brings us deeper into the Gettysburg woods, where we'll come across Spangler's Spring. We'll dive into the significance of this small but mighty site and then continue forward to Culp's Hill Tower. Here, Union and Confederate soldiers clashed again, fighting for control of this strategic outpost. Luckily for the Union, they are able to defend the hill until evening finally descended.

The Culp’s Hill Tower, where you can survey the surrounding forest. This hill was extremely important to the Union formation. If it fell, the rest of Cemetery Hill would surely follow.

East Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform used for the battle of East Cemetery Hill during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day. Located on the east of Gettysburg's Baltimore Street and the Baltimore Pike which meet on the hill, the hill is a northeast spur, and the east slope, of Cemetery Hill.

The high-water mark of the Confederacy refers to an area on Cemetery Ridge near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, marking the farthest point reached by Confederate forces during Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863.Similar to a high water mark of water, the term is a reference to arguably the Confederate Army's best chance of achieving victory in the war. The line of advance was east of "The Angle" stone wall.

The Soldiers’ National Cemetery, the last stop on this tour. There, President Abraham Lincoln delivered his stirring Gettysburg Address to honor the fallen and praise their sacrifice.

Given the monumental nature of the battle, most people expected President Lincoln to deliver quite a lengthy speech. But Lincoln didn’t want to steal attention that he believed belonged to the Union soldiers who sacrificed their lives here. His speech lasted only four minutes! It was so short, in fact, that the photographer couldn’t even finish getting a picture before it was over.