The winter season is no time to hibernate. Here in Gettysburg, there is always something to do, whatever the season. During the winter months, visitors and locals alike can enjoy a wide range of activities including museums, special programs and much more. Even the National Park Service holds programs seasonally, including special Mid-winter Talks.
These Mid-winter talks are ongoing weekend events that take place on Saturdays and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. held at the National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center. This past weekend saw the start of these events, which will continue on through March with a variety of topics to be covered.
Saturday's talk addressed the Siege at Vicksburg. Attendees listened to the account of the 47 day siege where the fate of the Mississippi River's control was up in the air. On Sunday, the strategic dilemma of the Confederacy was explored along with the three primary problems that contributed to such a dilemma. These problems included limitations of terrain, growing economic turmoil and the dysfunctional command structure of the Western Department.
Upcoming talks for the remainder of the month follow are as follows. Learn about Despair, Defeat, Redemption & Determination, on Jan. 12; consider If these Objects Could Talk, on Jan. 19; go On Campaign with Fighting Joe—Joseph Hooker and the Army of the Potomac in 1863, on Jan. 20; try to understand Gettysburg with Gettysburg Understood Through Etymology, Metaphor and Personification, and have a good time with We are having a grand time right now! The Army of Northern Virginia in 1863.
The month of February will feature the following programs: The Bloodless Campaigns in Tennessee, Chickamauga with Angie Atkinson, Where death for noble ends makes dying sweet—Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts, We Shall be Wiped Out of Existence—From Calamity to Crisis: Oliver O. Howard, Out of Chancellorsville and into Gettysburg with Chuck Teague, Burnside vs. Longstreet in East Tennessee, The Fall 1863 Knoxville Campaign, With Porter on the Mississippi—Union Naval Operations in the Vicksburg Campaign, The Chancellorsville Campaign or Frank O'Reilly Fredericksburg—Sportsylvania NMP and Gettysburg Redeemed, Bristoe Station, Mine Run, and the Fall Campaigns of 1863. March will feature the following: The Second Battle of Winchester, The Thermoplae of my Campaign, If Walls Could Talk, Breaking Down the Gettysburg Address Line by Line and The greatest amount of human suffering known to this nation since birth. The Fields of Gettysburg Through the Eyes of Battlefield Surgeons.
These lectures are part of the ongoing 150th anniversary observation events going on in Gettysburg. So, come out of the cold and and be a part of it all this winter. For more information, contact the National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center at http://www.nps.gov/gett.
